Harvard Twelve Seed in Early Bracket

In his first bracket for 2013-14, ESPN Bracketologist Joe Lunardi has placed the Harvard men's basketball team as a 12 seed in the Southern region of the NCAA men's basketball tournament. The Crimson was a 14 seed in 2012, when it defeated the New Mexico Lobos in its first game before falling to the Arizona Wildcats in the round of 32. It was a 12 seed in the 2011 tournament, when it lost to fifth-seeded Vanderbilt in the round of 64.

Harvard is set to play Tennessee in the bracket. While the Volunteers missed out on the NCAA tournament in 2012, the team scored noteworthy victories over Final Four squad Wichita State and the Florida Gators, who made the Elite Eight. The squad went 9-3 in its last twelve games of the regular season and finished with a higher Ratings Percentage Index (RPI) than the Crimson did.

Next year, Harvard will return Kyle Casey and Brandyn Curry as well as introduce class of 2017 freshman Zena Edsomowan. They have already been touted as a preseason top-25 team by ESPN's Jay Bilas.