Around the Ivy League

Picture this:

A bunch of renegade Penn fans storm the quiet town of Princeton, N.J. on a mission. They round up all the members of the 2005-2006 Tigers basketball team and lock them in a little room somewhere in the cavernous expanses of Jadwin Gym. Then, the Quaker faithful hire all of the members of the 2002-2003 Columbia team—the one that went 2-25 overall and 0-14 in the Ivies—to pose as Princeton players for the duration of the season.

At the first practice in the fall, Princeton coach Joe Scott doesn’t really recognize anyone, but it doesn’t alarm him, since he never truly recognized anyone but Andre Logan, Will Venable, and Judson Wallace off last year’s team anyway. So, he proceeds unfazed, even though Luke Owings, Noah Savage, and Scott Greenman seem to be playing a cruel prank on him by only answering to Matt, Jeremiah, and Allan, respectively.

Finally, Dragutin Kravic and Dalen Cuff realize that they can’t pretend to be Kyle Koncz and Edwin Buffmire when Columbia comes to town on Jan. 13, so they confess, the real Princeton players are released from their lock-up, and the Tigers proceed to start 3-1 in the Ivies.

OK, so it probably didn’t happen like that. But if there are better explanations for the dramatic Princeton turnaround—other than Joe Scott gaining magical powers—feel free to pass them along.

Now let’s get to this weekend’s action.

CORNELL (9-11, 4-2 Ivy) AT YALE (11-10, 3-3)

Over the past 17 seasons, the Bulldogs’ league winning percentage at home is 24 points higher than on the road, and this year’s 3-0 home mark and 0-3 road record has only served to exacerbate that differential.

Add to that the usual warnings about Saturday night road games and the fact that Yale will be fighting for its Ivy life, and the choice is clear.

Take the Bulldogs by seven at home.

PRINCETON (5-12, 3-1) AT DARTMOUTH (3-16, 1-5)

This contest will mark the Big Green’s second home game in two days after playing just four home games over the first 19 games of the season. By contrast, the Tigers have played just seven of their 17 contests away from Jadwin Gym.

That, along with the Tigers’ turnaround, provides two huge story lines heading into this Saturday night affair.

Count me among the believers that Princeton’s 3-1 mark was a function of the favorable early season schedule for at least one more week. Dartmouth wins a squeaker.

COLUMBIA (8-11, 1-5) AT BROWN (6-13, 2-4)

The Bears have been surprisingly strong at home in league play, while the Lions have stunk it up pretty much in all venues.

Brown coach Glen Miller is quite good at getting the most out of the talent he has, and that’s going to be important since he won’t have his best player Luke Ruscoe down the stretch, as the senior will finally take to the sidelines with a broken ankle.

It’s hard to tell where the offense is going to come from for the Bears, but they’ll take this contest by a bucket.

PENN (12-6, 4-0) AT DARTMOUTH

The rest of the league desperately needs the Quakers to stumble this weekend, but if it’s going to happen, it’s far more likely to occur Saturday night in Boston rather than Friday night in Hanover.

Penn has won in Hanover nine consecutive times by an average of 18 points. The Big Green hasn’t lost by less than 13 at any point in that span. Considering that two of the Dartmouth teams included in that streak went 10-4 in league play, there’s no reason to believe that the run won’t be pushed to ten.

The Quakers glide past the Big Green by 18.

COLUMBIA AT YALE

The Lions started this season 5-0. Since then, they’ve gone 3-11.

Columbia’s seven Division I wins this season have come against teams with an average RPI of 251 and a high of 227. The Lions have four losses against squads with RPIs lower than 250.

The Bulldogs currently possess an RPI around the 190 mark. They also have the toughest home environment in the Ivy League.

Yale wins this one by double-digits.

CORNELL AT BROWN

The Big Red battled back into Ivy title contention with a home sweep of Harvard and Dartmouth last weekend.

Cornell must beat Brown to set up an elimination match with Yale on Saturday night. With the Bears missing the services of Ruscoe and the Big Red having seemingly shaken off any ill-effects of the stunning home loss to Columbia, Cornell should have no trouble picking up the win in Providence by at least a dozen.

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