Men's Basketball Set To Face Boston University

With only a month to go before the start of Ivy League play, the Harvard men’s basketball team (4-4) will host Boston University (3-5) Tuesday in its final game before breaking for final exams.

Following Tuesday’s matchup the Crimson will have 11 days off until its next contest against Holy Cross.

Boston University, which is led in scoring by junior guard D.J. Irving, lost five straight games to begin to the season—three coming by three points or fewer—before rebounding to win its last three, twice defeating Coastal Carolina during the winning streak.

When the Crimson last met the Terriers in 2011, the 24th-ranked Crimson emerged victorious on the road, 76-52. Junior co-captain Laurent Rivard knocked down six three-pointers, setting a career high which he later matched in the second round of the NCAA tournament against Vanderbilt. Harvard took a 16-point lead into the break and extended its lead to 24 by the end of the contest.

Against UConn on Friday, Harvard quickly fell behind by 13 points but rebounded to pull within three by halftime. In the second half, the Crimson was unable to even the game, eventually falling 57-49 despite outrebounding UConn and holding the Huskies to only 23.5 percent shooting from beyond the arc.

Harvard has won two of its last three contests—including its only win of the season over an opponent from a BCS conference, a 79-63 win at Boston College on Dec. 4. During the three-game stretch, sophomore forward Wesley Saunders has averaged 16.3 points per game. Saunders earned Ivy League co-player of the week status this week after winning the award outright last week. Saunders has reached double digits in every contest so far.

—Staff writer David Freed can be reached at davidfreed@college.harvard.edu.