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Ranking Men's Basketball's Nonconference Opponents: No. 10

Published by Stephen J. Gleason on November 02, 2017 at 12:32AM
Quarterbacking the Offense

Sophomore point guard Bryce Aiken returns from a strong freshman campaign to lead the Crimson.

In a series that began on Sunday and will continue through the Crimson’s season opener on Nov. 10 against MIT, men’s basketball beat writer Stephen Gleason will look at Harvard’s 13 nonconference opponents. Coming in at No. 10 is Manhattan.

No. 13: MIT

No. 12: Holy Cross

No. 11: Fordham

Manhattan

2017-2018 Matchup: Saturday, November 18 at Draddy Gymnasium, Bronx, N.Y. (1:00 p.m.)

2016-2017 Record: 10-22 overall, 5-15 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference

2016-2017 Matchup: N/A

Head Coach: Steve Masiello (7th season)

Key Returning Players: Senior guard Zavier Turner (team’s leader in points and assists last season, offense will be run by this Ball State transfer who went to the same Indianapolis high school as Jeff Teague, Courtney Lee, and RJ Hunter); senior forward Zane Waterman (averaged 14.5 points per game and seven rebounds last season, will start alongside fellow 6’9” senior Calvin Crawford)

Stat to Watch: 16.6: Manhattan averaged 16.6 turnovers per contest a season ago, with the high water mark coming against West Virginia, when the Jaspers coughed the ball up 40 times.

Overview: Steve Masiello’s bunch likes to run and returns its top five scorers from last season. While the Jaspers should certainly improve on the 10 wins from a year ago, their defense remains a concern—opponents shot nearly 40 percent from three last season.

—Staff writer Stephen J. Gleason can be reached at stephen.gleason@thecrimson.com.

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