Albany 80, Yale 72: Three Thoughts

Yale freshman Paul Atkinson picked up his second foul five minutes into Friday night’s game in Albany, and as per James Jones’ custom, Atkinson was immediately banished to the bench for the rest of the half.

Except who to replace him with? What would have been the starting center – sophomore Jordan Bruner – is out for the year with a knee injury. Fellow sophomore Austin Williams, who played sparingly last season but is it at least 6-foot-8, 235 pounds, is out as well. Replacing the likes of Justin Sears and Brandon Sherrod is obviously darn near impossible, but recent history has shown that last year’s No. 5 Sam Downey was also extremely underappreciated.

Continue reading “Albany 80, Yale 72: Three Thoughts” →

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” →

Ivy League Preseason Rankings, Awards Forecasts

This is the tightest race at the top that I can remember entering a season. For me, it comes down to a toss-up between three body parts tugging in three different directions: Continue reading “Ivy League Preseason Rankings, Awards Forecasts” →

34 Teams in 34 Days: Harvard

Harvard

Outlook: This year could start a new Harvard dynasty, but the young Crimson still must prove themselves in a competitive Ivy League. Continue reading “34 Teams in 34 Days: Harvard” →

Composite College Basketball Ratings

If a monkey randomly hitting keys on a keyboard can eventually type Shakespeare then adding five rankings systems together is better than one. Continue reading “Composite College Basketball Ratings” →

34 Teams in 34 Days: Princeton

Princeton

Outlook: Despite graduating key pieces from last year’s champions, the Tigers have enough remaining talent and potential to be legitimate title contenders. Continue reading “34 Teams in 34 Days: Princeton” →

34 Teams in 34 Days: Yale

Yale

Outlook: Perhaps no Ivy League team has more upside than the highly touted Bulldogs, but title contention is not guaranteed. Continue reading “34 Teams in 34 Days: Yale” →

34 Teams in 34 Days: Penn

Penn

Outlook: Fitting all the pieces together will be a challenge, but the Quakers have enough talent to return to the Ivy League Tournament. Continue reading “34 Teams in 34 Days: Penn” →

Ivy League Preseason Roundup: Familiar expectations

Inside the preseason: The media poll showed little agreement as to the top contender, but it separated the Ivy League into familiar tiers. Departing seniors — even those with little hardware — got big grad transfer opportunities. Coaches gave injury updates and a few funny lines at the preseason teleconference. Continue reading “Ivy League Preseason Roundup: Familiar expectations” →

34 Teams in 34 Days: Cornell

Outlook: Second-year head coach Brian Earl is building a foundation for the long run, but this season he’ll have to rely heavily on his star scorer. Continue reading “34 Teams in 34 Days: Cornell” →