Predictions:

Yale 72, Dartmouth 55

Dartmouth is undeniably the worst squad in the Ancient Eight. Dave Faucher is resigning not because he needs more of a challenge and winning has gotten old — it is because his team is no good.

It has the second longest losing streak in the nation and four of its nine Ivy losses have been by 20 or more points. Simply put, a loss to this squad would be a disgrace.

Yale 69, Harvard 62

If Yale isn’t fired up for a balls-to-the-wall defensive effort in this one, they deserve the season they have had. This is the team that essentially ended the season, and this is Harvard. It may not be The Game, but this rivalry still has meaning.

The Crimson is not as bad as their record, so no one can expect a blowout. Still, the same could be said about Yale, who is still one of the most talented teams in the Ivy League.

Dartmouth

Backcourt

Guard Leon Pattman is still good — he is the seventh best scorer in Ivy League play. He is also still the only double-digit scorer on the Big Green squad.

Neither guard Mike McLaren nor point guard Steven Callahan are particularly impressive. Callahan can certainly make a couple of threes, but he is not Jeff Schiffner or Cody Toppert.

EDGE: Yale

Frontcourt

David Gardner is a good scoring option and an extremely good passer for a center. Gardner and forward Calvin Arnold both do a decent job on the boards, but Arnold is prone to foul difficulties. Both Arnold and backup Scott Klingbeil are good shot blockers; neither one does much shooting on the other end.

EDGE: Yale

Harvard

Backcourt

Shooting guard Kevin Rogus and swingman Jason Norman are both among the top 20 scorers in the Ivies with 11.2 and 11.6 points per game, respectively. Rogus torched Yale for 22 points on six of 10 from deep in the loss on Feb. 14 that essentially eliminated Yale’s chances for an Ancient Eight title. He is also one of only eight players in the conference to average more than two three-pointers per game.

Point guard Michael Beal is an excellent rebounder — forward Paul Vitelli ’04 is the only Eli who has secured more caroms per game than Beal. The problem is that Beal does not do the things a point guard is supposed to do. He turns the ball over way too much and he cannot shoot from outside. Harvard still does not have a single player with more assists than he has turnovers.

Point guard Alex Gamboa ’05 and shooting guard Edwin Draughan ’05 scored 12 and 21 points, respectively, in the last meeting of these two teams.

EDGE: Yale

Frontcourt

Though center Brian Cusworth certainly would have helped, Matt Stehle has matured very nicely for the Cantabs. Stehle leads the league in blocked shots and rebounding, and he is eighth in scoring. He has, however, fouled out six times this season.

Graham Beatty also gets his share of infractions, having fouled out five times on the year. Beatty gets just over four boards per game and scores only slightly more points than that.

The tallest player on the Harvard starting five is 6 feet 8 inches tall. There is no question that Yale’s Dominick Martin ’05, Justin Simon ’04, Sam Kaplan ’07 and Paul Vitelli ’04 are far more talented than the Crimson players. In the Eli loss to Harvard, however, Martin scored six and Simon was shutout. Only Kaplan and Vitelli had par to above-par performances.

After that loss, captain Matt Minoff ’04 said Elis owed the Cantabs a payback when they came to New Haven — which is likely what Harvard will get. But not if the Bulldog centers allow the scrappy, but less talented, Stehle and Beatty duo to outwork them.

EDGE: Yale

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