Princeton pulls away past George Washington, 73-52

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On the most consequential night of the still young Ivy League season, the Tigers did their part by extending their modest winning streak to three games.  Although their effort will be overshadowed by Cornell’s near-miss at Syracuse in the Boeheim Bowl and Yale’s big win at Miami, the Tigers’ play against the A10’s George Washington deserves some recognition.

Princeton won, 73-52, but the final score is a misleading indicator of the proceedings. The outcome was very much in doubt after 12 minutes of play in the second half. While Princeton held single-digit leads through much of the game, the Colonials “hung around,” as we say, appearing poised to make a run at any time.

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Cornell women lose heartbreaker at Stony Brook

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STONY BROOK, N.Y. – While the Cornell men took their yearly trip up I-81 to take on Syracuse, the women traveled south to Long Island to complete their four game road trip at Stony Brook. Despite overcoming a seven-point deficit at the start of the final frame, the Big Red could not hold onto a late one-point lead and ended up on the losing end of the 63-61 contest. Cornell now sits at 2-5 on the season.

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Cornell fades late, falls in upset bid against Syracuse

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The hoopla over Saturday’s Cornell-Syracuse tilt being the Battle of the Boeheims gave way to a good basketball game, with the Big Red clinging to a lead with six minutes to play.

But several bad shots and turnovers down the stretch along with a couple of tough shots falling for the lethal Tyus Battle-Frank Howard combo for Syracuse brought the Big Red down, resulting in a 63-55 Syracuse victory.

and because of that Syracuse was able to escape with a 63-55 victory. Cornell dropped back to 4-4 while Syracuse went to 5-2.

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Behind Enemy Lines: Q&A with The Juice Online

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It’s time for Ivy Hoops Online’s annual exchange with The Juice Online since another edition of Cornell-Syracuse is upon us. Saturday will bring another family affair between the Big Red and the host Orange, with Cornell sophomore forward Jimmy Boeheim squaring off against not only his father, longtime Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim, but brother and Orange freshman guard Buddy Boeheim. Syracuse is coming off a Wednesday win at Ohio State, which was No. 1 in the first NCAA NET college basketball rankings. Cornell is coming off a Wednesday overtime win at Lafayette.
Ivy Hoops Online: Tell us about The Juice.
The Juice Online: The Juice (then called The Big Orange) was founded in 1992, one of approximately 50 independent publications devoted to the coverage of its school’s athletics programs. In 2002, it became a full-color, glossy magazine which was owned by Fox Sports. The print product ceased publication in June of 2010 and was relaunched as The Juice Online in December of 2010. In February 2012, The Juice Online partnered with SportsNet New York, the official television home of the New York Mets and New York Jets. As part of SNY.tv’s Blog Network, The Juice Online supplements SNY’s coverage of more than 125 college football and basketball games, as well as other college sports programming.
IHO: What are the major storylines with Syracuse coming into this season?

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Women’s hoops week in review: Nov. 19-28

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Harvard (2-1 This week; 4-3 overall)
at Hartford 60-73
vs Jacksonville State 69-62 (Thanksgiving Basketball Classic at Cal. State University – Northridge)
vs CSUN 75-55 (Thanksgiving Basketball Classic at Cal. State University- Northridge)

Three weeks into the season and the Crimson are the league’s most balanced team.  There are three players in double figures and sophomore Jadyn Bush is arguably the league’s most improved and valuable player.  The MVP of the Thanksgiving Basketball Classic is leading the league in rebounding, field goal percentage and free throw percentage, as well as tenth in points.  If not for her second quarter ejection for elbowing a Hartford player in the head while being triple teamed, Harvard may have gone 3-0 on the week.

The Crimson are shooting a league-best 44.1 percent from the field and 33.2 percent from three, while also leading the Ivies with 69.7 points, 8.9 made threes and 15.4 assists per game.  Defensively, they are limiting opponents to 38.1 percent shooting from two and 29.6 percent from three.

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Devin Cannady continues his hot streak in another Princeton win

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Princeton’s second straight game against an 0-6 opponent, this time the Maine Black Bears, offered the Tigers a chance to work on some of the bothersome trends that emerged in the first four games.

