It sort of took me aback yesterday when I saw that Harvard was 38th in KenPom and 36th in RPI and we know the Ivy League can be a tough out in the opening rounds, so why not Harvard as a bracket buster? Their two best wins are against St. Joesph's and on a semi-neutral court against Florida State. They do have one head-scratching loss at a bad Fordham team but Cincinnati lost to Presbyterian, so...
They are a defense first team. They are 29th in AdjO and 4th in the nation in scoring defense. They do not foul, averaging only 15.1 pg, 12th best in the nation. Their defensive FTA/FGA is 29.1%, well below the national average. They keep opponents off the glass. Harvard's defensive rebounding % is 26.5%, 15th best. Opponents effective FG% is 44.9%, 27th best in the land. About the only thing they don't excel in, is forcing turnovers.
Offensively, they're, eh. They make their free throws (75%, 25th) and get to the line fairly effectively, they have a FTA/FGA % of 42.7%, 36th in the nation. They're weak on the offensive glass (31.0 offensive rebounding %, 220th) and turn it over above the national average. They do have an effective fg% of 52.5. Overall, Harvard's AdjO is 70th but they are 227th in scoring.
They are lead by SR. F Keith Wright who scores 10.7 ppg, shooting 59.1%. He also adds 8.1 rpg. JR. F, Kyle Casey adds 11 and 5.5 pg, shooting at 51.9%.
Harvard doesn't strike me as dynamic enough to do more than win a game but that doesn't mean they can't upset someone in the 1st round. I'd think a young, inexperienced team would be ripe for the picking or one that doesn't value the ball.
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