As Brian noted, Harvard sits comfortably on the 12-line after clinching the Ivy League title last night. They'll be a trendy pick to win a game in two weeks so I was hesitant to look at them but the truth is, it won't necessarily be an upset if they would win a game as a 12.
They currently sit 32nd overall in KenPom, 81st on defense overall and 22nd on offense overall. Other possible bracket busters will include Vermont, UWGB & Boston University. Harvard owns victories over all of them. They also defeated Boston College. One of their losses was a 5-pt loss at UConn. Their victory last night at Yale avenged their only loss in conference play.
They're stronger on the defensive side of the ball as they rely on less and more efficient possessions on offense. They hold opponents to a 45.8% defensive fg%, 43rd in the nation. Teams shoot 31.7% from deep, ranking 50th. They do a good job forcing turnovers. Opponents turn it over 21.9% of the time, 19th overall. They're okay on the glass defensively. Opponent offensive rebounding % is 29%. That's 65th best. SR. F Kyle Casey has a defensive rebounding % of 23.2%, that's 64th best overall.
On offense, they have an effective fg% of 52.4%, 55th best. They shoot 39% from deep which is 19th best but they only get 24% of their points that way. That's 242nd in the land. Point is, if they need them, they do have an ability to make them but certainly don't rely on them. They're average at protecting the ball with a turnover % of 18.1%. that's 141st in the nation. Likewise, they're 132nd in the nation in offensive rebounding %, 32.5%.
They're led by JR. swingman, Wesley Saunders. Saunders scored 16ppg last season and is averaging about 14ppg this season. He also gets 4.6rpg and 3.9apg. Saundrs was awful at the line last night, only making 1-8 but that's not ordinary for him (The team was 14-32 and should have blown Yale out by more than 12). I mentioned Kyle Casey before. He gets 10 & 6 for the Crimson. Minnesota native and sophomore Siyani Chambers shoots 39% from deep and is one of their volume shooters from deep. Overall, he scores 11.2ppg and 4.7 dimes a game. Senior G Laurent Rivard is another threat from deep. His 3pt % is 42%.
Give credit to Tommy Amaker and the job he has done at Harvard. he was never able to get over the hump at Michigan but has done a masterful job with the Crimson. Prior to his arrival, Harvard hadn't been to the NCAA tournament since 1946 and they've now made 3 straight appearances and have taken the role of Penn as Ivy League master and opponent to be feared in the NCAAs.
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