#2 Penn 68, #1 Harvard 65: Quakers Are Dancing Again

For one of the league’s traditional powers, Penn’s last decade was utterly forgettable. The Quakers went 10 seasons without a title or an NCAA tournament appearance, the longest such streak in program history, finishing above .500 only once in that span. But that era fully closed on Sunday, when Penn beat Harvard, 68-65, to punch its ticket back to the Big Dance. Continue reading “#2 Penn 68, #1 Harvard 65: Quakers Are Dancing Again”

Ivy League Tournament Mini-Preview: #1 Harvard vs. #2 Penn

After a downright weird regular season, the Ivy League Tournament has given us a very normal final: #1-seed vs. #2-seed, co-champion vs. co-champion, Player of the Year against the presumed runner-up. Harvard and Penn split the season series, with each team winning in its home gym — and the rubber match will be at The Palestra, making the Quakers a small favorite on paper. Continue reading “Ivy League Tournament Mini-Preview: #1 Harvard vs. #2 Penn”

#1 Harvard 74, #4 Cornell 55: Juzang, Crimson Outshoot Big Red

When he was a freshman, Christian Juzang watched all of Harvard’s first-ever Ivy League Tournament game from the bench. As the team’s fourth-string point guard (and the least-heralded of seven rookies in the Crimson’s nationally ranked recruiting class), Juzang didn’t play a meaningful minute in league play, and he could only watch as his team’s NCAA tournament hopes were dashed in an upset loss to Yale. Continue reading “#1 Harvard 74, #4 Cornell 55: Juzang, Crimson Outshoot Big Red”

Ivy League Season Roundup: NYC Buckets’ Individual Awards

Inside this week: Wrapping up the regular season and handing out NYC Buckets’ individual awards. Don’t miss Ray’s dispatches from Cornell’s clinching victory and Columbia’s crushing defeat, and stay tuned later this week for in-depth Ivy League Tournament previews. Continue reading “Ivy League Season Roundup: NYC Buckets’ Individual Awards”

Ivy League Weekly Roundup: Return of the Mak-ai

Inside this week: A long-lost star returns, the playoff races heat up, and we dive deep on the national 3-on-3 tournament that launches this postseason. Don’t miss our weekend coverage of Princeton’s nightmare collapse , Penn’s unlikely hero at Columbia, and Yale’s impressive win at Dartmouth. Continue reading “Ivy League Weekly Roundup: Return of the Mak-ai”

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”