The Storyline
The Harvard men’s basketball team will host Boston University Monday, Dec. 8 at Lavietes Pavilion in the team’s final game before taking a 12 day break for exam period The game can be seen live online via the Ivy League Digital Network.

Harvard boasts a 36-27 advantage in the all-time series with Boston University and has won five straight games against the Terriers. The two most recent meetings have come down to the wire, including last year’s 79-68 overtime victory on Commonwealth Ave. In 2012-13, Harvard edged BU in a nailbiter, 65-64, thanks to Siyani Chambers’ jumper with just 4 seconds to play.

What To Watch For
• Harvard has won five straight games to improve to 6-1, marking the ninth time under head coach Tommy Amaker that the Crimson has enjoyed a win streak of at least five games. Harvard’s longest win streak under Amaker stands at nine games, a feat which the team has accomplished three times, including twice in 2013-14.

• Harvard has won seven straight games at Lavietes Pavilion dating back to last year, including five games this season. The Crimson is 54-3 (.947) at home since 2010-11, representing the third highest home-court win percentage in the NCAA over that time.

• Harvard has held six of its first seven opponents to fewer than 65 points and under 40.0 percent shooting. Last year, the Crimson held 20 opponents to fewer than 65 points, and 14 opponents to under 40.0 percent shooting.

• Wesley Saunders has led Harvard in scoring in each of the team’s seven games, becoming the first member of the Crimson to lead the team in scoring in seven straight games under head coach Tommy Amaker. Saunders has averaged 20.9 ppg during this stretch and has scored at least 24 points four times.

• Wesley Saunders has registered 12 steals over the team’s last two games, including seven at Vermont which stands as the highest total by a member of the Crimson under head coach Tommy Amaker.

• Harvard is 5-1 this season when Wesley Saunders scores at lesat 15 points, and is 30-8 when he has done so in his career. Harvard is 4-1 this season when Siyani Chambers dishes out at least five assists, and is 32-7 when he does so in his career.

• In seven games, Harvard has had more than two student-athletes score in double-figures only twice. Six Crimson are averaging over 5.0 ppg, but only one is averaging in double-figures (Wesley Saunders, 20.9).

Last Time Out
After fighting from behind in regulation and overtime, the Harvard men’s basketball team outscored Vermont 14-2 in the second overtime period to escape the Catamounts with a 64-52 win Saturday night.

Steve Moundou-Missi threw down an emphatic dunk with 1:14 to play, putting Harvard ahead 60-52 and all but closing the door on a Catamount comeback. Moundou-Missi tacked on a pair of free throws and Siyani Chambers added the dagger with just 0:22 remaining for the final margin.

The Crimson used timely 3-point shooting by Chambers and Corbin Miller to extend the game. Chambers’ shot evened the score at 44-44 with 1:06 left in regulation after Miller extended the possession with an offensive rebound. Miller’s 3 came with just 0:16 on the clock in the first overtime to knot the game at 50-50.

Starting Fast
Harvard has started 6-1 or better four times under head coach Tommy Amaker, including last season when the Crimson began 13-1.

Creating a Winning Culture
Harvard has posted a 123-36 (.772) overall record since the start of the 2009-10 season, ranking as the 10th highest win percentage in the country over the last five-plus seasons (as of games played Dec. 6).

Home is Where the Wins Are
Harvard has posted a 54-3 (.947) record at Lavietes Pavilion since the start of the 2010-11 season, ranking the Crimson behind only Belmont (55-2, .965) and Duke (67-3, .957) for the third highest home-court win percentage in the country over the last four-plus seasons (as of games played Dec. 6).

Harvard is 5-0 at home this season and has won seven straight at Lavietes Pavilion dating back to last year. Since 2010-11, the Crimson has enjoyed two home win streaks of at least 20 games; 28 games (Feb. 20, 2010 to Feb. 25, 2012), 20 games (Dec. 1, 2012 to Feb. 7, 2014).

