Ivy Hoops Draws Notice

The Ivy League has gone mainstream. This week alone, it’s reached the pages of The Wall Street Journal, ESPN, and Sports Illustrated.

Most of the attention has swirled around the league’s budding rivalry between Cornell and Harvard, but even the bottom-dwelling Ivies are making news.

Two weeks ago, Denzel Washington talked Penn basketball on the Late Show with David Letterman (the actor’s son, Malcolm Washington, is a freshman guard on the team), and Dartmouth has earned headlines this month first for an alleged player mutiny and later player arrests (testing PT Barnum’s belief that all publicity is good publicity).

For the most part, this coverage is sound and fury signifying nothing. It won’t translate into wins and losses, and no amount of speculation will actually result in the Ivy League earning two NCAA tournament bids. Nevertheless, this unprecedented exposure captures, and even contributes to, the excitement and unique spirit of this season.

For the first time, the Ivy League has two teams that can compete on the national level. The Big Red has taken a championship-caliber team—Kansas—down to the wire, and the Crimson has pushed powerhouses Georgetown and UConn to the limit.

While celebrated Ivy teams of the past have figured on the national stage, they’ve done so with a cerebral style of play befitting their school’s reputation. This season, Cornell and Harvard have shown the ability to match their opponents’ skill and athleticism (search “Kyle Casey from Oliver McNally” or “Errick Peck Bucknell” on YouTube). They’ve defied the stereotypes that have defined Ivy basketball and, in so doing, captured the media’s attention and made stars out of several players.

The result is a storybook season in the making. The attention the Ivy League is receiving isn’t beyond anyone’s wildest dream; it’s what each player has always dreamed of since he started dribbling in his driveway, counting down the seconds to another imaginary buzzer-beater.

Of course the season is still in its infancy. As Crimson coach Tommy Amaker has said, “It’s a long horse race.” The difference this season though, unlike years past, is that everyone is watching.

HARVARD (13-3, 2-0 Ivy) at COLUMBIA (6-10, 0-2)

Although many fans have heralded Saturday’s matchup against the Big Red as the biggest of the season, Friday’s game against the Lions is arguably just as important to Harvard. Given Cornell’s strength, the Crimson cannot afford to lose to an inferior team, since doing so would likely mean having to beat the Big Red twice for a shot at the Ivy title.

Columbia’s Noruwa Agho is an All-Ivy caliber guard capable of carrying a team, but the biggest threat to Harvard is its ability to stay focused. The Crimson must improve on its poor shooting performance at Dartmouth, get over the thrill of Sports Illustrated, and push Saturday’s game against the Big Red out of its mind. Harvard has stayed focused so far this season and will do so again.

Pick: Harvard 74, Columbia 67.

PENN (1-13, 0-0 Ivy) at YALE (7-12, 1-1)

After splitting its season series with Brown, the Elis play host to a Penn team that has struggled all season. The Quakers’ sole win came against the equally hapless University of Maryland, Baltimore County Retrievers. Expect Yale guard Alex Zampier, the league’s leading scorer, to light up the league’s worst defense.

Pick: Yale 79, Penn 63.

DARTMOUTH (4-12, 0-2 Ivy) at CORNELL (16-3, 2-0)

Dartmouth has showed a lot of fight lately. In its last four games, over which coach Terry Dunn was forced to resign and two players were arrested with possession of marijuana, the Big Green has gone 2-2, including a narrow loss to the Crimson last weekend. But the Big Red will be simply too much for it to handle. Cornell has too many weapons to fall prey to an upset of this magnitude. Factor in that Cornell is at home, and the game should be a blowout.

Pick: Cornell 78, Dartmouth 53.

PRINCETON (9-5, 0-0 Ivy) at BROWN (7-12, 1-1)

After starting off 2-4, the Tigers have won seven of their last eight, including a gritty road win at St. Joe’s. The Bears have seven wins, but only one was against a team with a winning record. While Brown has one of the league’s best players in forward Matt Mullery, Princeton is a deeper team and has a few stars of its own in guards Doug Davis and Dan Mavraides. The Tigers play at a slow tempo, and no road game is easy in league play, so look for a close, low-scoring affair.

Pick: Princeton 66, Brown 60.

DARTMOUTH at COLUMBIA

Dartmouth won’t find better luck in New York City. The Cornell-Columbia road trip is brutal, probably the toughest traveling of the season for the Big Green. Columbia will be hungry for its first league win and won’t let the opportunity slide against this feisty but depleted Dartmouth team.

Pick: Columbia 65, Dartmouth 56.

PRINCETON at YALE

Yale has not beaten a team with a winning record thus far. But the second night of a back-to-back will leave Princeton vulnerable. The Tigers would be lucky to escape unscathed against a pair of teams in the second-tier of the Ivy League, but until Yale proves it can take down a strong opponent, I’m giving Princeton the nod.

Pick: Princeton 60, Yale 56.

PENN at BROWN

I don’t see Penn improving much between Friday and Saturday, so again it will be a heavy underdog. But given that Brown is one of the four teams that the Quakers could realistically beat, I see them giving a spirited effort and losing by single digits.

Pick: Brown 70, Penn 61.

HARVARD at CORNELL

This game is the main event. So far this season, the two heavyweights brought out the best in one another. Cornell beat Alabama, then Harvard topped William and Mary. The Crimson scared UConn and Georgetown, and the Big Red spooked Syracuse and Kansas. Each has been good for the other, and, together, they’ve been a great storyline in college basketball.

The difference between these teams is that Cornell has played in big games before. The two-time reigning Ivy champion will be looking to reestablish its position at the top of the league. Newman Arena will be raucous, each team will be fired up, but I see the Big Red ultimately protecting home court.

Pick: Cornell 75, Harvard 68.

—Staff writer Timothy J. Walsh can be reached at twalsh@fas.harvard.edu.