Men's Basketball Anticipates Latest Edition of Amaker-Jones Rivalry

In the months leading up to the college basketball season, Feb. 17 was supposed to be the Ivy League’s moment in the sun. Harvard and Yale, the top two teams in the conference preseason poll and the league’s biggest rivals, would be going head-to-head in a nationally televised Saturday night game at Lavietes Pavilion. While the matchup between the two schools gets the most attention on the gridiron, the Crimson and Bulldogs have established quite the rivalry on the hardwood.

Harvard and Yale have combined for five of the Ivy League’s last six NCAA Tournament bids, with the Bulldogs ending the Crimson’s four-year run of dominance from 2012-2015. Even though Princeton was the class of the Ivy League a season ago, the matchups between Harvard and Yale, especially the teams’ showdown during the Ivy League Tournament, were some of the conference’s premier games.

Storylines entering the two 2018 matchups abounded. Yale captain Makai Mason, the only player on either team’s roster who played in the Ivy League’s one-game playoff back in 2015, was scheduled to return from a foot injury that sidelined him for all of the 2016-2017 season. The Crimson’s star-studded sophomore class would be going up against Yale’s talented group of second-years in what the Ivy League hopes will be a rivalry in itself for years to come. Harvard would likely still have a bitter taste in its mouth following an unexpected early exit from the inaugural Ivy League Tournament at the hands of the Elis.

Plus, the two teams have largely been the class of the Ancient Eight for the last several years, with intense, every-possession-counts matchups being the norm. Remarkably, entering the season, the Crimson and Bulldogs had split their last eight regular season matchups (point differential: Yale by three), their two meetings at the Palestra (one-game playoff in 2015 and Ivy League Tournament last year, point differential: even), and the ten meetings at Lavietes Pavilion since Harvard coach Tommy Amaker has been at the helm (point differential: Yale by 12). One could say that these teams tend to play each other tight.

To add some proverbial kindling to the fire, Amaker and Yale coach James Jones have a little rivalry of their own. The two headmen play a chess game of x’s and o’s two or three times a year and duke it out on the recruiting trail, with both schools having brought in some of the most heralded recruits in league history in recent years. However, Jones has not always been fond of Amaker’s strategy, saying in 2008 that “[i]t’s eye-opening because there seems to have been a drastic shift in restrictions and regulations with the Harvard admissions office” and “we could not get involved with many of the kids that they are bringing in.” With Jones in charge, Yale has enjoyed playing up, at best, an underdog narrative and, at worse, one of a redheaded stepchild. Jones spent a good chunk of his Ivy League Tournament press conference last season talking about the chip on his team’s shoulder and bemoaning the fact that then-senior forward Sam Downey was not a first or second team All-Ivy selection.

So, there’s your scene for Saturday night. However, things haven’t exactly gone according to plan. Mason has still not played in a game since injuring his foot, Bulldogs star sophomore forward Jordan Bruner is out for the year while reigning Ivy League Rookie of the Year Bryce Aiken has been hampered by a knee injury for most of the season for the Crimson. Both teams struggled mightily in nonconference play, with Harvard taking its licks against the likes of Holy Cross and George Washington, and Yale carrying its lackluster play into the beginning of Ivy League action.

However, the teams have been better of late, especially after a weekend in which both clubs went undefeated. The Bulldogs saw sophomore wing Miye Oni win Ivy League Player of the Week honors and received news that Mason may be active this weekend for the first time in nearly 23 months. The Crimson has won seven of its first eight conference games, appears to have turned a corner on the offensive end, and saw breakout performances from sophomores Christian Juzang and Chris Lewis last weekend. Unless something crazy happens over the next three weekends, Harvard will likely be a top-two seed in the Ivy League Tournament for the second straight year. Yale, on the other hand, is in a crowd of five teams separated by one game for the third and fourth spots in the tournament. The Bulldogs, along with Brown, can control their own destiny.

Expect another close game like the one played in New Haven three weekends ago, but don’t hedge your bets on one in which the teams struggle to break 50 points apiece and combine for two field goals in the final five minutes of game action. But don’t be surprised either if there’s another matchup in three weeks in Philadelphia—Harvard and Yale have a strange way of running into one another.

PENN AT COLUMBIA

We think all Columbia University Marching Band jokes have been exhausted.

