Category: Harvard

Ivy League Weekly Roundup: Series Streaks and Scoring Stars

Half the league picked up their first wins, but 10 days into the season, no team is above .500 in D-I play. Inside this week: Two weird losing streaks continue, scorers keep scoring, and Penn fans demand cheesesteaks. Continue reading “Ivy League Weekly Roundup: Series Streaks and Scoring Stars” →

Manhattan 73, Harvard 69: Jaspers Hold On Again At Home

Heading into Saturday’s game at Draddy Gym, Manhattan’s path to victory seemed to run through its vaunted press. Its opponent, Harvard, was only 42 hours removed from an ugly 23-turnover performance in a loss at Holy Cross, leaving the Jaspers’ defense with an opportunity to feast.

Instead, the Crimson committed just 13 turnovers, only a handful of which were attributed to Manhattan’s pressure. The hosts committed 18 miscues of their own, and they blew a 17-point lead in the second half. Yet they won anyway, getting enough stops and hitting enough tough shots to eke out a 73-69 win. Continue reading “Manhattan 73, Harvard 69: Jaspers Hold On Again At Home” →

Ivy League Weekly Roundup: A Nightmare Start

This is a pretty depressing week to have an Ivy League Weekly Roundup column. We entered the preseason with hopes of a multi-team title race, star power throughout the conference, and realistic chances for quality wins. But on the first day of basketball, the league lost three potential All-Ivy candidates — one indefinitely, one for the season, and one for good. That set the stage for a weekend in which the Ancient Eight nearly went winless in D-I play, an inauspicious start to the season.

The Ivy League isn’t alone. Friday’s top games nationally were Texas A&M-West Virginia, which had two key players suspended, and Georgia Tech-UCLA, which was overshadowed by alleged NCAA violations, LaVar Ball and Louis Vuitton. The biggest college basketball story throughout the season will be an FBI investigation. Sports are never just about actual sports, but it feels especially so right now. Continue reading “Ivy League Weekly Roundup: A Nightmare Start” →

#3 Yale 73, #2 Harvard 71: Bulldogs Win Youth Battle

Let’s start with that Miye Oni dunk. If you’re reading this, you’ve almost surely seen it already, but you’ll click below to watch it again, because it was that good. Giving credit for the circumstances — 1:30 left in a one-possession game, national TV on Championship Week, and a chance to play for an NCAA tournament bid on the line — I’d wager that it was the biggest dunk in Ivy League history. Continue reading “#3 Yale 73, #2 Harvard 71: Bulldogs Win Youth Battle” →

Ivy League Tournament Preview: #3 Yale vs. #2 Harvard

Harvard and Yale have a lot of similarities. Both are among the nation’s least experienced teams, looking nothing like the squads that played in the last Palestra playoff two years ago. Both rely on athletic, highly touted underclassmen, and their best days are still ahead of them. But as they enter the first Ivy League Tournament, the rivals are going in very different directions. Continue reading “Ivy League Tournament Preview: #3 Yale vs. #2 Harvard” →

Ivy League Weekly Roundup: On To The Palestra

What Happened Last Week: Princeton is 14-0, thanks to another Harvard-killing shot (now with Titanic music!). Penn is the 4-seed, thanks to its own Crimson-beating game-winner. On the women’s side, Penn is the repeat champion, and Brown won a de facto play-in game to punch its Palestra ticket. Continue reading “Ivy League Weekly Roundup: On To The Palestra” →