Ivy Hoops Online’s George Clark (Toothless Tiger) catches up with Princeton coach Mitch Henderson, who in an in-depth interview reflects on the Tigers’ two pivotal turning points amid their undefeated Ivy 2016-17 campaign, explains why Princeton has enjoyed success in tight late-game situations the past couple of seasons, weighs in on why he’s still in favor of the Ivy League Tournament, previews the team’s incoming freshmen and makes a case for an eventual #2bidivy breakthrough:
2017-18 Ivy League team-by-team season preview, part 2
This is part 2 of IHO’s 2017-18 Ivy League team-by-team season preview. Read part 1 here.
5. Columbia
Columbia’s season went south quickly after a 4-2 start in Ivy play, as the Lions fell out of conference tournament contention with a 1-7 finish in Ancient Eight action. What could push Columbia even farther south this season is the loss of Luke Petrsasek, who is was as versatile as players come. Petrasek ranked in the league’s top 10 in scoring, field goal percentage, free throw percentage, steals and blocks. So that’ll be hard to replace, especially since Columbia was so pedestrian in effective field-goal percentage at both ends of the floor in 2016-17.
2017-18 Ivy League team-by-team season preview, part 1
This is part 1 of IHO’s 2017-18 Ivy League team-by-team season preview. Read part 2 here.
The rise of the Ivy League is projected to continue.
The Ancient Eight is slated by KenPom as the 13th-best conference in Division I this season, just seven years after it placed 26th. That’s a quantum leap, a product of the league’s bolstered recruiting in that time frame. The Ivy hoops status quo now consists of top-25 recruiting classes, Nike Skills Academy members and expectations of NCAA Tournament success.
There’s a three-way cluster between Harvard, Princeton and Yale projected to top the league. In the Ivy Preseason Media Poll, Yale received the most first-place votes (eight) but Harvard garnered the most points overall. Without a clear conference favorite, it’s quite likely that the regular season champion will not also be the conference tournament winner, with Bart Torvik’s Ivy Tourney Simulator tabbing Penn as the favorite in an Ivy tourney as a No. 4 seed.
Paul Atkinson well-positioned to make a difference in Yale’s frontcourt
Sam Downey was a force underneath for Yale last season, finely tuning his post moves were finally tuned and helping the Elis reach the Ivy League Tournament championship game at The Palestra.
The Elis return a strong group of guards in Makai Mason, Trey Phills, Alex Copeland and Miye Oni, which puts them at the top of the conference in terms of Ancient Eight backcourts. But how to replace Downey?
2017-18 Ivy women’s basketball preview – Part 1
This is part 1 of Ivy Hoops Online’s 2017-18 Ivy women’s basketball preview. Read part 2 here and part 3 here.
At the end of the 2016-17 season, the Ivy League ended up as the nation’s eighth-best conference, according to the RPI. The Penn Quakers went 13-1 to take the regular season title by four games over Princeton. The Tigers ended up one game ahead of third-place Harvard. Brown defeated Cornell in Ithaca on the last night of the season to force a tie for fourth-place, and the Bears claimed the last spot in the inaugural Ivy Tournament on the strength of a season sweep of the Big Red. In the semifinal round of Ivy Madness, Penn defeated Brown 71-60 and Princeton beat the Crimson 68-47. The next afternoon, the Red & Blue completed a season sweep of the Tigers, 75-49, to earn the conference’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
Harvard season preview: Slew of sophomore studs looks to lead Crimson
Last season, Harvard lost to Yale in heartbreaking fashion in the first round of the inaugural Ivy League Tournament. The Crimson graduated Siyani Chambers and Zena Edosomwan, both of whom made indelible impacts on the program. Honestly, it’s hard to imagine a successful Harvard season without Siyani Chambers. And yet, the Crimson comes into the 2017-18 season as the preseason favorite, according to the Ivy Preseason Media Poll. While the poll predicted an incredibly close race between Harvard and familiar foes Yale and Princeton, the sentiment of the voters is clear: No one expects Harvard to take a step back this year. Here are the details on how Harvard hopes to turn high expectations on paper into actual success on the court:
Blue Madness insights from Yale coach James Jones
Yale’s Blue Madness scrimmage on Thursday night was a fun and loose affair for both the men’s and women’s basketball teams. Unlike the Cornell Red-White Scrimmage earlier in the week, there was little chance for anyone to get injured.
After introductions of both squads, the two teams held a three-point shooting contest, with Blake Reynolds defeating Jen Berkowitz in the finals. In the slam dunk contest, Trey Phills captured his second team title, defeating Jordan Bruner in the finals with a 360-degree jam.
Red-White Scrimmage brings growth and hope for Cornell
Amid an 80-degree, summer-like Homecoming on Saturday, the Cornell men’s basketball team held its Red-White Scrimmage, unofficially beginning year two of the Brian Earl era. With a year of experience under Earl’s more disciplined system, as well as the coach’s bringing in his first recruiting class, the Big Red look like a more confident and balanced unit that should improve upon last season’s 8-21 record.
Penn women’s basketball tops Ivy League Preseason Media Poll, projected to pull off three-peat
A three-peat is on its way if the Ivy League Preseason Media Poll for this upcoming season is on the mark.
Released Wednesday, the poll projects Penn to win its third straight Ivy League championship, the third time in four seasons the Red and Blue were chosen to finish atop the league.
Why Penn can do better than fourth in the Ivy League standings in 2017-18
The leaves remain unnaturally green, the air temperature dips into the upper 70s and the Quaker football team uncharacteristically turns Franklin Field into a house of horrors. All of this can only mean one thing: the upcoming Ivy hoops season cannot be far behind. (And, of course, the Earth is going to burn like a cinder in space.) And once again it is I, The AQ, bringing you another year of outstanding Penn basketball coverage as I faithfully have for IHO since 1947.