Harvard March Madness Breakdown

Harvard is returning to the big dance for the third straight year as Tommy Amaker's squad continued their recent league dominance, going 13-1 in the Ivy and 26-4 overall. They are not ranked in the top 25, currently holding seven votes in the AP poll and only one in the USA Today poll. In the College Basketball Insiders mid majors top 25 they are 5th. They are tied with Kansas State at 47 in the RPI standings, rank 38 in BPI and 34th in the Pomeroy standings. They are certainly one of the favored upset specials when filling out brackets as they can repeat their performance from last March when they upset third-ranked New Mexico in round two. Match-ups are key as the Crimson could not stay with a more athletic Arizona in the next round and were blown out. This year's squad is probably better and loaded with experience. The team has five starters averaging double digits and one reserve adding 9.3. All should be selected in a deep draft. G-F Wesley Saunders-14 points per game. 11 ppg in last seven. 13 ppg last MM. 46%FG-75%FT G Siyani Chammbers-11.1 ppg. 10.9 ppg last 7. 5.5 ppg last MM. 39%FG-40%3pt-73%FT F Steve Moundou-Missi-10.5 ppg. 13.7 ppg last 7. 7 ppg last MM. 54%FG-79%FT F Kyle Casey-10 ppg. 9.7 ppg last 7. dnp last MM. 47%FG-70%FT. G Laurent Rivard-10 ppg. 10.9 ppg last 7. 10 ppg last MM. 44%FG-43%3pt-83%FT G Brandyn Curry-9.3%. 8.6% last 7. 46%FG-37%3pt-59%FT Draft advice: Saunders will be the first person off your board but savvy players will wait a few rounds for Rivard. Of course waiting may mean you get no Harvard player. The problem with the Harvard "bigs", including Moundou-Missi who has been scoring as well as anyone on the team lately, is that they will eventually meet up with a team with bigger and stronger players than a typical Ivy League player. UConn, for example, in a 61-56 win on January 8 held Moundou-Missi to five points and Casey to 10--but Casey hit only 5-15 shots. Look Harvard in your draft, targeting Rivard or any of the others that fall late.