Men's Basketball: Harvard offense to push Tigers' 'D'

Off to a hot start at the beginning of league play, the men’s basketball team (11-5 overall, 2-0 Ivy League) will head to Cambridge on Friday to face Harvard (14-4, 3-1). And on Saturday night, Princeton will take on Dartmouth (4-14, 0-4) in Hanover, N.H. In the Crimson, the Tigers will face a formidable opponent — led by point guard Jeremy Lin, Harvard has garnered considerable national recognition for its performance early in the season.

“This is the toughest test we’ve had so far,” junior guard Dan Mavraides said. “The game will be a good barometer for where we are right now as a team.”

Harvard has boasted a high-flying offense this season behind Lin, the Ivy League’s third leading scorer with 17.1 points per game. The Crimson has averaged 74.7 points per game by virtue of .486 shooting, and taken a league-high 452 free throws, or 25.1 per contest. Both Lin and Harvard have garnered significant media attention for their accomplishments: Lin has been mentioned as a potential NBA draft pick for the coming spring, and Harvard was featured in a Sports Illustrated piece this past week.

The contest on Friday will be a match of strength against strength — Harvard will face in Princeton the top defensive team in the Ivies. The Tigers have yielded a league-low 53.9 points per game on .429 shooting, producing 259 turnovers (16.2 per game) and sending their opponents to the line 275 times (17.2 times per game). The Tiger defense, though, won’t focus exclusively on Lin.

“Lin is a very good player, and for us to win, we’re going to have to key in on him effectively, but we defend [foremost] as a team,” senior guard Marcus Schroeder said. “Everyone needs to do their part for us to contain [Harvard] effectively.”

The Crimson, with its potent offense and occasional ill regard for defense (four times opponents have scored 70 or more points), is capable of lulling its opponents into trying to match its style of play. The Tigers are aware of this, and players say that leading up to the game, the emphasis for Princeton has been on discipline.

“We need to be consistent in our pace and not get sped up — to stick to our principles as a team,” Mavraides said. “A fast [paced] game is to our disadvantage.”

“We’re going to focus on us and our defense, and try to play [the game in] our own style,” sophomore forward Patrick Saunders said.

An area of potential concern for the Tigers comes in the frontcourt matchup: Harvard boasts two starting forwards, six foot, seven inch Kyle Casey and six foot, eight inch Keith Wright, who have made a consistent contribution in rebounding with 5.1 rebounds per game each.

Princeton, on the other hand, has been led in rebounds by the six foot, three inch Mavriades. Starting center Pawel Buczak has struggled with foul trouble, and of the only other rotation mainstays who are six feet, seven inches or taller, all but freshman Ian Hummer and center Zach Finley play a perimeter-oriented game. While the Tigers have shown heart on the boards this year, especially from their guards, they find themselves overmatched in the frontcourt against Harvard.

“Harvard is a good rebounding team; [against such a potent offense] boxing out and holding [the Crimson] to one shot will be vital,” Saunders said.

“We struggled against [Harvard’s] bigger frontcourt last year, but we’ve gotten a greater rebounding effort out of all five positions this season,” Mavraides said. “Our coaching staff has stressed rebounding as a team concept.”

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The emphasis for Princeton will be on staying within themselves and playing its own type of game, on both ends of the floor. This means structured, patient offense and disciplined, fundamentally sound defense. And, of course, stopping Lin.

“Regardless of the pace, our offense focuses more on finding good shots than scoring points in any particular style,” Sanders said. “We can score out on the break if we have to — we’re really not a sluggish offense, but the quality of shots is what counts.”

“We need to make sure we hold to our own offense and principles,” Mavraides said. “That’s the key.”

Most of all, the game against Harvard will present one of Princeton’s truest tests in Ivy League play. Harvard, Princeton and No. 25 Cornell boast the only winning percentages above .500 this year.

Though Harvard and Cornell have faced tougher schedules than the Tigers have, one win would jettison Princeton to contender status within the league.

With Harvard reeling from an 86-50 loss to Cornell last Saturday, the opportunity is ripe for Princeton to knock off a Crimson squad at its most vulnerable.

“If we can come out aggressively and compete in the first half, we have a good chance of winning,” Mavraides said. “If we stick to our defensive principles and make shots, we can beat anyone out there.”