Harvard men’s basketball nips New Hampshire amid growing pains

Harvard and New Hampshire tip off Sunday for what became a win for the former at the latter. (Ray Curren | Ivy Hoops Online)

DURHAM, N.H. – As Tommy Amaker watched one of Harvard’s 13 first-half turnovers fly past his head Sunday afternoon, he resisted the urge to admonish the guilty party. Instead, he kept his gaze on the next play, not even acknowledging the mistake.

That’s not to say Amaker wasn’t angry about it. It was as tough for him to watch as anyone. But Amaker knows this might not be a team like the Harvard squads that went to four straight NCAA Tournaments (winning two games) or even one of his 10 teams in an 11-year span earlier in the century that posted double-digit wins in the Ivy League.

Amaker has a young team, a freshman point guard (and three freshman starters Sunday), and patience is key. He wasn’t able to work out all the flaws at halftime, as the Crimson finished with 19 turnovers, but they did enough down the stretch to gut out a 72-62 win over New Hampshire at Lundholm Gym. That’s a step forward for the Crimson after they lost seven of their last eight contests.

“You have to show the patience that’s necessary to allow for growth moments,” Amaker said. “Hopefully we can learn through winning, which is the best way. But there’s a lot of things we’re going to have to do better, and they’ll be more receptive when they have something to show for it.”

There is plenty of pressure on freshman point guard Robert Hinton, who is not only inexperienced at this level but has to step into the shoes of Malik Mack, who was outstanding as a freshman last season before transferring to Georgetown. The program, which was the one to beat in the Ivy for several years earlier in Amaker’s tenure, has not been to an Ivy League Tournament since 2019 and was picked just sixth this season.

After a season-opening victory over Marist, Harvard has dropped 66 spots in KenPom during its losing streak, although only one of those losses came at home (to UMass, which has not helped Harvard by being woeful since). Even if it is a road win, beating No. 360 New Hampshire won’t help the Crimson (3-for-7) in the computers, but it should help confidence heading into finals.

Harvard has just two Division I nonconference games left before Ivy play begins, hosting a very good Furman team that just beat Princeton, and at Iona, whose pressing style will be tough on the road.

“Both of these teams (Sunday) have been struggling, but particularly for us to do it on the road is a big lift and hopefully a little bit of a confidence booster for our young guys,” Amaker said. “We’re very young, and we’re trying to guide them through some of these gauntlets we’ve been dealing with.”

But Amaker is just looking for that growth, particularly on the offensive end for his 301st-rated offense, that really hasn’t done anything particularly well. Even with the turnovers (27.5%), Harvard finished at 1.04 points per possession, pretty average, but better than previous road games. It was 18-for-30 on two-point shots and 24-for-28 from the free-throw line. Chandler Pigge, the oldest player in the starting lineup as a junior, finished with 14 points, nine rebounds and five assists to lead the way.

Pigge would love to be helped by 6-foot-10 sophomore Luca Ace-Nasteski, but he is still in a walking boot with his return uncertain. That leaves 6-foot-7 sophomore Thomas Batties II – currently second to Pigge in minutes played – to battle other bigs down low, and although he has held his own defensively, it has been tough on the other end (although he is shooting 40% from behind the arc, 0-for-2 Sunday).

Hinton’s learning curve has been steep, but not unexpectedly so. It’s important to not set the bar too high in a league where not many freshmen have starred (Bryce Aiken being a notable exception). Hinton led Harvard with 15 points Sunday and leads them overall at 16 points per game. Two areas where Amaker would like to see improvement is assists (only 1.6 per game) and three-point shooting (just 5-for-19).

“The turnovers were very disappointing,” Amaker said. “We’ve been valuing the ball much better coming into this game and this afternoon, it was probably our worst game of the year for that. But we have to learn.”

Amaker praised senior Louis Lesmond, whose role has been reduced but hit perhaps the two biggest shots of the game Sunday.

“We’ve been talking about being deserving of victory,” Amaker said. “I thought we deserved to win today, I thought especially in the second half with the spirit we showed. We made free throws down the stretch, Louis hit a couple of huge shots that should give him confidence. Sometimes you’re deserving and still don’t get it, but I thought we were deserving today.”

It does seem like a long shot at the moment for Harvard to return to the Ivy League Tournament. But as Hinton grows, so will the Crimson. Don’t be surprised if they surprise some people after the new year.

Leave a Comment