Cagers Right On Line

The Harvard men's basketball team put its reputation on the line last weekend, and as far as the members of the best Harvard hoop team in history are concerned, they'd just as soon keep it there.

Because like it's been all year, the foul line was the difference in Harvard's historic weekend.

The Crimson outscored Princeton by to from the charity stripe in its 60-50 win Friday night, and outscored Penn by 20 from the line in its 77-75 triumph Saturday night.

What all those numbers added up to was the Crimson's first road sweep of Princeton and Penn in its 74-year history. And more important it erased any lingering doubts about the squad's credibility.

Harvard's for real. And from the foul line it's real good.

On the way to its best start ever (10-1 overall, 3-1 Ivy), the Crimson quintet that last year set an NCAA record for free throw percentage (822) has outscored its opponents from the foul line, 231-49.

To get a quick idea of just how important the line has been to the cagers this year, consider that they've been outscored from the floor, 310 262, and they've still managed to win 10 out of 11 games.

The stripe has been responsible for all but one of those 10 triumphs.

Harvard, which has taken 217 more shots from the line than its opponents, takes a trip to the stripe every 1.51. Its opponents take a trip there every 6-02.

If that keeps up, they ought to start stitching the Crimson's first ever Ivy banner.

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As a team, Harvard's shooting an even 800 from the line, but four of Harvard's five starters sport a free throw percentage of at least .840.

Surprisingly, it's junior Arne Duncan--an 867 free throw shooter a year ago--who's keeping Harvard's percentage down this year. The small forward's hitting at only a 673 clip.

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In the record watch department, junior guard Pat Smith, who a year ago set a Crimson record for assists in a season (100) is on target to break his own record. The season is two games from the midway point and he's already recorded 44 assists.

Elsewhere, senior Co-Captain Joe Carrabino, last year's Ivy League Player of the Year and already a leading candidate for that honor this year, needs 190 more points to become Harvard's all-time leading scorer.

Fellow senior Co-Captain Bob Ferry, meanwhile, needs just 92 points to move into third place on the all-time scoring list.

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Remember when Harvard had more trouble on the road than Charles Kuralt?

It wasn't that long ago that the Crimson was mired in a 14-game losing streak away from Briggs Cage But on the heels of that skid--which ended last season with a 79-71 victory at Columbia--Harvard has put together a seven-game winning streak on the road.

Four of those seven wins-six of which are Ivy--have come this year.

The last Harvard loss on the road was the double-overtime doozy (77-74) at Penn a year ago.

Nevertheless, a date with second ranked Duke in Durham, N.C. next month figures to bring an end to this streak real soon.

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Lending credence to the argument that Harvard might get itself in trouble if it doesn't start substituting a little more often is this fact: In the first half this year, Harvard is averaging 32.8 points That's seven more than its opponents.

But while its averaging 35.8 in the second half, that's only 0.3 more than its opponents.

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In the Carrabino department, J. C. has scored in double figures in 34 straight games.

But his 20 points at Princeton marked the first time in 20 games he didn't lead Harvard in scoring. Ironically, he didn't lead the Crimson in scoring Saturday night at Penn, either, though he did contribute 22 points.

Carrabino, Ferry and Duncan, meanwhile, have accounted for 77 percent of Harvard's scoring.

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Not to be outdone by his record-setting performers, eighth-year Crimson Coach Frank Mclaughlin is closing in on victory number 100.

At 94-102 overall, the former Notre Dame assistant needs just six wins to hit the milestone.

Number 100 could come at home against New York University Feb. 12, but a safer bet would be at either Cornell or Columbia the following weekend.

McLaughlin is also closing in on a .500 Ivy record. Currently 50-52 in Ancient Eight action, the Harvard coach should hit the .500 level when Yale and Brown visit town in early February.

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THE NOTEBOOK'S NOTEBOOK: With Friday night's victory, Harvard has now beaten Princeton three consecutive times. The last time Harvard achieved that feat was 1936-37...The Crimson cagers are 18-3 in their last 21 games...The Harvard record for most wins in a season is 20, which happened in 1945-46, when the Crimson went 20-3...Harvard's best shooter from the floor this year? It's Ferry, who's hit on 65-105 for a .619 average. Carrabino's hot on his trail, though, connecting at a .613 clip...Opposing teams have committed 123 more fouls than Harvard.

The Basketball Notebook Appears Every Wednesday in The Harvard Crimson.