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PRINCETON – The Tigers played a wild and weird game last night, opening its home schedule against BYU of the West Coast Conference. Having defeated Gonzaga in Spokane three times in three years, the Cougars were not likely to be intimidated by the hangar-like atmosphere of Jadwin Gym. They weren’t.
With 7:38 to go in the second half, the Cougars’ Zac Seljaas, perhaps the best outside shooter in BYU history, canned a long three to give his team a 48-43 lead, prompting Mitch Henderson to call a 30-second timeout.
Bad move.
The Tigers coach, for some reason not apparent to onlookers, went full Vesuvius on the officials. He was clearly bothered by his team’s treatment by the referees, a state of affairs he determined to be particularly galling at home. The nearest official found Henderson’s breach of decorum to be itself galling and worthy of two technical fouls, sending Henderson to the locker room and the Cougars’ best free-throw shooter, Elijah Bryant, to the line for four shots. Of course, he made all four, breaking open what had been a close, if somewhat sloppily played, contest.
1. Princeton (1-0)
Princeton opened up the season with a 72-52 victory over George Washington at Jadwin Gym on Friday night. After jumping out to a 10-point lead in the 1st quarter, the Colonials got the lead down to 3 at the half. The Tigers started the second half on a 13-0 run and outscored GW by 18 in the 3rd quarter to pull away. Coach Courtney Banghart started first-year Carlie Littlefield at the point, who responded with 14 points, 5 rebounds, and 4 assists in 38 minutes. Tia Weledji led four Tigers in double digits with 18 points, while Leslie Robinson had a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds. The Orange and Black were typically strong on defense, allowing only 3 three-pointers and 33% overall shooting, while holding a 10% rebounding advantage on both sides of the ball.
Next Games: 11/16 at Seton Hall 7 pm (Pirate Sports Network); 11/19 vs Georgia Tech 1 pm (ILN, ESPN3)
For the first time in his career as coach of the Tigers, Mitch Henderson began the season with two freshmen in his starting lineup. The heralded arrival of Jerome Derosiers and Sebastian Much played out at Hinkle Fieldhouse, the Palestra of the Midwest, to decidedly mixed reviews. The Butler Bulldogs prevailed yesterday in the season opener for the Tigers, 85-75, in a very competitive contest before an announced crowd of 8,500. A third rookie, Ryan Schweiger, actually had the most playing time, 19 minutes, of any of the first-year players.
Although the Bulldogs controlled most of the game, taking a 10-point lead to the halftime locker room, the Tigers generated enough offense to stay in this one almost to the end. The Tigers closed the gap to a manageable four with 3:30 to go but couldn’t narrow the gap any further. Both teams shot extremely well, north of 50 percent, but the Bulldogs used their advantage on the glass to fire up 12 more shots than Princeton, making six more than their East Coast rivals.
As first reported by NBC Sports, Yale has lost sophomore forward Jordan Bruner and Yale senior guard Makai Mason to injury, Bruner for the entire season and Mason for up to two months.
Mason is reportedly dealing with a stress fracture in his right foot, the same foot that was broken in a scrimmage against Boston University before the start of the 2016-17 campaign, causing him to miss the entire season.
Mason was wearing a device in his shoe to take pressure off the area that he hurt last year, the New Haven Register reported, adding that he likely wound up putting more pressure on the rest of his foot, where he developed the stress fracture.
Evan Boudreaux dropped a bombshell Friday, announcing via Twitter that he is sitting out the 2017-18 season to graduate a year early from Dartmouth with two years of eligibility left:
— Evan Boudreaux (@EBoudreaux12) November 10, 2017
The move is a huge blow to Dartmouth, as Boudreaux as a sophomore last year ranked second in the Ivy League in scoring, first in rebounding and second in minutes played.
Boudreaux’s announcement came a day before Dartmouth’s season-opening 78-77 loss at Quinnipiac, and two years after former Dartmouth standout Alex Mitola opted to become a graduate transfer rather than play his final season in Hanover, eventually choosing George Washington.
