Harvard earns another “upset,”
Win vs. Cincinnati no upset to Crimson
SPOKANE, WASH. There was a celebration. At the final buzzer, Siyani Chambers leaped into the arms of teammate Brandyn Curry. And Kyle Casey described the moment — Harvard 61, Cincinnati 57 — as “pure ecstasy.”
But an instant later, there was consolation. Casey and Chambers were kneeling beside an opponent, Bearcats senior forward Justin Jackson, who had crumpled to the ground, crying. And then the Crimson players headed for the locker room, happy but nonchalant after their victory.
Call it an upset if you must, but the Crimson won’t.
“It was just Harvard beating Cincinnati. That’s what we call it,” Steve Moundou-Missi said after the 12th-seeded Crimson’s win against a No. 5-seeded team in the first of four second-round games Thursday at Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena. But he admitted: “We definitely want to make a statement that we can compete at the national level. We showed up today and did a good job. And now we get to move on.”
Harvard will play the East Region’s No. 4 seed, Michigan State, a 93-78 winner against Delaware, in the third round Saturday. Adreian Payne scored a careerhigh 41 points for the Spartans, shooting 10-for-15 from the field, including 4-for-5 on threes.
It was just the second victory in the NCAA tournament for Harvard, but the way the aftermath contrasted with the scene following another upset Thursday on the same court — West Region No. 12 seed North Dakota State celebrating wildly after beating No. 5 seed Oklahoma 8075 in overtime — was telling.
If there wasn’t the reverberation of Harvard’s achievement a year ago in stunning No. 3 seed New Mexico, it’s perhaps because Cincinnati was a flawed team.
But it’s probably time to reas- sess the evaluation of Harvard’s program. The Ivy League has notched victories in the NCAA tournament in consecutive years for the first time since 1983-84, and Tommy Amaker has built a program that doesn’t much resemble the stereotype.
His players are smart, yes. And confident: “We go to the best university in the world,” Casey said. But Harvard is constructed for more than, as he called it, a “battle of the brainiacs.”
These kids dunk — they had several more than Cincinnati. They defended almost as well as the Bearcats. And Thursday, at least, they missed free throws, going 17-for-28. The tone was set early, when Casey, a 6-7 senior forward, took a pass and threw down a tomahawk dunk in traffic.
“I’m sorry,” Moundou-Missi said, “but that’s how we play.”
It’s what they did, and while one stereotype remained valid — Cincinnati, which shot 36.8% from the field, is offensively challenged — Harvard had something to do with it. During a stretch in the first half, Cincinnati missed 12 consecutive shots. In the second half, the Bearcats went almost six minutes without a field goal, and they struggled inside.
Sean Kilpatrick, the Bearcats’ most potent threat, led all scorers with 18 points. But he took only four shots in the second half. Jackson and Cincinnati’s other post players struggled to finish near the basket against Casey, Moundou-Missi and others.
Harvard’s interior defense was the difference, allowing the Crimson to focus on Kilpatrick. According to Cincinnati coach Mick Cronin: “That’s what makes them a ‘high-major.’ ”
“A lot of midmajor teams have shooters and good guards, but don’t have size and they’re not strong enough to hold you from dominating around the rim,” he said. “Their big guys have enough size, enough strength, are effective enough to make you miss.” Was the result an upset? “Anything but,” Cronin said.