Just kidding.

Notably absent from the esteemed constitution of this venerable band is any mention of the Quakers. It’s remarkable, really. Every subsection of Article Eight of the band’s constitution makes a witty remark about every institution in the Ivy League. Except Penn.

We’d like to get to the bottom of this, but for the time being we’re pretty sure that the Quakers will not be absent at Friday’s game.

Pick: Penn

BROWN AT HARVARD

Something that hasn’t happened between Brown and Harvard in a long time happened earlier this year.

No, the Bears didn’t end their 17-game losing streak to the Crimson.

That’s right. After years of begging, Brown’s deprived campus finally brought the Harvard Computer Society’s annual iteration of Datamatch to Providence.

As is usual in the Ivy League, though, Brown’s version completely blows. Not only is it limited to Brown students (we heard RISD is where it’s at in Providence) but more importantly, there’s no free food involved. Why anyone would bother to spend the better part of thirty minutes filling it out to not get free food baffles us.

Seventeen games in a row does as well.

Pick: Harvard

YALE AT DARTMOUTH

The top story of The Dartmouth is as follows—Domino’s to open Hanover franchise.

This would be a prime moment to take a shot at the Big Green. Traditional schools of thought would likely reach the conclusion that it’s a sad day when the biggest news in Hanover is the opening of a new Domino’s.

The truth of the matter, though, is that this might be the single greatest thing that’s happened to Dartmouth in a while.

This is not sarcasm.

Where else in America can you get two large two-topping pizzas for $5.99 delivered straight to your door? Nowhere, that’s where.

The only other big news in Hanover is that somehow the Big Green managed to get its first win in conference (after losing seven to start the season) by taking down none other than Princeton. For some reason, though, this was nowhere to be found on the pages of The Dartmouth. Just the Domino’s thing.

The publication has lost all respect from us as has their basketball program for the most part.

Pick: Yale

PRINCETON AT CORNELL

We didn’t mention this before, but not only did Princeton lose to a then-winless Dartmouth squad, they kind of got blown out.

Incredible.

What’s more incredible though is that both of these teams are 3-5 in conference. We have no explanation for this.

Pick: Princeton

BROWN AT DARTMOUTH

In what might be the most surprising story of the conference season, Brown is tied with Yale for third in conference. Yes, this is the same Brown squad that was predicted to be bottom-feeding along with Dartmouth at the beginning of the season.

Brown’s star freshman Desmond Cambridge might have tweaked his ankle last weekend, but Dartmouth would have to seriously tweak its roster to come out with a win.

Pick: Brown

PENN AT CORNELL

We calls it like we sees it.

Pick: Penn

PRINCETON AT COLUMBIA

Columbia is Harvard’s lone loss this season and, regardless of the score, it wasn’t a particularly close game if we’re being honest. We’re no experts, but the Lions are honestly contenders to slip in as the four-seed in the conference tournament if they wanted to. Last season, Columbia more or less blew the second half of the conference season and practically opened the gates for Penn to go in its place.

We might be beating a dead horse here, but Princeton lost to a then-winless Dartmouth team last week.

We’ve also come to realize we’re particularly bad at these picks so why not take the supposed underdog.

Pick: Columbia

YALE AT HARVARD

For the first time ever, we’re prepared to talk candidly about how we really feel about Yale.

Well at least one of us is. The truth is that when I stayed over in New Haven four years ago, I was forced into the confines of Timothy Dwight College.

It was the single worst experience of my life.

The floor was just as cold as Yale coach James Jones’ look after the Crimson beat the Bulldogs in New Haven for the second time in a row.

The yoga mat that was my bed was as worn as Yale coach James Jones’ look after the Crimson beat the Bulldogs in New Haven for the second time in a row.

The pizza that they provided was as cold as Yale coach James Jones’ look after the Crimson beat the Bulldogs in New Haven for the second time in a row.

Needless to say, we’re not fans of New Haven and James Jones really isn’t a fan of Harvard.

Also, Timothy Dwight College sucks.

Pick: Harvard

—Staff writer Troy Boccelli can be reached at troy.boccelli@thecrimson.com.

—Staff writer Stephen J. Gleason can be reached at stephen.gleason@thecrimson.com.