Some will sit and watch every play, every nuance, every surge, and wonder what it means. Others will check in periodically and go about their business.
“Don’t know how much I will watch. I’ve got midterms on Thursday,’’ said Harvard senior forward Keith Wright.
“I’m not sure where I will be,’’ coach Tommy Amaker said. “Last year I was out on the road recruiting.’’
“I will probably be in my office, keeping track of it from there,’’ said assistant coach Yanni Hufnagel.
In many places, the prospect of having a game in which you were not involved in, but impacted your postseason fate, would be a flash point for a team-watching, togetherness party.
But this is still Harvard. It is still the place where the viewpoint of life - even in the high pressure world of college basketball - is different.
For the second consecutive season, Harvard is one victory - or someone else’s loss - away from clinching its first NCAA Tournament bid since 1946.
When Penn (19-11) and Princeton (18-11) meet Tuesday at Princeton’s Jadwin Gym, Harvard will be pulling for the Tigers, because a Princeton victory gives the Crimson the outright Ivy League title and the automatic NCAA bid. Harvard (26-4, 12-2) has concluded its regular season; at 11-2 in the league, Penn has one more chance to catch the Crimson.
A Princeton victory also would allow the Crimson to not only focus on midterms, but wait with delight and anticipation about their tournament opponent when the bracket is released Sunday.
A Penn victory would mean the regular season ends with co-champions, forcing a playoff (probably on Saturday at Yale) between the Crimson and Quakers.
Harvard was in the same position a year ago and had to wait for Penn and Princeton to finish their business. A Princeton win created a tie and a playoff game at Yale, which Harvard lost to the Tigers, 63-62, on a last-second basket.
Unlike a year ago, the Crimson had to win a pair of tough road games - Columbia and Cornell - to clinch their share of the title this season.
“Our toughness and our togetherness came through,’’ said Amaker, who has steadily built the program to NCAA Tournament quality in his five seasons. “T and T.’’
The great expectations at the start of the season (the Crimson were heavy favorites to win the Ivy in the preseason) seemed justified as the Crimson sprinted through the first month of the season, joining the Associated Press Top 25 for the first time ever. But then a loss at Princeton - Harvard hasn’t won there since 1989 - and a last-second home loss to Penn (which was a surprise) put the Crimson within reach of Penn, Princeton, and Yale.
Harvard never wavered in its routine or resolve. Hufnagel, who came from Cornell, continued his pregame routine of having players go through a rugged shooting session.
Or there is senior cocaptain Oliver McNally, a player Amaker tries to get the ball down the stretch because of his ability to make free throws in clutch situations. Or point guard Brandyn Curry, whose 3-point flurry against Cornell on Saturday fought off a second-half surge.
“Brandyn Curry showed the heart of a champion,’’ said Amaker. “Oliver making big free throws again. Christian Webster coming off the bench to answer the bell when we needed him. So many people doing so many things.’’
Amaker acknowledged the pressure that was on the Crimson from the start. “Being picked first in preseason and to end it where we are now is an incredible compliment to these kids.’’
The players say they are where they want to be - for now.
“It’s exactly what we wanted,’’ said Curry, a 6-foot-1 junior, who made three consecutive 3-point shots in the second half against Cornell when the game appeared to be slipping away from the Crimson. “Even after the season ended last year, we felt we could come back and contend for the title. I’m happy we got a share of it.’’
Wright said the Crimson ended the season with a sense of satisfaction. “We worked hard all during the summer and in the offseason,’’ said Wright. “There’s a sign of relief that our goal of winning the Ivy League championship is accomplished. But we want more. We got everybody’s best shot, we know that. Even after the loss to Penn, we never lost focus.’’
Part of the reason was Amaker’s message after the home loss to the Quakers.
“The biggest thing was Coach Amaker’s vibes after the loss,’’ said Curry. “He was great, full of positive energy. He said that no one said that it would be easy. And we should be ready for anything.’’
Amaker downplays his role. “I told them that even if we had beaten Penn, we would still have to go out and win [at least one] the next week,’’ said Amaker. “So nothing had changed. We had to regroup and respond.’’
It is somehow fitting that the final game of the Ivy League regular season should come down to Penn and Princeton, whose rivalry in basketball is one of the benchmarks of the conference. In the past 30 years, other than a recent run by Cornell and an appearance by Brown, Penn or Princeton have represented the Ivy League in the NCAA Tournament; the two schools have more NCAA Tournament appearances than the other six Ivy members combined.
Although Princeton has nothing at stake and lost to Penn by 15 points in their January meeting at the Palestra, no one is expecting the game to be a walkover for the Quakers, who have won seven straight since their 56-50 loss to Harvard Feb. 10.
“If we have to play Penn again, we will play Penn again,’’ said McNally. “If not, we’ll move on to who’s next.’’
Mark Blaudschun can be reached at blaudschun@globe.com.