Growing up in Los Angeles, sophomore Crimson wing Wesley Saunders grew up in the heart of Pac-12 country. Saunders, who said he lived “five minutes from USC,” never was a big fan of any of the conference’s squads growing up. Saunders considered both USC and the University of Colorado before selecting Harvard for college. But the sophomore was also interested in one of the conference’s premier programs and Harvard’s Saturday opponent—the Arizona Wildcats (26-7, 12-6 Pac-12)—in high school.

“He came to our elite camp, and he was a good young player,” Wildcats coach Sean Miller said. “We watched him a lot, and he was on several teams that we watch quite a bit in the summer. So we’re familiar with him.”

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After a thrilling 68-62 victory of the University of New Mexico Lobos, the Harvard Crimson advance to take on the sixth-seeded Arizona Wildcats in the next round. Staff writer David Freed breaks down the matchup from all angles.

Before starting the analysis, here’s a quick primer on Arizona.

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Record: 26-7 (12-6 Pac-12)

Best Wins: Florida, Miami, San Diego State

Worst Losses: USC

RPI: 15

Ken Pomeroy Ranking: 18

First Round Result: Beat 11th-seeded Belmont, 81-64

Star Players: Mark Lyons (Sr. Guard) 14.8 ppg, 3.0 apg, Nick Johnson (So. Guard) 11.7 ppg, 3.2 apg, 1.9 sph, Solomon Hill (Sr. Forard) 13.4 ppg, 5.3 rpg

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After winning the first round of the tournament, the Crimson will take on the Arizona Wildcats on Saturday (6:10 EDT, TNT) in the round of 32. With a Sweet Sixteen bid on the line, staff writer David Freed breaks down the individual matchups at stake for the Crimson.

As detailed in the previous part of the preview, the Crimson stands a better chance against the Wildcats than it did against New Mexico. While all the odds were thrown out the window in Harvard’s 68-62 victory over the Lobos, the Crimson match up better with the smaller, less defensive-minded Wildcats.

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After the Harvard men's basketball team topped the University of New Mexico on Thursday night, it's time for the Crimson to turn its attention to its next opponent: the University of Arizona. To get the inside scoop on the Wildcats, we caught up with Kevin Zimmerman of Arizona Desert Swarm.

THC: What should Harvard expect from Arizona? What are the team’s strengths and weaknesses?

KZ: Arizona's biggest asset is their size, and because of it they'll rely on their defense to make a run in the tournament. The freshmen crop of starting center Kaleb Tarczewski and bench forwards Brandon Ashley and Grant Jerrett provides one of the better interior defenses around the nation, and that also allows the perimeter players more room for error in playing Sean Miller's aggressive man defense.

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SALT LAKE CITY—When Harvard junior co-captain Laurent Rivard takes the court Thursday evening at EnergySolutions Arena, he will be following in the footsteps of two of his countrymen.

Gonzaga forward Kelly Olynyk and guard Kevin Pangos—anchoring the Bulldogs offense with 17.5 and 11.5 points per game, respectively—will play earlier in the afternoon and join Rivard as two of the 27 Canadians that will participate in this year’s NCAA tournament.

Rivard—hailing from Quebec—is the only Crimson starter from up north, but freshmen teammates Agunwa Okolie and Patrick Steeves also call Canada home.

Although there are four fewer Canadians in the tournament this year compared to last year, many are poised to take bigger roles and make a larger impact. From Olynyk to Michigan guard Nik Stauskas, 21 of the Canadian nationals have earned awards for their regular season play.

“I would say we’re pushing each other,” said Pangos in Wednesday’s press conference. “The bar is set a lot higher. Guys aren’t satisfied with making the NCAA tournament anymore. Now the goal is to be in the NBA and the top NCAA teams.”

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