Crimson Five to Face Cornell Squad Tonight

Harvard's basketball team, still tingling from its upset of Princeton last week, faces a good Cornell team at Ithaca tonight.

The Big Red played here January 8 and hammared out a 96-80 victory over the Crimson. Harvard played on even terms with Cornell throughtout the first half, and trailed only 42-45 at halftime. But Harvard completely blew its cool in the second half, and Cornell walked off with an easy victory.

Cornell shouldn't have much difficulty winning this evening. In the first place, Harvard has never had much success winning on the road. Try to think of the last time the Crimson quintet won a significant victory away from home; it hasn't happened in several years.

Furthermore, Cornell is in the thick of a torrid Ivy League race, and simply can't afford to suffer a letdown against a second-division team. The Big Red has a 5-2 mark in league play; Penn. Princeton, and Cornell are all tied for first with 6-1 marks.

Cornell has no real superstar; their assets are depth and balance. Steve Cram, a 6-7 center, is averaging better than 20 points per game, and 6-2 guard Bob DeLuca is almost as prolific a scorer. Everyone else or the starting five is a competent ballplayer; 6-5 forward Gary Munson, 6-5 forward Bob McCready, and 6-2 guard Bob Berube.

Coach Floyd Wilson will probably start Barry Williams, Keith Sedlacek, Gene Dressler, Lynn Bennion, and George Neville. Bennion has improved a good deal in recent games, and the 6-6 center has been giving Williams some help with rebounding. Neville, after losing his starting berth to sophomore Jeff Grate, had outstanding games against Dartmouth and Penn.

Tomorrow night the Crimson travels to Columbia. The Lions eked out a narrow 75-73 win over Harvard last month.