The Storyline
The Harvard men’s basketball team will begin the 14-Game Tournament in earnest as it hosts Dartmouth Saturday, Jan. 24 at Lavietes Pavilion. The game can be seen live via the Ivy League Digital Network beginning at 2 p.m.

Harvard defeated Dartmouth when the team’s first met in Hanover on Jan. 10, 57-46. The win was the Crimson’s 11th straight over the Big Green, marking the longest win streak versus an Ivy opponent in program history. Corbin Miller led the way with 16 points as Kenyatta Smith added 11 points and seven rebounds.

What To Watch For
• Harvard boasts a 128-39 (.766) record since 2009-10, good for the 13th highest win percentage in the country in that time (as of games played Jan. 20). This includes a 67-5 record at home and a 61-34 mark away from Lavietes Pavilion (52-29 road, 9-5 neutral).

• Harvard has won nine straight games at Lavietes Pavilion dating back to last year, including seven games this season. The Crimson is 55-3 (.948) at home since 2010-11, representing the second highest home-court win percentage in the NCAA over that time.

• Harvard has won nine straight games in Ivy League play dating back to last year, matching the longest conference win streak in program history. The Crimson has defeated each of its Ancient Eight foes at least once during this streak, with seven of the nine victories coming on the road.

• Harvard has won 11 straight games against Dartmouth, marking the longest win streak versus an Ivy opponent in program history. The Crimson is 13-2 against the Big Green under head coach Tommy Amaker, with a 6-1 record at home and 7-1 mark in Hanover.

• Harvard currently ranks 14th in the NCAA in scoring defense (as of games played Jan. 20), having allowed 56.3 ppg. The Crimson has held 11 of its 15 opponents to fewer than 60 points this season, with four scoring fewer than 50.

• Harvard ranks 19th in the NCAA in blocked shots per game (as of games played Jan. 20) at 5.4 bpg. The program record for blocked shots in a season stands at 4.8 bpg, set by last year’s squad.

• Harvard is 7-3 this season when Wesley Saunders scores at lesat 15 points, and is 32-10 when he has done so in his career. Harvard is 7-1 this season when Siyani Chambers dishes out at least five assists, and is 35-7 when he does so in his career.

Last Time Out
The Harvard men’s basketball team closed out the non-conference portion of its schedule with a 66-57 win Tuesday night at Bryant.

Steve Moundou-Missi scored 15 points, including 11 in the second half, to lead the team to victory. Zena Edosomwan turned in a 13-point, eight-rebound performance while shooting 7-of-10 at the line, and Wesley Saunders added 12 points, six rebounds, three assists and three steals.

The Crimson finished the evening shooting 41.8 percent (23-55) from the field and 17-of-20 from the line. Bryant (8-8, 5-1 NEC), meanwhile, saw its four-game win streak come to an end after being limited to 32.7 percent (17-52) shooting.

Creating a Winning Culture
Harvard has posted a 128-39 (.766) overall record since the start of the 2009-10 season, ranking as the 13th highest win percentage in the country over the last five-plus seasons (as of games played Jan. 20).

Home is Where the Wins Are
Harvard has posted a 56-3 (.949) record at Lavietes Pavilion since the start of the 2010-11 season, ranking the Crimson behind only Kentucky (77-4, .951) for the second highest home-court win percentage in the country over the last four-plus seasons (as of games played Jan. 20).

Harvard is 7-0 at home this season and has won nine 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).

Starting Fast
Harvard began the year with a 10-3 record, marking the fifth time under head coach Tommy Amaker that the Crimson has gone 10-3 or better to start the year; 24-3, 2011-12; 18-3, 2013-14; 15-3, 2010-11; 14-3, 2009-10, 10-3, 2014-15.

Making a Stand
Harvard’s defense is shaping up to be one of the best ever under head coach Tommy Amaker.

• Opponents are scoring just 56.3 ppg, which ranks 14th in the NCAA and stands as the second lowest total in the Amaker era (55.6 ppg in 2011-12).

• Opponents are shooting 38.8 percent from the floor, which ranks 37th in the NCAA and is the lowest opponent field goal percentage in the Amaker era (40.8% in 2013-14).

• Opponents are shooting 31.2 percent from 3-point range, which ranks 75th in the NCAA and stands as the lowest opponent 3-point percentage in the Amaker era (32.1% in 2013-14).

• Harvard is averaging 5.4 bpg, which ranks 19th in the NCAA and is the highest total in the Amaker era (4.8 bpg in 2013-14).

• Harvard is averaging 7.8 spg, which ranks 50th in the NCAA and is the second highest total in the Amaker era (7.9 spg in 2009-10).

• Harvard has held 11 of its 15 opponents to fewer than 60 points, with four opponents scoring fewer than 50. The Crimson has limited opponents to 20 points or fewer in a half four times.

• Harvard limited Saint Rose to just 20.8 percent shooting (11-53), the lowest single-game opponent shooting percentage in the Amaker era.

• The Crimson allowed just 38 points to Saint Rose, marking the fourth time under head coach Tommy Amaker that an opponent has scored fewer than 40 points.

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

Leading the Way
Wesley Saunders led Harvard in scoring in each of the team’s first eight games, becoming the first member of the Crimson to lead the team in scoring in eight straight games under head coach Tommy Amaker.

Saunders has led Harvard in scoring 38 times in his career, with the Crimson owning a 25-13 record in those games.

Born to Assist
Siyani Chambers has led Harvard in assists 50 times in his career, with the Crimson owning a 37-13 record in those games.

Chambers boasts 42 career games with five assist or more, including a stretch of eight straight games as a freshman (Dec. 11, 2012 - Jan. 26, 2013). Harvard is 35-7 in games Chambers reaches five assists.

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 32 times in his career, with the Crimson owning a 25-7 record in those games.

Grand Theft
Wesley Saunders recorded 12 steals against Northeastern and Vermont, 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 32nd in the NCAA with 2.1 steals per game (as of games played Jan. 20), while his 152 career steals are good for eighth in program history.

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

Non-Conference Nonsense
Harvard went 10-4 in non-conference play, marking the seventh straight season that the Crimson has posted a winning record away from the Ivy League. The Crimson is 77-33 in non-conference action since 2008-09, and has registered double-digit victories five times under head coach Tommy Amaker.

Banner Day
With its 84-38 victory over Saint Rose, Harvard set several program bests under head coach Tommy Amaker; largest margin of victory (46 points), most rebounds (49), lowest opponent FG% (20.8).

Watch This
Wesley Saunders was named to the Naismith Trophy, Wooden Award and Lou Henson Award preseason 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.

Moving on Up
Head coach Tommy Amaker continus to move up the ranks of the Ivy League’s winningest coaches. Amaker’s 150 wins at Harvard are the eighth most since the conference began competition in 1956, while his 68 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 150 victories under his belt, Tommy Amaker ranks second all-time in Harvard coaching annals.

Amaker's .667 win percentage (150-75), meanwhile, ranks first among Harvard coaches who have spent at least two seasons at the helm of the team.