The Storyline
Collegiate athletics’ oldest rivals will meet at the famed Palestra with an NCAA tournament berth on the line as the Harvard men’s basketball team and Yale square off in a one-game playoff Saturday, March 14. Tipoff is scheduled for 4 p.m. live on the American Sports Network and ESPN3, with a pregame show leading into the game beginning at 3:30 p.m.

The Crimson and Bulldogs finished the 14-Game Tournament in a tie for first place after Harvard defeated Brown on Saturday, 72-62, and Yale fell at Dartmouth, 59-58. The Ivy League co-champions will now face one another for a third time this season with the winner earning the conference’s automatic bid to the Big Dance. Harvard took the first meeting between the teams in New Haven, 52-50, before the Bulldogs prevailed in Cambridge, 62-52.

What To Watch For
• Saturday’s contest will mark the ninth playoff in Ivy League history and first since Princeton defeated Harvard on Doug Davis’ buzzer beater in 2011, 63-62. Harvard will be making its second Ivy League Playoff appearance while Yale will be making its third (1963, 2002).

• Harvard has won five straight Ivy League championships, becoming just the second program in Ancient Eight history to win at least five successive titles (Penn 1970-75, 1978-82). This also marks the fifth Ivy League championship in Yale history, with its last coming in 2002 (share with Penn and Princeton).

• Harvard is one of three programs in the country with an active streak of at least five consecutive regular season championships; Kansas (11 straight Big 12 titles), Murray State (6 straight Ohio Valley titles).

• The Crimson has made three-straight NCAA tournament appearances and with a win on Saturday will become the first Ivy League squad to reach the Big Dance in four-straight years since Princeton did so from 1989-92. Yale has also appeared in three NCAA tournaments, with its last coming in 1962.

• With a 21-7 record, Harvard has reached the 20-win plateau for a sixth-straight season, matching Penn (1969-75) for the longest streak of 20-win seasons in Ivy League history.

• Harvard boasts a 138-42 (.767) record since 2009-10, good for the 11th highest win percentage in the country in that time (as of games played March 10). This includes a 72-7 record at home and a 66-35 mark away from Lavietes Pavilion (57-30 road, 9-5 neutral).

• The Crimson is 61-5 (.924) at home since 2010-11, representing the fifth highest home-court win percentage in the NCAA over that time (as of games played March 10).

Last Time Out
The Harvard men’s basketball team did its part with a 72-62 win over Brown Saturday night at Lavietes Pavilion and Dartmouth returned the favor, upsetting Yale 59-58 to give the Crimson a share of the Ivy League championship and force a one-game playoff to decide the Ancient Eight’s bid to the NCAA tournament.

Siyani Chambers scored a team-high 15 points and dished off four assists, with his two free throws with 11.1 seconds remaining putting him over 1,000 points for his career. Wesley Saunders notched his sixth double-double of the season with 12 points and 10 assists, while senior big men Steve Moundou-Missi (8 pts., 14 rebs.), Kenyatta Smith (12 pts., 3 rebs.) and Jonah Travis (12 pts., 9 rebs.) combined for 32 points and 26 boards.

Creating a Winning Culture
Harvard has posted a 138-42 (.767) overall record since the start of the 2009-10 season, ranking as the 11th highest win percentage in the country over the last five-plus seasons (as of games played March 10).

Home is Where the Wins Are
Harvard has posted a 61-5 (.924) record at Lavietes Pavilion since the start of the 2010-11 season, representing the fifth highest home-court win percentage in the country over the last four-plus seasons (as of games played March 10).

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).

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 57.5 ppg, which ranks 12th in the NCAA and stands as the second lowest total in the Amaker era (55.6 ppg in 2011-12).

• Opponents are shooting 39.9 percent from the floor, which ranks 49th in the NCAA and is the lowest opponent field goal percentage in the Amaker era (40.8% in 2013-14).

• Opponents are shooting 32.8 percent from 3-point range, which ranks 104th in the NCAA and stands as the second lowest opponent 3-point percentage in the Amaker era (32.1% in 2013-14).

• Harvard is averaging 4.7 bpg, which ranks 47th in the NCAA and is the second-highest total in the Amaker era (4.8 bpg in 2013-14).

• Harvard is averaging 7.1 spg, which ranks 69th in the NCAA and is the second highest total in the Amaker era (7.9 spg in 2009-10).

• Harvard has held 17 of its 28 opponents to fewer than 60 points, with eight opponents scoring 50 points or less. The Crimson has limited opponents to 20 points or fewer in a half eight times.

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

• Harvard limited Saint Rose and Cornell to just 11 field goals, the lowest single-game total by an opponent in the Amaker era.

