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Pregame Shootaround 3.1.13: Harvard visits Princeton in key Ivy League battle

Jonah Travis, Tommy Amaker

Harvard forward Jonah Travis (24), coach Tommy Amaker and others at the bench react during the second half of an NCAA basketball game against Boston College in Boston, Tuesday, Dec. 4, 2012. Harvard won 79-63. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola)

AP

Game of the Night: Harvard at Princeton (7:00 p.m. on ESPNU)

Not much doubt as to which game is the best on Friday’s eight-game slate, and with a win at Jadwin Gym the Crimson would take a two-game lead in the loss column. In their 69-57 win on February 16 Harvard shot 47.9% from the field, and the stars of that game weren’t point guard Siyani Chambers or forward Wesley Saunders either.

Kenyatta Smith and Steve Moundou-Missi tallied 14 points and seven rebounds apiece, with Smith supplementing his effort with six blocked shots and Moundou-Missi dishing out four assists. With Ian Hummer and Denton Koon leading the way inside for Princeton, Smith and Moundou-Missi will need to produce if Harvard is to win at Jadwin.

Mid-Major Matchup of the Night: Loyola (MD) at Iona (7:00 p.m. on ESPN2)

The Gaels have lost six of their last seven games, with each of the defeats coming by three points or less. So what better time for Tim Cluess’ team to turn its late-game luck around than against a Greyhound squad that’s a win away from moving into a tie for first in the MAAC? These are two of the conference’s deeper teams, with guards Lamont Jones and Sean Armand and forward David Laury III leading the way for Iona.

Loyola forward Erik Etherly has been one of the MAAC’s best players and the same can be said for guard Dylon Cormier. Styles make fights and the saying used in boxing rings true in this matchup, as Iona wants to run while Loyola is at its best in a half-court affair. The Gaels were the more efficient team in the first meeting despite the tempo being closer to what Loyola would prefer, shooting 48.1% and averaging nearly 1.2 points/possession in their 79-71 win on January 27.

Five Things to Watch For

1) Another contest with major implications on seeding for the MAAC tournament is Fairfield’s visit to Manhattan. The Stags (9-7) are a game ahead of the Jaspers (8-8) in sixth place, and with the bottom four teams having to play in the first round of the 10-team tournament finishing sixth is critical. In the 10-team era (since 1998) only once has a team playing in the first round gone on to win the MAAC tournament: Siena in 2002.

2) The winner of the game between Marist and Siena can finish no worse than ninth in the MAAC standings, and there’s a strong possibility that the Red Foxes and Saints will meet again in seven days in Springfield. It’s also Senior Night for Siena forward O.D. Anosike, who became the third player in school history to grab at least 1,000 rebounds.

3) Six teams are separated by just two games in the middle of the Atlantic Sun standings, and two of those teams meet tonight when USC Upstate visits East Tennessee State. Both enter the game 8-9 in conference play but the Spartans have lost six of their last seven.

4) The Ivy League race is a two-team affair but there are five other teams with hopes of finishing .500 or better in league play. Brown (4-6) visits Cornell (5-5) in one of the match-ups that will determine how the middle and lower portions of the standings shake out.

5) Looking for an Ivy spoiler? That could be Penn (4-5), who still has games against both Harvard (Saturday) and Princeton (March 12) remaining on the schedule. The Quakers host Dartmouth tonight at the Palestra.

Other Notable Games

Brown at Cornell (7:00 p.m.)
USC Upstate at East Tennessee State (7:00 p.m.; ESPN3)
Fairfield at Manhattan (9:00 p.m.; ESPNU)

Raphielle also writes for the NBE Basketball Report and can be followed on Twitter at @raphiellej.