After concluding a four-game road trip with a 2-2 record last weekend, the Big Green men's basketball team (9-14, 2-8 Ivy) finally returns home for games against the Lions of Columbia (10-14, 3-7 Ivy) and the Big Red of Cornell (4-19, 1-9 Ivy) this weekend.
The next two games also mark the final home contests in the illustrious careers of co-captains Flinder Boyd '02 and Vedad Osmanovic '02, who each arrived in Hanover four years ago as highly-touted recruits.
Boyd, a 5-11 point guard from Fairfax High School in Los Angeles, has started at the point all four years while at Dartmouth, putting up impressive numbers over that span. Earlier this season he set the Big Green all-time career assists record and is currently averaging 14.8 points per game on 52.8 percent shooting from the floor.
Osmanovic, who hails from Banja Luka, Bosnia, but played high school ball at the Dwight School in New York City, has provided instant offense for the Dartmouth program on many occasions. The Big Green attack has constantly relied on the 6-5 swingman's ability to hit the perimeter shot over the past few winters. Currently, Osmanovic is averaging 38.8 percent shooting from beyond the arc.
Prior to the Cornell game on Saturday night, each player will be honored at center court in a traditional ceremony for graduating seniors. Both Boyd and Osmanovic anticipate that a host of family members will be in attendance with them on the court for the pre-game festivities.
Before the two Dartmouth seniors can celebrate the conclusion of their basketball careers on Saturday night, they must first line up against the Columbia Lions on Friday night at Leede Arena.
Earlier this season the Big Green traveled to New York and defeated the Lions at Levien Gym, 57-51, so revenge will be on the minds of the Columbia players. Leading the way for the Lions is senior forward Craig Austin, who accounted for 38 percent of Columbia's scoring offense in two losses last weekend.
"Corey Austin is the reigning Ivy League player of the year," Boyd said. "Most of our attention will be focused on him, especially since he takes the most shots."
But while Austin takes up most of the Big Green's attention Friday night, the team must not overlook the play of junior center Chris Wiedemann, who has been a beast in the paint of late. Wiedemann's 54 blocks this season surpass the entire team totals of three Ivy League teams, including Dartmouth.
The Cornell Big Red attack comes to Leede Arena on Saturday night for a rematch after its six-point loss to the Big Green two weeks ago. Last-place Cornell relies on a guard-oriented offense, which features senior Wallace Prather, who recently moved into Cornell's top-10 all-time scoring list.
According to Boyd, desire will play a big part in determining the outcome of this match-up, since both Dartmouth and Cornell currently sit at the bottom of the Ivy League standings.
"I think in a game where no one's playing for the Ivy League title, the most important thing is how badly do you want to win the game," Boyd said.
Osmanovic added: "The previous games [against Columbia and Cornell] were rather low- scoring because of the defense played by both teams. So I think it's going to come down to who stops whom."
Unfortunately for the Big Green, Dartmouth will be without the services of 6-8 center Brendan Herbert '04, the team's leading rebounder. Herbert's nagging back injury, which he re-aggravated over a week ago, will keep him on the shelf for the remainder of the season.