Harvard clinched the Ivy League title on Saturday with its win over Cornell and Princeton’s surprising loss to Brown. The Crimson will be making back-to-back NCAA appearances for the first time ever. You may have noticed that people who attend Harvard are generally pretty bright. I’m not really sure why, but it just seems to work out that way. But there are many other interesting things to know about the school in Cambridge, Mass.
Here are five things you probably didn’t know about Harvard:
1. They have virtually zero basketball tradition. Harvard is going dancing for the second year in a row–and just the third time in 67 years. The Crimson jumped it up in the 1946 NCAA Tournament, back when only eight teams made the field and there were consolation games. They’ve never won a game in the NCAAs. Also, their best player in school history is undoubtedly Jeremy Lin. (Not sure what that says about the program).
2. Their two best players were lost before the season started. Point guard Brandyn Curry, who led the team with 5 assists per game last season, and Kyle Casey, who led Harvard in scoring at 11.4 ppg, were both implicated in a wide-spread cheating scandal involving a take-home final exam in a government class. The scandal involved over 125 students. Both withdrew from school in order to preserve their final years of eligibility, and could return next season. Still, it’s amazing that head coach Tommy Amaker was able to rally the troops and win the league again without his two best players.
3. Leading scorer Wesley Saunders is a well-rounded young man. Not only is Saunders a terrific basketball player (averaging 16.5 points per game), he is also a very good student. Teammates often make fun of the fact that he attends Harvard, calling him a “nerd” or “poindexter.” Saunders also has a broad array of interests, including reading, chess and board games. Despite the good-natured ribbing, it’s refreshing to see such a well-rounded young man compete in high-level collegiate basketball.
4. Tommy Amaker has completely turned the program around. The Former Duke great and Michigan head coach has done a remarkable job at Harvard. He was never able to lift Michigan out of the doldrums in its post-NCAA sanctions era, but Amaker has been the greatest thing that ever happened to the Harvard men’s basketball program. He helped convince the athletic department to put more money into basketball, and he has rewarded them with two consecutive NCAA appearances.
5. They aren’t as good as they were last season. Harvard won 24 games last season, spent time ranked in the AP Top 25, and earned a 12-seed in the NCAA Tournament. They also gave Vanderbilt a run for its money in the first round. The Crimson aren’t quite that good this year, but they could still make noise with the right matchup.
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