Harvard beat Michigan 62-51 on Dec. 1, giving the Crimson and first-year coach Tommy Amaker a reason to be encouraged about the season.

Then reality set in and Harvard lost its next seven games. Except for brief flirtations with success along the way, including a rare weekend home sweep of Penn and Princeton, the Crimson never gained any real momentum.

Harvard could score (68.5 points per game) but it rarely did enough of the other things well, especially when it came to rebounding and post play.

The result was an 8-22 finish and a 3-11 Ivy League record that left Harvard tied for last in the final standings.

Harvard has sustained six consecutive losing seasons and hasn't finished with a winning record in league play since 1997. Amaker, a former coach at Seton Hall and Michigan, may have bigger problems than simply trying to turn the Crimson into a winner.

Harvard and the Ivy League have launched a review into Amaker's recruiting following a New York Times report into possible NCAA rules violations.

The athletic department has also come under fire for allegedly lowering its admission standards to provide Amaker more freedom in recruiting.

Amaker's current commitments would give Harvard a top-25 recruiting class, which is stunning by Ivy League standards but cause for concern from the rest of the league.

Even legendary former Princeton coach Pete Carril said of Amaker's recruiting: "He just has to learn that things are done different in the league, especially compared to a big-time school like Seton Hall and Michigan. They're done differently."

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