Stuffing the Stat Sheet
Wesley Saunders, the 2014 Ivy League Player of the Year, currently ranks among the Ancient Eight’s top 10 in nine statistcal categories. As a senior, Jeremy Lin ’10 also finished ranked among the conference’s best in nine statistical categories.

Born to Assist
Siyani Chambers, whose 5.6 apg leads the Ivy League, has dished out at least five assists five times this season. Chambers boasts 39 career games with five or more assists, including a stretch of eight straight games as a freshman (Dec. 11, 2012 - Jan. 26, 2013). Harvard is 32-7 in games Chambers reaches five assists.

Grand Theft
Wesley Saunders has recorded 12 steals in the team’s last two games, including a career-high seven at Vermont to match Jeremy Lin ‘10 (vs. George Washington, Dec. 30, 2009) for the most steals by a member of the Crimson under head coach Tommy Amaker.

Saunders currently ranks sixth in the NCAA with 3.0 steals per game (as of games played Dec. 6), while his 141 career steals are good for eighth in program history.

Cleaning the Glass
Steve Moundou-Missi recorded a career-high 17 rebounds at Vermont, the most by a member of the Crimson under head coach Tommy Amaker.

Moundou-Missi has led Harvard in rebounding 29 times in his career, and boasts six career games with at least 10 boards, including two this season.

Double-Trouble
Wesley Saunders recorded three double-doubles in the team’s first four games, becoming the first member of the Crimson to post three double-doubles in a four-game stretch since Keith Wright ‘12 did it in four consecutive games in 2011-12.

Player of the Week
Wesley Saunders was named the Ivy League Player of the Week on Dec. 1 after averaging 25.5 ppg, 6.5 rpg and 3.5 apg in wins over Houston and UMass.

Saunders has earned a total of nine player of the week awards in his career, tying him with Princeton’s Ian Hummer and Brown’s Earl Hunt for the most in Ivy League history. Saunders garnered the honor five times in 2012-13, three times in 2013-14 and has one award so far in 2014-15.

Watch This
Wesley Saunders was named to the Naismith Trophy, Wooden Award and Lou Henson Award watch lists as one of the elite student-athletes in the country.

Saunders is the first Ivy Leaguer to be included on the Naismith Trophy Top 50, while he joined Jeremy Lin ’10 as the second member of the Crimson to be named to the Wooden Award Watch List. Saunders was also included on the 2013 Lou Henson Award Watch List.

Cousy Award
Siyani Chambers was named to the 2015 Bob Cousy Award Watch List, marking the third-straight year that the junior has been tabbed among the top point guards in college basketball. Chambers is one of just three individuals to have been included on the watch list in each of the last three years along with Duke’s Quinn Cook and Gonzaga’s Kevin Pangos.

Last year, Chambers was one of 23 Cousy Award Watch List finalists after being among the original list of 80 watch list candidates along with teammate Brandyn Curry ’13-14.

In the Polls
Harvard was ranked No. 25 in the Associated Press Preseason Top 25, marking the first time Harvard has appeared in the AP’s preseason poll and the first time an Ivy League program has been included since the 1974-75 season.

Harvard also received 47 points in the USA TODAY Preseason Coaches Poll, ranking first among those schools listed in the “also receiving votes” category and coming in just nine points shy of a place in the top 25. This marked the first time since the 1993-94 season that an Ivy program has been at the head of the “also receiving votes” category in the preseason poll.

Moving on Up
Head coach Tommy Amaker continus to move up the ranks of the Ivy League’s winningest coaches. Amaker’s 145 wins at Harvard are the 10th most since the conference began competition in 1956, while his 67 Ivy League victories rank 14th.

Amaker has led Harvard to four-straight Ivy League championships, tying him with former Princeton head coach Butch van Breda Kolff and fomer Penn head coach Chuck Daly for the fourth most Ivy titles won.

On The Sidelines
With 145 victories under his belt, Tommy Amaker ranks second all-time in Harvard coaching annals.

Amaker's .668 win percentage (145-72), meanwhile, ranks first among Harvard coaches who have spent at least two seasons at the helm of the team.