After getting off to a shaky start, Tommy Amaker and Harvard basketball finished well last season. Will they have what it takes to go dancing this time?
By the time Ivy League play rolled around last season, Harvard basketball did not look like a team destined for a major post-season tournament. They had gotten off to a 5-10 start with bad losses to teams like Manhattan, Holy Cross, and George Washington. To make matters worse, one of their best players, Bryce Aiken, went down with a knee injury that would keep him in and out (and eventually just out) of the lineup for the rest of the season.
Despite their slow start, the Crimson flipped a switch at just the right time. They scorched through conference play and finished No. 1 in the Ivy standings with a 12-2 record. Sophomore forwards Seth Towns and Chris Lewis established themselves as perhaps the best 1-2 punch in the conference and the team was once again looking at a potential automatic NCAA Tournament bid. That never came to fruition, though, as they were upset in the Ivy League Tournament by Penn in a nail-biter, but there has to be optimism in Cambridge about the team’s chances this year.
Bryce Aiken is fully recovered from his knee injury, and Seth Towns (Ivy League Player of the Year last season) and Chris Lewis will only be improved versions of themselves in their junior campaigns. That could turn out be not just one of the best trios in the Ivy League, but in the entire nation as well. Add some solid role players into the mix, and you’ve got a team that has all the elements needed to bust some brackets come March.
Consider this preview your guide for what to expect from this bursting-with-potential Crimson team in terms of key players, important non-conference matchups, and where they’re likely to be by the end of the season.