Surprise! Surprise! Princeton Wins Ivy Title

Well, the drama and suspense in the race for the men's basketball Ivy League title is over. We can all breathe again.

Princeton won.

The only thing that could have stopped the Tigers (11-1 Ivy) from winning the championship was an outbreak of mononucleosis among the starting five. And the reserves. And the reserve reserves.

Unfortunately for everyone else, Princeton stayed healthy. It had a 26-game Ivy League winning streak, going back two seasons, before Yale upset the Tigers in Jadwin Gym last weekend, 47-46.

The Tigers were probably looking ahead to the NCAA Tournament, anyway.

During their 87-50 rout of the Crimson, the Princeton Sports Information personnel were more concerned with North Carolina State's upset of then fourth-ranked North Carolina. (Princeton defeated the Wolfpack earlier this season, 50-49, in overtime.)

"That means we could probably get a 10 or 11 seed," a Princeton official said.

"It depends whether we're in the East. If we went to the Midwest, we could get an eight or a nine," another replied.

Ah, the twisted logic of NCAA Tournament seedings. Luckily, it's something Harvard doesn't have to deal with.

Let's Get Away From It All

Harvard's half-time "American Airlines Bermuda Shoot Contest" is one of the most miserly in the league.

At Dartmouth, contestants win prizes every time at each level: layup, free throw, three-point shot and half-court bomb, with a trip to Bermuda the ultimate prize.

At Princeton, signs are placed on the floor signifying what can be won by making a shot from this or that particular location.

But at Harvard, it's all or nothing. And it's been a whole lotta nothin' for some time now.

At least it's a good deal for American Airlines. Something special in the air, indeed.

Harvard by the Numbers

The Crimson leads the Ivy League in just one category: free-throw shooting.

Harvard tops the charts at .749, followed by Columbia at .731. Worst in the league is Brown, which shoots a miserable .660 from the charity stripe.

Captain Ron Mitchell is the only Ivy individual statistical leader for the Crimson.

Mitchell is the top rebounder in the league, with 8.4 per game. Next is Yale's Stuart Davies, with 7.9 boards per game.

Harvard Junior Tyler Rullman is the league's third leading scorer, averaging 16.0 points per game.

Mitchell is fifth on the same list, with 14.6 points per night.

Columbia's Buck Jenkins is the top scorer in the Ivy League. He averages 19.8 points a game (but only scored nine against Harvard last Saturday).

No Respect at All

Harvard freshman Dan Morris, who provided the spark in the Crimson sweep of Columbia and Cornell, was snubbed for Ivy League Rookie of the Week.

Morris' clutch performance was overshadowed by Pennsylvania freshman guard Jerome Allen, who scored 35 points and grabbed six rebounds in victories over the Brown and Yale weekend.