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”
While Dartmouth had been extremely competitive in Ivy League play, it was still somewhat surprising to see the winless Big Green leading Penn by four heading to the final media time out Friday night at Leede Arena.
A hoop or two in the next couple of possessions could finally give Dartmouth its first league win and give it fleeting hope at least of the beginnings of an improbable run to its first Ivy League Tournament. After all, Penn had started 0-6 last year and pulled it off.
Inside this week: Recapping the first week of Ivy action, including two rivalry games at The Palestra that set the tone for this season’s race, and looking ahead to more debuts this weekend. Continue reading “Ivy League Weekly Roundup: Rivalries Turn at The Palestra”
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”
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.
Continue reading “Narrow March Margins Evident In Ivy League”
The Princeton Offense is known for several things: Passing, cutting, shooting, spacing, you name it. One thing it is decidedly not known for is offensive rebounding. So it’s funny that the three biggest plays of the Tigers’ season have been second chances. The biggest of all came Saturday at The Palestra, where Myles Stephens picked up Amir Bell’s errant layup and dropped it through the net with six seconds left, sending the first men’s Ivy League Tournament game ever to overtime. Continue reading “#1 Princeton 72, #4 Penn 64 (OT): Stephens’ Putback Saves Tigers”
Last Week in the Ivy League: Princeton stayed perfect, while Penn stayed in the race. Columbia is reeling from an overtime collapse at Dartmouth, even after getting a reprieve in regulation by a fraction of a second. The first Ivy League Tournament is taking shape, and everyone is still arguing about it. Continue reading “Ivy League Weekly Roundup: Return of the Killer P’s”
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