Harvard and March Madness

Harvard has ended a very long drought. They’ll be competing in March Madness this year (photo credit: Chensiyuan).

Harvard’s in the Tourney, baby. Back in December of 2011, we predicted that no Ivy League college would be able to compete with the Harvard men’s basketball team this season. We were somewhat wrong. They didn’t blow away the competition. But they did secure their first outright (they don’t share it with any other Ivy League team) title in the university’s long history. That means that Harvard University will be in March Madness this month — they’ll be competing in the Big Dance for the first time since 1946! The drought is officially over!

Last year, Harvard clinched a share of the Ivy League title but Princeton beat them by a point in the one-game playoff to earn the right to represent the Ivy League in the NCAA Tournament. It was a grueling finish for the Crimson so, this year, they didn’t leave anything to chance! Led by Coach Tommy Amaker, his squad puts to an end 112 years (you read that right) of men’s basketball mediocrity. With a 26-4 finish on the year and a berth in the NCAA Tournament, this Harvard team did what no Harvard team had done before. Not even Jeremy Lin can claim the feat of leading Harvard into March Madness.

Do you think the Harvard men’s basketball team will be able to pull off an upset in Round 1? Do you think they’ll get a good seed? Do they stand a chance at making it to the Sweet 16? Remember the Ivy League basketball teams, while Division I, don’t offer athletic scholarships. And team members need to meet the Ivy League Academic Index. So when they face off against a university like Duke, UNC, and Syracuse, know that the playing field isn’t exactly even. But that doesn’t mean Harvard can’t win. Our bet’s on an upset. A big one.