By Brian Willwerth 

With conference play getting underway in college basketball, we focus on three of the Division I programs in Massachusetts: Harvard University, Boston University and Northeastern University.

Harvard has been one of the biggest stories on the national level, especially since they’re ranked for the first time in school history. However, they suffered just their second loss of the season Tuesday night at Fordham University. Kyle Casey and Keith Wright have continued averaging in double-figures, and will look to keep the momentum going on Saturday, Jan. 7, when The Crimson host Dartmouth University.

The first part of the season was a struggle for the defending America East champion Boston University. The Terriers, the preseason pick to win the conference again, have lost six in a row, and have a 4-10 record. One of those wins came against Boston College, and you know the students loved that, even though BC is struggling this year. BU has a chance to turn things around starting Thursday night when they travel to Vermont. The Terriers will play their first America East home game of the season against Binghamton on Sunday Jan. 8, and I’ll be there for that one.

Northeastern is at 1-2 in the Colonial Athletic Association, having lost 70-62 Wednesday night to UNC-Wilmington at Matthews Arena. The Huskies opened conference play with a loss to Old Dominion, and then defeated a Towson team that’s lost 33 consecutive games. Jonathan Lee and Joel Smith, averaging 12 and 13 points per game lead Northeastern, respectively. The Huskies travel to James Madison on Saturday.