Freedstyle
Amaker, Alford Set To Meet Again
In the tournament, Duke easily advanced in its first two games, dispatching Texas A&M, 58-51, and Xavier, 65-60, to reach the Sweet Sixteen. There, awaiting Amaker and the Blue Devils, was current New Mexico coach and Indiana Hoosier guard Steve Alford. Alford had averaged 22 points a game for Bob Knight’s Hoosiers and would go on to lead the team to a national championship that year, topping Amaker’s squad, 88-82, in their clash.
History with the Harvard Squad
This team’s only senior averaged sixteen minutes a game last year.
Weekend Defeats Expose Men's Basketball's Weaknesses
The Crimson (17-9, 9-3 Ivy) started the weekend on top of the Ivy League and came out playing loose. Warming up for Friday’s game, the team was laughing and joking around. Assistant coach Yanni Hufnagel had guaranteed a win on Twitter; grinning sophomore forward Jonah Travis threw down a pair of windmill dunks during pregame warmups. Nearly 28 hours later, Christian Webster’s desperate final trey landed two feet short of the basket as the horn sounded at the Palestra, and the mood was anything but celebratory. Harvard had dropped consecutive road games at the Killer P’s, out-executed by both Penn and Princeton, which exposed its major weaknesses throughout miserable first halves.
Lin '10 Adjusts To New Offense
In New York, under head coach Mike D’Antoni, Lin benefited from the absence of Carmelo Anthony. In D’Antoni’s offense, the point guard begins almost every play with a pick-and-roll that gives said point guard full responsibility. The offense is predicated on the use of “finesse” power forwards that can stretch the floor—à la Steve Novak in New York as well as Boris Diaw in Phoenix—and shooters from all angles.
Smith Gives Harvard Extra Edge, Two Wins Over The Killer P's
The Crimson plays its best against the best competition. Against likely tournament competition Saint Mary’s, only a late pair of free throws held back Harvard from coming up with a last-second win in a hostile road environment. Against Boston College and Cal, the Crimson won by 16 and five, respectively, on the road against Big Six programs. Until Chambers fouled out against current No. 22 Memphis, Harvard was tied 50-50 with Josh Pastner’s talented squad. Saturday against Princeton was no different.
