Harvard becomes first entrant into 2014 NCAA field
Published on Saturday, 3/8/14, at 12:35 a.m. Eastern.
By Brian Edwards
Harvard (25-4 straight up) is going to the NCAA Tournament for the third straight season after wrapping up the Ivy League championship with Friday’s 70-58 win at Yale as a 6.5-point road favorite. The Crimson ends the regular season on a seven-game winning streak and it has covered the spread in six consecutive contests.
Siyani Chambers scored 17 points and dished out six assists while committing only one turnover against the Bulldogs. Steve Moundo-Missi added 16 points and six rebounds.
Tommy Amaker’s team can make some noise again this March. Harvard knocked off third-seeded New Mexico in last year’s Tournament, winning a 68-62 decision as a 10.5-point underdog.
Harvard has the nation’s ninth-best ATS record (16-7). Amaker’s bunch is No. 58 in the RPI Rankings, compiling a 2-2 record against the Top 100. They faced a pair of elite teams in Colorado and UConn.
The game against the Buffaloes was early in the season before All-American candidate Spencer Dinwiddie suffered a torn ACL. Harvard led at CU for the first 35 minutes of the game before the Buffs rallied to win behind a barrage of late 3-pointers.
B.E. won’t be shocked if Harvard makes it to the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament.
The Crimson led at UConn for a decent chunk of the game but lost by a 61-56 count.
I think Harvard will get a No. 11 seed and won’t be shocked if it makes the Sweet 16.
What makes this team dangerous? It has good size, Tournament experience, six players that score at least 9.4 points per game and a quality point guard in Chambers, who can knock down 3’s and create easy looks for his teammates by drawing defenders with his dribble penetration.
Trust me, head coaches of No. 5 or 6 seeds will cringe at the site of Harvard’s name next to their team in the bracket.
