Harvard and Yale are racing for an NCAA Tournament bid in the Ivy League

They call their football rivalry “The Game.” It’s been played almost every year since 1875, matching up two of the most academically competitive universities in the country. Thousands show up, more watch from home and no game on the schedule means more for either team.

It’s been a while since the stakes were as high on the hardwood for Harvard and Yale, but that all changed last Friday when the Crimson beat Yale by two in New Haven to pull into a tie for first in the Ivy League with the Bulldogs at 5-1.

Now with no clear-cut favorite, the Ivy race has become one of the most interesting in the country, made even more intriguing by it being the only conference in the nation that does not have an end-of-season tournament. That means the regular season champion earns the automatic NCAA Tournament bid.

It wasn’t supposed to be that way. Harvard entered the season as the runaway favorite and a national Top 25 team. That changed quickly when the Crimson lost to Holy Cross on Nov. 16. A month later, they managed just 27 points against then-No. 6 Virginia and lost by 49. They followed that up with a 10-point loss at Arizona State.

Meanwhile Yale wasn’t perfect to start the season, but it caught national attention by upsetting defending champion Connecticut on the road en route to an 8-2 start to the season. Though surprising, maybe it’s not a total shock that the veteran-laden Bulldogs are challenging for a tournament bid.

Junior Justin Sears (14.5 points per game) and senior Javier Duren (13.6 ppg) lead the way in the scoring column, with each playing more than 30 minutes per game. Sears is also the team’s top rebounder and is shooting nearly 50 percent from the field.

Sharpshooter Jack Montague is also an upperclassman - he’s the team’s third leading scorer and shoots 47 percent from distance.

Those three, along with senior forward Matt Townsend and senior guard Armani Cotton, have been with the Bulldogs the entire way, with Duren, Townsend and Cotton closing in on their final chance at an NCAA Tournament. Sears and Montague will have another shot, but not with the same cast around them. This is likely their best shot to send Yale to its first NCAA Tournament since 1962.

And they know Harvard isn’t going anywhere. The Crimson boast one of the best defenses in the country, holding opponents to fewer than 58 points per game. Senior Wesley Saunders is capable of scoring outbursts - like his 33-point performance at Brown on Feb. 6 - but he is also getting plenty of help.

Junior Siyani Chambers has scored in double figures 11 times this year. Steve Moundou-Missi can play the full 40 minutes and post a double-double on a given night, as well.

Just as importantly, the Crimson have a favorable schedule going forward - at least as favorable as it could be in a league that plays a double round-robin. Harvard played five of its first six Ivy League games on the road, meaning six of its last eight will be at home. As for the two remaining away from Cambridge, at Cornell and Columbia, that shouldn’t bother the Crimson either - they’re undefeated on the road in conference play.

Harvard and Yale will meet again on March 6 in the penultimate game for each squad. If the two remain tied until then, it could be the de facto Ivy League championship game, played in front of a packed house in Cambridge.

Good luck matching that in football.