As we near the halfway mark of the 2022 Ivy League season, here are five thoughts about the state of the race for the men’s league title:
Five thoughts about the Ivy League men’s race
Princeton
Princeton men need to tighten up defense after falling short versus Yale
Preseason Ivy favorite Yale returned to one of its comfortable road venues, Jadwin Gym, to upset the Tigers, 80-74. The Tigers have shown a propensity to dig themselves into early holes. This time the hole was too deep, the Eli sharpshooters too deadly. Yale’s 17-point lead at the half, boosted by the Tigers’ surrendering an inexcusable 1-on-2 layup after holding for the last shot, proved to be insurmountable.
In the second half, the Tigers played much closer to their preferred game, making nine of 12 from deep to get back into contention, at one point closing within two. Even when Azar Swain and Jalen Gabbidon were rested in the middle of the second half, the Tigers failed to take advantage. Yale actually added to its lead.
Jaelin Llewellyn dismissed injury concerns to fuel the Tigers’ comeback effort, canning six of 12 shots from deep and scoring 23 points. Ethan Wright and Drew Friberg went a combined 3-for-14 from beyond the arc, with most of those misses coming in the first half.
The second half shows that Princeton can certainly play with Yale but must defend better. This game demonstrates why Yale was favored to win the Ivy crown this season. Since the Tigers will spend much of February on the road, they need to find three wins to ensure their berth in Ivy Madness.
Yale men “locked in” to hand Princeton its first Ivy defeat
Remember the name Matt Knowling.
Yale women can’t overcome Princeton standouts as Tigers pull away, 61-49
It was the Abby Meyers and Julia Cunningham show in New Haven Friday night.
Princeton men survive, women thrive in wins over Dartmouth counterparts
Both Tiger teams fared well against their Dartmouth opponents Saturday.
Princeton men building early momentum toward Ivy title as dominance over Penn persists
Mitch Henderson’s dominance over the Penn Quakers continues. Since 2012, Princeton, after yesterday’s satisfying 74-64 triumph at Jadwin, is 15-4 against its most bitter rival.
Penn men no match for disciplined and balanced Princeton
There may be a new schedule for Ancient Eight rivalries, but the Penn men had an all too familiar result against Princeton on Monday afternoon.
Princeton women dominate at Penn
The question going into their game Monday against Princeton was whether the Penn women, who have been inconsistent, could put together their best game against the Ivies’ best. The Quakers played well, but the Tigers played so much better, winning 70-50.
Princeton women rout Brown, 72-39
The overmatched Brown Bears were spanked by Carla Berube’s Princeton Tigers on Saturday in Providence, 72-39.
The vaunted Tiger defense had single-digit yields in the first (nine) and third (eight) quarters, holding the Bears to under 10 per period for the game.
On offense, Ellie Mitchell was the first of four Tigers to register 12 points for the game. Mitchell went 6- for-6 in the first quarter, an unusual output for the rebounding and defensive specialist. The Tigers led 24-8 after one period and never trailed. Mitchell collected her usual 11 rebounds to record her fifth career double-double.
Abby Meyers, Julia Cunningham and Kaitlyn Chen also contributed 12 points each to fuel the runaway.
Berube used the lopsided contest as an opportunity to give 14 players the chance for some game action. Chet Nweke went 4-for-4 from the field in 13 minutes.
The Tigers could not be accused of looking ahead to Monday’s visit to The Palestra where their bitter rivals, the Penn Quakers, await. Penn-Princeton meetings are always fun and usually offer a surprise or two. Stream the game on ESPN+.
Princeton men hang on to best Brown, 76-74
Love that home cooking! The Princeton Tigers, whose opening game on the road against Harvard was postponed, played its third straight Ivy League game in Jadwin Gym’s friendly confines on Saturday afternoon against the Brown Bears.