Athletics | April 15, 2013

Harvard basketball shocks New Mexico in 2013 NCAA tournament upset

The Crimson shocks New Mexico in NCAA tournament upset, loses in 2nd round.

From The May-June 2013 Issue

Photograph by Jim Urquhart/Reuters/Corbis Images

Scoring the biggest win in the history of the Harvard men’s basketball program, the Crimson upset powerful New Mexico—whom some had picked to reach the Final Four—68-62, to record Harvard’s first win in an NCAA basketball tournament and first against a top-10 opponent. Here, sophomore guard Wesley Saunders, who led the Ivies by averaging 16.5 points per game, gets past seven-foot New Mexico center Alex Kirk. Harvard finished atop the Ivy League for the third consecutive year. After Harvard defeated New Mexico, Arizona easily handled a cold-shooting Crimson squad, 74-51, in the next round. But with only one senior leaving, Harvard’s hoopsters may come back even stronger next year.

Published in the May-June 2013 print issue under the headline “Harvard Makes Hoops History,” in the John Harvard's Journal section.

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