• The Crimson allowed just 38 points to Saint Rose and Penn, marking the fourth and fifth times under head coach Tommy Amaker that an opponent has scored fewer than 40 points (Cornell was held to exactly 40 points).

• Penn’s 38 points scored on Jan. 31 were the fewest Harvard has given up to a Quaker squad since taking a 58-31 victory on March 11, 1942. Additionally, it marked just the sixth time since the Ivy League’s formation prior to the 1956-57 season that Penn had been held to fewer than 40 points.

• Yale managed just 11 first half points on Feb. 7, shooting 3-of-22 from the field. The Bulldogs’ 11 points were the fewest allowed in any half by the Crimson under head coach Tommy Amaker, while the three made field goals represented the fewest field goals allowed in a half under Amaker.

Down But Not Out
Harvard became the first Ivy program to win at least a share of the conference title after beginning 1-1 since Penn did so during the 2001-02 season. The Quakers actually began that year’s conference slate with a 2-3 record before running the table and earning a three-way share of the Ancient Eight crown with Princeton and Yale.

Now in its 59th season of play, the Ivy League has crowned 15 champions that have begun conference play either 0-1 or 1-1, or roughly one every four years.

Conference Honors
Steve Moundou-Missi was voted as the Ivy League Defensive Player of the Year, becoming the first Crimson student-athlete to earn the award.

Wesley Saunders was a unanimous selection to the All-Ivy League first team, joining Don Flemming ’82 as only the second student-athlete in program history to be named to the All-Ivy League first team in three straight years.

Additionally, Moundou-Missi and Siyani Chambers were named to the All-Ivy League second team, marking the third All-Ivy honor for both.

All-District
Wesley Saunders has been named to the USBWA All-District I team, marking the third straight season he has received the accolade. Saunders has also been included on the NABC All-District 13 first team each of the last two years, with this season’s honorees yet to be announced.

Points Responsible For
It isn’t always how many points a player scores, but how many points he is responsible for that demonstrates his true importance to the team. Wesley Saunders has scored or assisted on 715 points this season, representing 39.5 percent of the team’s offense. Siyani Chambers, meanwhile, has been responsible for 555 points, or 30.7 percent.

Player of the Week
Wesley Saunders was named Ivy League Player of the Week on Feb. 23 for the third time this season and an Ivy League record 11th time in his career. The previous record of nine career Player of the Week awards was shared by Brown’s Earl Hunt (2000-03) and Princeton’s Ian Hummer (2009-13).

Saunders garnered the honor five times in 2012-13, three times in 2013-14 and has three awards in 2014-15.

Going Off
Wesley Saunders scored a career-high 33 points at Brown, representing the 14th-highest single-game total in program history and the most points scored under head coach Tommy Amaker.

Jeremy Lin ’10 is the only other member of the Crimson to have scored at least 30 points under Amaker, notching 30 at UConn on Dec. 6, 2009.

All-Around Effort
Wesley Saunders’ full arsenal of skills were on display against Princeton as the senior led the Crimson in points (23), rebounds (9), assists (3) and steals (4), marking the second time this season (at Brown) and third time in his career he has led Harvard in all four categories.

Jeremy Lin ’10 is the only other student-athlete to accomplish the feat under head coach Tommy Amaker, having done so 10 times.

Stuffing the Stat Sheet
Wesley Saunders, the 2014 Ivy League Player of the Year, currently ranks among the Ancient Eight’s top 10 in eight 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 46 times in his career, with the Crimson owning a 31-15 record in those games.

Born to Assist
Siyani Chambers has led Harvard in assists 56 times in his career, with the Crimson owning a 41-15 record in those games.

Chambers boasts 47 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 39-8 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 39 times in his career, with the Crimson owning a 30-9 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 51st in the NCAA with 1.9 steals per game (as of games played March 10), while his 173 career steals are good for fourth 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.

Saunders has turned in six double-doubles on the year and touts seven for his career. Steve Moundou-Missi, meanwhile, has notched five this season and boasts eight for his career.

Pop-A-Shot
Corbin Miller made at least one 3-point field goal in each of Harvard’s first 23 games, good for the fourth longest streak in program history. The program record for consecutive games with a 3-pointer stands at 29 games and was set by Jim Goffredo ’07.

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 160 wins at Harvard are the seventh most since the conference began competition in 1956, while his 78 Ivy League victories have tied him with former Cornell head coach Steve Donahue (2000-10) for 10th place in conference history.

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 160 victories under his belt, Tommy Amaker ranks second all-time in Harvard coaching annals.

Amaker's .672 win percentage (160-78), meanwhile, ranks first among Harvard coaches who have spent at least two seasons at the helm of the team.