Narrow March Margins Evident In Ivy League

Historians like to talk about the moments that changed the world, the ripple effect of small pieces of time and seemingly small twists of fate that eventually led to something much larger.

Sports are a microcosm of life, at least sometimes. So consider this: with 2:33 left in Saturday’s first Ivy League Tournament (ever) semifinal, a red-hot Ryan Betley lined up for an open three-pointer. At the time, he was 7-9 from the field, 2-3 from behind the arc, and the shot looked good from the time it left his hand.

Already leading 57-53 and with The Palestra crowd ready to explode, it might have been the fatal blow to the game and Princeton’s NCAA Tournament hopes, despite a 17-game win streak and a perfect 14-0 conference regular season record. It have turned the heat up on an already ready to boil debate about the merits of the Ivy Tournament and the now kinetic rather than potential inequities that lie within it.

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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” →

Yale 81, Penn 58: Slow And Steady Can Still Be Efficient

NEW HAVEN, Conn. – Even though it’s 2016, some people (less than you’d think, but still) don’t quite grasp the concept of being efficient, whether it be on offense or defense. So Yale, being the smart Ivy Leaguers they are, have given you a nice lesson in their first three conference games.

For instance, an 81-58 win Friday night over Penn probably stands out to you as a defensive masterpiece rather than an offensive one for the Bulldogs (12-5, 3-0), but it shouldn’t. The game was played at a plodding 63-possession pace, allowing Yale to take its time and use its size and strength to pound the young Quakers (6-10, 0-2) into submission.

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Player similarities: Horizon League trio

Two Horizon League players are considered legitimate draft candidates this season – Cleveland State’s Norris Cole and Butler’s Shelvin Mack. Both are probably looking at second round selections. As my next step in the similarity score world I’m going to take a look at their closest comparables. Also, just for fun I threw in Mack’s former teammate Matt Howard. Their comparables are all after the jump. (By the way, one thing I’ve learned, Charles Jenkins is one unique player. The scores are much lower for these three players.)

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