The numbers: 10-10 overall, 3-3 Ivy, 184th RPI, 231st Sagarin, 251st Pomeroy
The recent results: lost 90-70 to Columbia (2/2), won 65-64 over Cornell (2/3)
The upcoming schedule: at Princeton (2/9), at Penn (2/10)

Moving on
With Brian Cusworth taking his 17.4 points, 9.1 rebounds, and 2.2 blocks per game back to Missouri, Frank Sullivan was faced with a choice: stay with a conventional lineup or go small. Sullivan opted to go traditional, and Brad Unger moved into Cusworth’s vacant starting center spot. Unger responded with a very decent weekend, averaging 13.0 points (on 50.0-percent shooting) and 6.0 rebounds in 28.5 minutes per game. The move also gave Brian Darcy a larger role as the primary frontcourt backup, and Darcy also acquitted himself fairly well, putting up 10 points on 3-for-5 shooting and four rebounds in 35 minutes in the two weekend games combined.

Harris looking for consistency
Evan Harris has nailed down the other low post spot at this point, and has looked very good at times this year. Sullivan compared his sophomore’s stat line on Saturday night to what Matt Stehle was giving Harvard last season — with the exception of the outside shooting. Harris has improved as the season has progressed, however, he’s still very inconsistent from night to night. He has scored 15 or more points on seven occasions this season, but has been held to six or fewer points seven times as well.

Turnovers down
Harvard’s turnover rate is down to 22.9 percent this season — mediocre by national standards, but the lowest frequency for the program in years. While Jim Goffredo’s improvement from 2.5 to 2.0 per game is responsible in part, the new starters at the two forward spots also deserve credit. Last year Stehle and Mike Beal averaged a turnover every 11.6 minutes. This season, Harris and Andrew Pusar are turning it over an average of once every 12.6 minutes. Harvard might see additional progress made on thhis front, with Unger (14.2 minutes per turnover) replacing Cusworth (11.2 minutes per turnover) at center.

All eyes on Goffredo
Cusworth’s departure makes Goffredo a marked man, with opposing defenses looking to make sure he doesn’t go off like he did last season at Brown. However, his senior-year numbers are down across the board, mostly due to a post-holiday shooting slump. Since Christmas, Goffredo is just 27 of 79 (34.2 percent) from the field and 15 of 51 (29.4 percent) from three-point range. After appearing to snap out of a shooting slump with a 20-point, 7-for-11 performance against Brown, Goffredo struggled again this past weekend, shooting 33.3 percent in the two games.

Housman’s changing contributions
Drew Housman stepped up his scoring early on this season. During Harvard’s 7-4 start, the sophomore point guard was scoring 13.8 points per game, but his assists were down at just 2.7 per contest. However, over the past nine games, Housman’s scoring has dropped to 10.0 points per game, but his assist average has gone up to 4.0. Aside from a five-game stretch early in the season where he shot 9 of 13 (69.2 percent) from three-point range, Housman is 10 of 44 (22.7 percent) from outside the arc on the season.

Scoring debuts on Friday
The blowout at the hands of Columbia did feature the first points of the collegiate careers of four freshmen: Alek Blankenau, Darryl Finkton, Pat Magnarelli, and Ndubuisi Okereke. Blankenau and Magnarelli saw action prior to garbage time, and Okereke joined Magnarelli by making his first appearance in a college game.

Team health report
The highly touted recruit Magnarelli saw his first action in a Harvard uniform last Friday after missing the entire first semester with a preseason back injury. Sophomore forward Kenyon Churchwell (0.9 points and 0.6 rebounds in 4.0 minutes per game) is out indefinitely with an undiagnosed heart condition. Freshman big man Doug Miller will miss the rest of the season with a broken foot suffered prior to the start of Ivy play. Erk Groszyk (0.8 points and 0.5 assists in 2.5 minutes per game) has withdrawn from school this semester after sustaining a concussion at Long Island on December 9.

Odds & ends
– In Harvard’s three Ivy wins — by narrow margins of six, four, and one — it is shooting 21 of 28 (75.0 percent) at the line in the final two minutes, and 65 of 82 (79.3 percent) overall.

– At 10 of 21 (47.6 percent) from three-point range, Unger is the only Crimson player shooting over 33.3 percent from outside the arc.

– Pusar has struggled at the line (11 of 27, 47.6 percent on free throws) and isn’t much of a three-point threat (2 of 7, 28.6 percent from three), but he has been very effective in close, hitting 51 of 77 attempts (66.2 percent) from inside the arc.

– Without a dramatic rise in minutes, Jeremy Lin has stepped up his production in Ivy play, increasing his scoring from 3.6 points per non-league contest to 6.3 points per Ivy game.

– The Crimson defense ranks seventh in the league at 1.10 points allowed per possession, ahead of only Princeton (1.13 points allowed per possession).

– After playing five of its first six league games at home, Harvard has all three Ivy road weekends remaining and only the Penn-Princeton home games remaining.