As hard as it may be to believe, 2011-12 marked the first time the Harvard Crimson had been picked to win the Ivy League during the annual preseason poll. Give them credit for living up to the hype.
NCAA Bracket 2012: How Harvard Basketball Got To March Madness
Harvard’s season began with high expectations, which they mostly met and saw their national ranking rise as high as No. 21.
The Crimson opened with eight consecutive wins that included a victory over then-No. 20 Florida State before losing their first game of the year, to then-No. 9 UConn. The Crimson would eventually start 12-1 and rise as high as No. 21 in the coaches’ poll before a loss to Fordham temporarily halted their ascension. Harvard eventually regained that lofty ranking after nine straight wins had them sitting at 20-2 before a loss to Princeton knocked them back out of the Top 25.
Harvard did manage to finish the regular season with a 26-4 overall record and 12-2 record in the Ivy League. That was good enough to edge out Penn for the league title and earn their automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament. As the No. 12 seed in the East, they’ll face No. 5 Vanderbilt in their first game.
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