So far, the series is split with each side taking its home date, including the Lions’ 88-79 double-overtime win over the Bulldogs at Levien Gym to close out the 2003-2004 season.

This weekend will be crucial for both sides, but possibly more so for Yale. The expectations for this Bulldogs squad, which was picked to finish third behind Penn and Princeton in the preseason media poll, are such that a 1-3 or 0-4 start would be completely unacceptable, even on the road. Look for Yale to bounce back with a big weekend and possibly a New York sweep.

CORNELL (7-10, 2-2) vs. BROWN (8-8, 1-1)

Brown must leave the New York trip with a sweep to keep pace with Penn, and while Columbia should seemingly draw all the attention, the Bears would be remiss to overlook Cornell.

While the Big Red fell to Harvard last weekend and staved off a late surge from lowly Dartmouth, the squad does have a 77-47 drubbing of Columbia on its resume, in which it led by 21 points at the half.

With all the buildup to a possible second-place showdown between the Lions and Bears on Saturday, Brown must take care of business against Cornell first.

And if the Bears play as well as they did the previous Friday night against Princeton, that shouldn’t be much of a problem.

—Staff writer Michael R. James can be reached at mrjames@fas.harvard.edu.