Harvard Crimson
Reuters

One school has sent 41 players to the NBA, while the other has graduated seven U.S. presidents.

The Arizona Wildcats will have to look past Harvard’s lack of scholarship players and rich basketball history as the two clubs meet Saturday in the third round of the West Region in Salt Lake City.

Comparing each team's resume, Arizona comes out on top. Thirty NCAA appearances, four Final Fours, and a national championship for the Wildcats, contrast greatly with Harvard’s single tournament victory in three appearances.

Still Arizona would be ill-advised to look beyond a team making its case to be this year’s darling.

The No. 14 Crimson pulled off the biggest upset of the tournament’s first day, stunning No. 3 New Mexico 68-62 behind sophomore Wesley Saunders' 18 points and Laurent Rivard’s five 3-pointers for 17 points.

Standing 6-foot-5, Saunders is shooting at a 53.8 percent rate this season, and has scored at least 10 points in all 29 of the Crimson’s games this year.

Harvard also played shutdown defense, holding the Lobos to 21.4 percent from three, and 37.5 percent shooting overall.

Holding Arizona back may prove far more difficult for the Crimson.

The Wildcats, led by guard Mark Lyons 23 points, never trailed in their 81-64 rout over Belmont in the second round.

With four starters reaching double figures, Arizona connected on nine of its 18 3-points attempts, shot nearly 57 percent from the floor, and out boarded the Bruins 42-15, including 12 offensive rebounds.

Seven-foot center Kaleb Tarczewski and combo swing man Kevin Parrom each totaled 12 points and eight rebounds.

The game tips-off at 6:10 p.m. Eastern and will be broadcast by TNT, or watch a free live online stream at the NCAA March Madness official site here.

Betting Odds: Arizona is favored by 10 points.

Over/Under: 132 points

Prediction: Arizona’s huge size advantage should allow them to control the boards, and they boast too much speed and agility on the wings. Harvard may continue to shoot well, but the Wildcats should avoid the upset and move on.

Predicted Score: Arizona 74, Harvard 62

Arizona Basketball