CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Harvard University men's basketball plays at Brown University on Friday, Mar. 1 at 7:00 p.m. (ESPN+) at the Pizzitola Sports Center in Providence, Rhode Island and at Yale University on Saturday, Mar. 2 at 7:00 p.m. (ESPN+) at John J. Lee Amphitheater in New Haven, Connecticut as the Crimson plays its final back-to-back of the regular season.

What to Know

• Entering the weekend, Harvard sits in a tie for fourth place in the Ivy League standings with a 5-6 conference mark alongside Brown. The Crimson fell to the Bears, 74-72, earlier this season. Cornell, Yale, and Princeton have all clinched spots in the Ivy League Tournament.
• In the Crimson's regular season home finale on Senior Night, senior forward Justice Ajogbor posted a double-double on career highs in points (16) and rebounds (13), sophomore forward Chisom Okpara scored a team-high 20 points, and Harvard topped Penn on Feb. 24 at Lavietes Pavilion.
• First-year guard Malik Mack – a candidate for the Lou Henson Award as the nation's top mid-major player – has established himself as one of the country's top first-year student-athletes. He stands as the nation's second-leading scorer among first-years at 17.9 points per game and as one of just two first-years in the top 100. Overall, he ranks 84^th in the NCAA in scoring and 71^st in assists per game (4.7). His 32-point effort at UMass (Nov. 17) stands in a tie for the sixth-highest scoring output from a first-year in a game against another Division I institution this season in the nation.
• Mack has averaged 17.9 points, 4.7 assists, and 3.8 rebounds per game, while shooting 36.4 percent from 3-point distance. He ranks first in the Ivy League in assists per game, third in points per game, and second in free throws made (97). In Ivy only play, he leads the conference with 4.7 assists per game. Mack has scored in double figures in 19 of 21 games played this season, netted 20 or more points seven times, notched 25 or more points three times, and eclipsed 30 points once. He has dished out five or more assists in each of 11 games in 2023-24.
• Mack has gained Ivy League Rookie of the Week eight times this season, tying the Ivy League record and setting the program mark for awards in a single season. He earned the award in each of the first four weeks of the season (Nov. 13, Nov. 20, Nov. 27, Dec. 4) and has captured the honors four times in Ivy play (Jan. 16, Jan. 22, Feb. 5, Feb. 12).
• Mack poured in a career-high 32 points at Massachusetts (Nov. 17) and scored 27 points on 8-of-16 field goals and 8-of-10 free throws against Indiana (Nov. 26). Mack went for 26 points on 8-of-10 field goals and 6-of-6 free throws vs. American (Nov. 29). He dropped 22 points on 9-of-11 field goals and 4-of-5 3-pointers vs. Northeastern (Nov. 14). Mack posted 21 points and seven assists at Columbia (Feb. 17). He tallied 20 points and eight assists at Rice (Nov. 10) and 20 points and six assists vs. Yale (Jan. 27). He notched 19 points vs. Cornell (Feb. 3), 18 points and eight assists vs. Columbia (Feb. 2), and 18 points and six assists at Boston College (Nov. 18). He compiled 18 points vs. Brown (Jan. 15) and vs. Dartmouth (Feb. 10).
• Sophomore forward Chisom Okpara has tallied 16.5 points and 5.0 rebounds per game on the year, while shooting 47.9 percent from the field. He ranks fifth in the Ivy League in points per game and first in free throws made (101). He has scored in double figures 21 times in 23 games played and reached the 20-point plateau seven times this season. He dropped a career-high 26 points vs. Holy Cross after scoring 23 points vs. American (Nov. 29). Okpara poured in 22 points vs. Albany (Jan. 2), 21 points at Colgate (Nov. 22) and 20 points vs. Penn (Feb. 24), vs. Brown (Jan. 15), and at Boston College (Nov. 18). He tallied 19 points and nine boards at Loyola Chicago (Dec. 2), netted 19 points at Columbia (Feb. 17), and scored 18 points at Princeton (Jan. 6) and at Penn (Jan. 20).
• Junior guard Louis Lesmond has averaged 9.5 points and 2.9 rebounds per game on the year, while shooting 36.5 percent from 3-point distance. He ranks third in the Ivy League in total 3-pointers made (54) and fifth in 3-pointers per game (2.3). Lesmond has made three or more 3-pointers in each of 11 games this year and has scored in double figures 12 times. Lesmond netted a career-high 17 points and five made 3-popinters at Penn (Jan. 20) after scoring 16 points vs. Albany (Jan. 2). He notched 14 points and made 4-of-7 3-pointers at UMass (Nov. 17) and scored 14 points and hit 4-of-8 triples vs. Dartmouth (Feb. 10).
