CAMBRIDGE, Mass. - Harvard returns from the Thanksgiving holiday break to play host to Northeastern. The Crimson will tip-off vs. the Huskies at 5 p.m. ET on NESN and ESPN+.
What to Know
- The Crimson is in the midst of a three-game homestand. The home stretch is a welcomed breather from the road as Harvard played three of its first five games on the road.
- Harvard returns to action after a thrilling 89-84 overtime victory over Colgate on Wednesday. The Crimson rallied from a 16-point first-half deficit and required Luka Sakota to drain a three-pointer near mid-court to force the extra session. Harvard outscored the Raiders, 13-8, in OT to secure the third-largest comeback of the Tommy Amaker era.
- The Crimson trailed for 38 minutes, 38 seconds of the game vs. Colgate, which shot 50 percent from the field, including 55.6 percent in the second half. Harvard, however, connected on 51.5 percent of its attempts in the second half and converted 10-of-16 from three (.625) to make it all square after 40 minutes.
- Sakota's game-tying, OT-forcing three marked his second of '21-22 after he first accomplished the feat at Iona. Two days prior to Colgate, the junior found himself in a similar position at Siena, with a three to tie as time expired, but the attempt was off the mark.
- With the win over Colgate, Harvard is 14-2 after its last 16 losses and has not dropped consecutive non-conference games since Nov. 29 and Dec. 1, 2019.
- Sakota led Harvard in scoring (tied with Noah Kirkwood) for the second straight game, finishing with 17 points in a career-high 41 minutes vs. Colgate. In his last two outings, Sakota is averaging 18.0 points on 13-of-23 shooting (.565), including 7-for-12 from three (.583).
- Kirkwood continued his do-it-all play against the Raiders, posting a line of 17 points, five rebounds, two assists and three steals. The senior has multiple thefts four times in '21-22, and has 16 steals on the year (2.7 spg). Kirkwood has also made 10 straight free throws entering the Northeastern contest. He has not missed since 4:29 of the second half at Iona.
- Ledlum put up 16 points and a game-high 12 rebounds against Colgate to record his second double-double of the season. The junior connected on a personal-best four triples for a team that made 16, just one home game after it tied the school record (17, vs. MIT).
- Over its last three outings, Harvard has made 42 three-pointers (42-85; .494), double the amount it had in its first three games (21-70; .300).
- Contributing to Harvard's recent uptick in threes was the play of Spencer Freedman and Louis Lesmond off the bench vs. Colgate. Freedman was a catalyst in the game (12 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals), knocking down one of his two treys, and scoring five points total, during the Crimson's 12-3 run to end the first half. Lesmond, meanwhile, was 3-for-6 from behind the arc en route to a career-high 15 points in 32 minutes.
- Harvard is 14-1 at home over the last two seasons. The Crimson has won 10 straight non-league home games and has not suffered a home loss to a non-conference foe since Nov. 9, 2018.
- Harvard and Northeastern are meeting for the eighth time in nine years, with the one exception being 2020-21 (COVID-19 pandemic).
- Harvard leads the all-time series with the Huskies, 38-18, but has not posted a victory since an 86-80 decision in 2016-17.
- Dating back to '19-20, Harvard has won 11 of its last 14 (11-3) and is 12-4 in its last 16 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 255 victories and has led the program to seven Ivy League titles and eight postseason appearances.
Up Next
Harvard closes its three-game homestand on Wednesday, Dec. 1, when it welcomes Rhode Island to Lavietes Pavilion. Game time is set for 7 p.m. ET and the contest will air on ESPN+. Tickets are available at tickets.gocrimson.com.