Shooting has been a real, although unexpected, issue throughout the roster except for Devin Cannady. Maine, coached by former Tiger women’s coach Richard Barron, has found it difficult to find its footing in Barron’s first season after several years at the helm of the Maine women.

The Tigers, getting a tremendous lift from Devin Cannady’s season-high 28, controlled this one throughout, leading by as many as 19 before closing the door at Maine, 73-59. Cannady was 7-for-10 from the field, 5-for-8 from beyond the arc and a perfect 9-for-9 from the charity stripe. Several of his long-range bombs drew “oohs” and “aahs” from the Bangor fans.

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Cornell’s stellar defense makes up for poor offense in overtime win at Lafayette

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It wasn’t much warmer in the Kirby Sports Center in Easton, Pa. than it was in Ithaca Wednesday, with teams from both towns

shooting percentages not much higher than the temperature, but it wouldn’t matter as Cornell was able to sneak by for a 63-58 victory in overtime. Cornell improved to 4-3, while Lafayette dropped to 2-4. Lafayette and Cornell each shot 36 percent and 37 percent respectively from the field.

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Absent Chris Lewis, Harvard stuns Saint Mary’s with impressive road win

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Harvard took the floor on Saturday night with an immediate disadvantage: already 8.5-point underdogs on the road against the Gaels, the Crimson had arguably their three best players donning street clothes. On the far right side of their bench sat Bryce Aiken, Seth Towns, and, to the surprise of many, Chris Lewis, Harvard’s leading scorer.

After earning Ivy Rookie of the Year honors in his freshman campaign, Aiken battled knee ailments all of last year and missed an extended amount of time. When he did play, it was clear that he wasn’t at full strength. The former top-100 recruit underwent surgery this past offseason, and was expected to be healthy by the start of this year. However, Aiken has yet to see action in the 2018-19 season.

It’s been an eerily similar journey for Towns, whose breakout sophomore season earned him the 2017-18 Ivy League Men’s Player of the Year award. The lanky sharpshooter scored just under 23 points per 40 minutes last year, shooting more than 44 percent from deep. His impact on Harvard’s offense was especially noticeable late in the shot clock; when the Crimson had no open looks and the clock was nearing zero, Towns would often create shots on his own via isolation play.

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Led by Devin Cannady, Princeton ekes past Monmouth

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The Tigers entered Saturday afternoon’s contest at Monmouth as a two-point favorite. The visitors covered, but barely.

Chalk up Princeton’s 60-57 comeback victory to senior leadership, particularly to Devin Cannady. His 18 second-half points, 21 overall, proved just enough to propel the Tigers past the Hawks, in what has become a spirited intra-state rivalry. King Rice’s club, off to a horrendous 0-6 start, was especially anxious to right the ship.

This one  was almost the polar opposite of the game two years ago on the same floor. The Hawks survived an amazing 96-90 shootout which was as exhausting to watch as it was to play. The Tigers stumbled out of the gate as the Hawks grabbed an early 10-2 lead after four minutes, extending that margin to 18-7 eight minutes in. A Myles Stephens three drew the Tigers within five, 20-15, midway through the first period. Both teams stalled leading to a four-minute scoreless stretch. The Tigers could manage a paltry five points in the final 10 minutes. Monmouth was not much better, but went into the locker room holding a 27-20 lead.

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Host Princeton bows to Fairleigh Dickinson, 77-66

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The Tigers’ second Division I tilt, a home contest against Fairleigh Dickinson Wednesday, ended in a depressingly similar way to last week’s game at Lehigh.

Princeton held a 56-53 advantage at the 9:12 mark of the second period. The Tigers would not lead again. FDU went on a 20-7 run over the next eight minutes, coasting home with a convincing 77-66 road win. Tiger skipper Mitch Henderson alluded to the game as a “second punch in the face” for his club, per the Trentonian. For the second year in a row, the Knights have outscored the Tigers by 15 in the second stanza, although last year’s 22-point halftime advantage saved the Tigers.

The game started promisingly for Princeton, as Devin Cannady returned to the starting lineup, appearing to have recovered completely from what was described as a “high hamstring pull.” Cannady hit his first four threes from NBA range. His 15 points sent the home team into the locker room with a 34-30 lead.

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