Friday, November 14, 2014

Game Preview: MIT vs. Harvard (Exhibition)

MIT vs. Harvard 
Friday, Lavieties Pavilion - Cambridge, MA 7:00pm

Live Stats | Video




Probable Starters (2013-2014 stats):
MIT (0-0, 0-0) Ht. PPG RPG Harvard (0-0, 0-0) Ht. PPG RPG
Matt Redfield 6'8" 13.0 8.5 Evan Cummins 6'8" 2.8 1.9
Andrew Acker 6'8" 11.8 9.6 Jonah Travis 6'6" 4.6 3.1
Dennis Levene 6'8" 4.7 4.4 Steve Moundou-Missi 6'7" 10.5 6.0
Justin Pedley 6'6" 11.6 1.7 Wesley Saunders  6'5" 14.2 4.6 
Ryan Frankel 5'11" 8.1 3.2 apg Siyani Chambers 6'0" 11.1 4.6 apg

A Look at Harvard:
Recent Performance
Harvard has won four straight Ivy League championships and have made three consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances. The Crimson beat 5th-seeded Cincinnati to reach the 3rd round of the 2014 NCAA Division I Tournament, finishing the season 27-5. Harvard is ranked #25 in the AP Division I poll.

Last Time Out
In a very rough preseason tune-up versus Harvard last season, MIT shot just 27.9% from the field and 13.3% from three while committing 29 turnovers, handing Harvard the 79-37 victory. Matt Redfield led the Engineers with 14 points and 9 rebounds.

X's & O's
Harvard, one of the best Division I teams in the nation, is an extremely skilled and athletic group on both the offensive and defensive ends.

On offense Harvard will push the ball in transition, looking to get to the basket or find the open three. In the half-court they will go into a 3-out-2-in or 4-around-1 set with Moundou-Missi down low, with the guards cutting or spotting up for the outside look after a dump in. All of Harvard's guards are very good at penetrating and shooting, and will utilize lots of screens with the bigs to initiate their offense.

On defense the Crimson implement a half-court man and an extended man-to-man defense. They will apply extensive pressure, forcing the opponents offense to begin in spots they are not comfortable with.