Miles Wright, Brendan Barry, Guilien Smith and Taylor Johnson will be tasked with picking up the slack for the Big Green in 2017-18.
With the 2017-18 Ivy hoops season coming upon us, I wish to share with you my one encounter with the Ivy League football championship trophy.
In 1982 I was doing post-graduate work on campus in a subject that will remain classified. (However, I will tell you that it was replete with the “three Ms”—math, molecules and, therefore, misery.) It was also the year that Penn football vaulted from doormat status to Ivy League champion. Up until this time, the football team was so incredibly bad. I once watched an opening kickoff squib a mere seven yards.
This is part 3 of our 2017-18 Ivy women’s basketball preview. Read part 1 here and part 2 here.
4. Brown Bears (‘16-’17 record: 17-13, 7-7 Ivy; tied for fourth; Ivy Tournament semifinalist; lost in second Round of WBI)
Coach Sarah Behn (fourth season; 19th season overall)
Captains: Megan Reilly (senior guard) and Erika Steeves (junior forward)
Key Returning Players:
Justine Gaziano (sophomore guard) – 22 starts, 16.5 ppg, 47.5 percent field-goal percentage, 80 percent free-throw percentage, 35 made three-pointers
Shayna Mehta (junior guard) – 30 starts, 15.7 ppg, 5.4 rpg, 39.2 percent three-point percentage, 62 made three-pointers, 58 steals
Key Losses:
Abby O’Keefe (Guard) – five starts, 17.7 mpg, 4.6 ppg, 19 made three-pointers
Key Additions:
McKenna Dale (guard) – Connecticut Gatorade POY; 1,792 points, 747 rebounds, 264 steals, 162 blocks in career
Dominique Leonidas (Guard) – first team all-state (Ga.); 1,000-plus career points
IHO Brown schedule breakdown here
Gaziano and Mehta were both in the top five in scoring and named members of the All-Ivy second team. In her rookie season, Gaziano was in the top 10 of five offensive categories, while Mehta, the 2015-16 Ivy League Rookie of the Year, was in the top 15 for eight offensive and defensive statistics. Steeves, the league’s top total rebounder, was in the conference’s top 15 for six offensive and defensive categories. Will was in the top 10 for five statistics.
This is part 2 of Ivy Hoops Online’s 2017-18 Ivy women’s basketball preview. Read part 1 here and part 3 here.
8. Dartmouth Big Green (‘16-’17 record: 8-19 overall, 3-11 Ivy; tied for seventh)
Coach Belle Koclanes (fifth season)
Captains: Andi Norman (senior forward) and Emily Slagle (senior guard)
Key Returning Players:
Kate Letkewicz (senior guard) – 23 starts, 34.6 mpg, 11.2 ppg, 6.7 rpg, 51 three-pointers made
Isalys Quinones (junior forward) – 21 starts, 27.2 mpg, 9.1 ppg, 5.9 rpg, 1.6 steals per game
Key Losses:
Fannie Szabo (guard/forward) – 20 starts, 29.9 mpg, 10.6 ppg, 2.0 apg
Amber Mixon (point guard) – 21 starts, 21.5 mpg, 2.0 apg
Key Additions:
Anna Luce (forward) – AP Washington State Co-POY; 1,700-plus career points
Elle Louie (guard) – 1,000 + points, 700 rebounds, 400 steals, 300 assists and 100 blocks in career
IHO Dartmouth schedule breakdown here
The Big Green return three players who started 20-plus games last season (Letkewicz, Quinones, Olivia Smith), and one who started 13 games (Norman). Letkewicz was an Honorable Mention All-Ivy selection the last two seasons. She was top 15 in the league for points and total rebounds, while being in the top five for three-point field-goal percentage (41 percent), three-pointers made, and defensive rebounds (6.1 per game). Quinones, who played for the Puerto Rican national team this summer, was top 15 in the conference in total rebounds, offensive rebounds, steals, free throw percentage and field goal percentage. Norman was in the top 10 for three-point field-goal percentage and three-pointers made.