Around the Ivy League: Top Teams to Face Off

The Ivy League belongs to Penn.

Not even halfway through the season, the Quakers have already dispensed with last year’s league champions—Princeton—the team which it tied for second in 2004—Brown—and the only other team anyone felt had a reasonable chance at the title—Yale.

In doing so, Penn has opened up a two-game lead in the loss column over its nearest Ivy competitors and seems to be just nine mere “formalities” away from heading to an exotic site like Boise, Idaho or Worcester, Mass.

Meanwhile, Princeton, the consensus pre-season pick to win the Ivy title, is mired in a stunning tailspin that hasn’t been seen since 1979—the last time the Tigers started league play with a 1-4 record. Once a member of the semi-exclusive “Others Receiving Votes” club in the AP top 25, Princeton is now fearing for its NIT life.

With that, let’s get to this weekend’s action.

GAME OF THE WEEK: PENN (12-7, 5-0 Ivy) vs. CORNELL (9-10, 4-2)

If anyone’s going to catch the Quakers, now would be the time to step up and do it.

Another sweep and Penn becomes just a blur to the rest of the pack.

The Big Red—the lone remaining team that controls its own destiny in the Ivy race—comes in fresh off wins over Brown and Yale.

But Cornell has played just one league game on the road this season—a loss at Columbia—shedding a less favorable light on its Ivy record.

If the Penn-Princeton game put the rest of the league’s hopes for a title on life support, then a win by the Quakers over the Big Red would officially sign the death warrant.

Penn is just playing too well right now to let any team come into The Palestra and make this a race again. The Quakers will take it by double-digits, sealing the deal on a perfect first pass through the Ivy schedule.

PRINCETON (10-9, 1-4) vs. CORNELL

Before the Big Red even gets a shot at Penn, it has to survive a Friday night trip to Jadwin Gym to face a reeling Princeton squad.

The Tigers return home from a disastrous three-game road trip in each of which it blew late second-half leads, including an 18-point advantage with just 7:35 to go against Penn.

If Princeton can keep controlling the first 30 minutes of the contest, the home environment might just what the team needs to spur it on down the stretch.

Look for the Tigers to turn their season around and take a lot of the luster off Saturday’s Penn-Cornell meeting, with a six-point victory over the Big Red.

PENN vs. COLUMBIA (12-7, 3-3)

The wounded Lions head into The Palestra looking to salvage what was once a very promising season.

Columbia now needs a split on the most difficult weekend of the year just to stay afloat. So far, the Lions have played just one Ivy game on the road, a 77-47 defeat at Newman Arena against Cornell.

Winning in cozy Levien Gym is one thing, but taking the show on the road to take on the Ivy frontrunner in a supremely hostile environment is quite another.

Penn will cruise to victory in the second to last stage before its Tour De Ivy victory lap.

—Staff writer Michael R. James can be reached at mrjames@fas.harvard.edu.