CAMBRIDGE, Mass. - Harvard opens a three-game homestand with a mid-week non-conference contest against Colgate. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. ET with the Ivy-Patriot clash set to air on ESPN+.
What to Know
- The Crimson returns home after its 72-69 road loss at Siena on Wednesday. The trip to New York was Harvard's third in a span of 10 days. The Crimson will not return to The Empire State until it visits Columbia on Jan. 15.
- With the loss to the Saints, Harvard will be looking to avoid its first two-game non-conference losing streak since Nov. 29 and Dec. 1, 2019, when fell to Maryland and USC at the Orlando Invitational.
- Harvard will aim to stop its losing streak at one and recent history is on its side as the Crimson has not endured a losing streak with one of the losses occurring at home since it dropped three in a row during the 2017-18 campaign (Dec. 23, 2017 at George Washington, Dec. 30, 2017 at Minnesota, Jan. 2, 2018 vs. Vermont).
- Harvard has recovered from defeats with resilience over the last couple of seasons. Since a loss on Jan. 12, 2019, the Crimson has responded with 13 wins in the game immediately following its last 15 defeats (13-2).
- Luka Sakota led all players in the Siena contest with a career-high 19 points, which included a personal-best four three-pointers. He also became the first Harvard player not named Noah Kirkwood or Chris Ledlum to lead the team in scoring this year. The junior, along with Ledlum, nearly grabbed victory out of the Saints' hands with a barrage of threes. The duo made a pair of treys in the final 55 seconds, with Sakota's bid for a third as time expired rimming out.
- Ledlum finished the Siena game with 16 points, a team-high six rebounds, two assists, one blocked shot and two steals. He has led or shared the team lead in rebounding four times in five games thus far. Over his last two games, the junior is averaging 16.0 points, 6.5 rebounds, 1.5 assists, 1.0 blocked shots and 2.5 steals in 23.5 minutes.
- Kale Catchings continued his solid play, producing 12 points and four steals in 24 minutes against Siena. For the second consecutive outing, the senior connected on a career-high five buckets and is averaging 13.5 points on 10-of-17 shooting over his last two games.
- Kirkwood has played the passing lanes well, recording at least one steal in four games and having multiple thefts three times. Entering the Colgate game, the senior has 13 steals, including three at Siena, and is nearly halfway to his sophomore season total of 28, which was accomplished in 27 games (2019-20).
- A game after draining a school-record-tying 17 three-pointers against MIT, Harvard knocked down nine more at Siena, giving the Crimson 26 in two games. In its first three contests combined, Harvard made 21 treys.
- Harvard has been an exceptional home team, going 13-1 over the last two seasons ('19-20, '21-22). The Crimson has won nine straight non-league home games and has not suffered a home loss to a non-conference foe since Nov. 9, 2018. Additionally, Harvard is slated to play six of its next seven at Lavietes Pavilion.
- Harvard and Colgate are meeting for the 22nd time in series history with the Raiders owning a slim, 11-10, lead. It will be the first get-together between the schools since the 2008-09 season.
- The Crimson enters the Wednesday-night contest having won five straight encounters against Colgate.
- Dating back to '19-20, Harvard has won 10 of its last 13 (10-3) and is 11-4 in its last 15 outings.
At the Helm
Tommy Amaker, The Thomas G. Stemberg '71 Family Endowed Coach for Harvard Men's Basketball, is in his 15th season at Harvard. He is the winningest coach in Crimson history with 254 victories and has led the program to seven Ivy League titles and eight postseason appearances.
Up Next
Harvard continues its homestand on Saturday when it welcomes Northeastern to Lavietes Pavilion. The Nov. 27 game is set for a 5 p.m. ET start on NESN and ESPN+. Tickets for the contest are available at tickets.gocrimson.com.
