Over the course of the 1968-69 season Rutgers would play four Ivy League teams including the three top teams in the conference - Princeton, Columbia and Penn which would finish 1-2-3 in the league standings. Although Rutgers was decisively defeated by Columbia, the 1969 squad defeated both league champion Princeton and third place finisher Penn. The other Ivy League game was a pre-Christmas match up with Harvard in Cambridge, just before Christmas. Harvard was destined to finish 7th in the Ivy League at just 3-11 with an overall record of 7-18, but somehow managed to defeat Rutgers on that Friday night in December. Perhaps it was a let down from the Princeton game, but more likely it's just one more illustration of the unpredictability of sports in general and basketball in particular. Unfortunately very few articles about this and the next two games are available.
Home News - December 21, 1968
Bob Greacen remembers it as "our worst game of the season, missing 49 of our 75 shot attempts and 13 of our 26 free throws. I was in foul trouble throughout and scored 5 points. [Lou] Goetz was seriously poked in the eye and either lost or broke a contact lens and was taken to the hospital. We missed his competitiveness and defense on the floor." While the loss was disappointing, the team headed into Christmas 5-2 against a tough December schedule. Up next was the Utah Classic in Salt Lake City.
Boston Globe - December 21, 1968
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