• Sophomore guard Chandler Piggé has posted 8.8 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 1.7 assists per game, while shooting 82.5 percent on free throws. In Ivy only play, he stands fourth in the league in steals per game (1.4), eighth in field goal percentage (52.6), and 10^th in rebounds per game (5.7). He has scored in double figures in each of eight games. Piggé posted his first collegiate double-double on 15 points and 11 rebounds at Massachusetts (Nov. 17). He dropped a career-high 23 points on 8-of-12 field goals and 6-of-6 free throws with five rebounds at Rice (Nov. 10). He notched 14 points vs. Army (Dec. 8), 13 points vs. Yale (Jan. 27) and at Princeton (Jan. 6), and 12 points vs. Northeastern (Nov. 14). Piggé totaled 11 points, five rebounds, five steals, and four assists vs. Albany (Jan. 2).
• Senior forward Justice Ajogbor – who missed seven games from Nov. 29 to Jan. 6 due to injury – has registered 8.5 points, 6.8 rebounds, and 2.6 blocks per game on the year, while shooting 56.9 percent from the field. He ranks first in the Ancient Eight in blocks per game, sixth in rebounds per game, and sixth in field goal percentage. In Ivy only play, he leads the league in blocks per game (2.5) and stands second in field goal percentage (59.6). He has posted three or more blocks in each of 10 games this year. Ajogbor totaled career highs in points (16) and rebounds (13) vs. Penn (Feb. 24) He scored 15 points at Colgate (Nov. 22) and posted a double-double on 13 points, 11 rebounds, and six blocks at Columbia (Feb. 17). Ajogbor notched 12 points on 6-of-6 shooting with six rebounds at Rice (Nov. 10) before grabbing a career-high 11 rebounds vs. Northeastern (Nov. 14). He posted his first collegiate double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds against UMass Boston (Nov. 6).
• First-year forward Thomas Batties II has registered 6.8 points and 4.2 rebounds per game. Batties II has totaled three double-doubles on the year and won Ivy League Rookie of the Week on Jan. 2. He notched back-to-back double-doubles with 11 points and 10 rebounds against both Iona (Dec. 30) and Albany (Jan. 2). He posted another double-double on 10 points and 10 rebounds against Indiana (Nov. 26). He scored a team-high 16 points vs. UMass Boston (Nov. 6), netted 15 points vs. Brown (Jan. 15), and added 13 points vs. Dartmouth (Feb. 10).
• Junior guard Tyler Simon has added 4.1 points per game on the year, while shooting 35.7 percent from 3-point distance and 85.0 percent on free throws. Simon posted career highs in points (13) and rebounds (seven) in his first collegiate start vs. Princeton (Feb. 23). He made 4-of-7 3-pointers for 12 points vs. Holy Cross (Dec. 21).
• Junior guard Denham Wojcik has averaged 2.3 points, 2.2 assists, and 1.9 rebounds per game on the year. He netted a career-high eight points at Colgate (Nov. 22). Wojcik distributed a career-high six assists vs. Iona (Dec. 30) and has dished out five assists twice this season – vs. Northeastern (Nov. 14) and Holy Cross (Dec. 21).
• First-year forward Luca Ace-Nasteski has compiled 2.4 points and 3.2 rebounds per game. He notched 11 points in his collegiate debut vs. UMass Boston (Nov. 6). He went for eight points and six boards vs. Albany (Jan. 2).
• As a team, Harvard ranks 32^nd in the NCAA in fewest fouls per game (15.0), 73^rd in blocks per game (4.2), and 84^th in field goal percentage defense (42.1). In the Ivy rankings, the Crimson stands second in blocks per game (4.21) and field goal percentage defense (42.1). In Ivy only play, the team ranks second in blocks per game (4.00) and field goal percentage defense (43.1) and third in steals per game (6.27).
• Harvard holds a 106-78 edge in the all-time series with Brown. The two teams have split the season series in each of the last two years. The Crimson won 19 in a row in the series from 2010-19 before the Bears took the second meeting in 2018-19.
• Harvard trails the all-time series with Yale, 84-124. Under Tommy Amaker – The Thomas G. Stemberg '71 Family Endowed Coach for Harvard Men's Basketball – the Crimson has posted a 19-15 record against the Bulldogs.

Next Up

Harvard plays at Dartmouth on Tuesday, Mar. 5 at 7:00 p.m. (ESPN+) in its regular season finale.