LISTEN: Tiger Takeaways on Princeton men’s basketball’s 77-70 win over Penn

Ivy Hoops Online contributor George “Toothless Tiger” Clark shares his takeaways from Saturday’s 77-70 win for Princeton men’s basketball (17-3, 5-2 Ivy) over Penn (9-3, 1-6), including why the Tigers are sophomore guard Xaivian Lee’s team now:

Quakeaways from Penn men’s basketball’s 77-70 loss at Princeton

Penn men’s basketball put up its best offensive effort in more than a month on Saturday against hated Princeton. It got its best player, senior guard Clark Slajchert, back from injury. It got a dominant performance from junior forward Nick Spinoso.

It still wasn’t enough.

Trailing 62-61 with seven minutes to play, the Quakers gave up a 10-0 run to the Tigers, which was capped by an open Blake Peters three-pointer from the left wing as the shot clock expired with 4:15 to play. When the dust settled, Penn saw itself looking up at Princeton, 77-70, the same final score as the Tigers’ Ivy Madness semifinal victory over the Quakers a season ago.

The result thrilled a sellout crowd for Princeton (17-3, 5-2) at Jadwin Gymnasium and was a painful reminder of just how close Penn (9-13, 1-6) came to glory last March and just what this season could have been before Slajchert suffered a high ankle sprain in December.

Read on for the biggest takeaways from a frustrating night:

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Four Quakeaways from Penn women’s basketball’s loss to No. 25 Princeton

My friends Steve Silverman and George “Toothless Tiger” Clark did a fine job covering No. 25 Princeton women’s basketball’s win at Penn, so (with apologies to Ian Wenik, the Quakeaways man), here are four Quakeaways from Saturday’s game:

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LISTEN: Princeton men’s basketball press conference following 77-70 win over Penn

Princeton men’s basketball coach Mitch Henderson, sophomore guard Xaivian Lee and sophomore forward Caden Pierce reflect in their postgame press conference on a 77-70 win Saturday for Princeton (17-3, 5-2 Ivy) over Penn (9-13, 1-6) – the Tigers’ 10th straight victory in the series – in front of the first sold out crowd at Jadwin Gym since 2002:

Three Tiger Takeaways from No. 25 Princeton women’s basketball’s triumph at Penn

The No. 25 Princeton women’s basketball team fended off a furious Penn rally in the second half to win its 13th straight game, 67-54, at the Palestra on Saturday afternoon.  The Tigers never trailed after taking a 4-3 lead off a layup by Madison St. Rose with just under eight minutes to play in the first quarter.

But don’t be fooled by the final score – this game was closely contested from the opening tip and the Tigers were fortunate to come out on top.  Here are three Tiger Takeaways from Princeton’s 13th straight win:

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LISTEN: Q&A with Carla Berube after No. 25 Princeton women’s basketball’s win at Penn

No. 25 Princeton women’s basketball notched a 67-54 win at archrival Penn Saturday. Tigers coach Carla Berube reflects on the clutch play of senior forward Ellie Mitchell, senior guard Chet Nweke’s emergence as a leader and more after the win for Princeton (18-3, 8-0 Ivy) over Penn (11-10, 3-5) with Ivy Hoops Online contributor George “Toothless Tiger” Clark:

Quakeaways from Penn men’s basketball’s 74-58 loss at Yale

NEW HAVEN, Conn. — Penn’s losing streak hit five games after one kill shot too many from Yale Saturday night.

The Red and Blue fell, 74-58, after a 10-0 Bulldogs run over 90 seconds at the start of the second half turned a manageable six-point halftime deficit into a 16-point hole. Penn (9-12, 1-5 Ivy) had already fought-back from a 7-0 game-opening Yale (15-6, 6-0) run to take a lead, then promptly surrendered a 10-0 run to flip the scoreboard back in the Bulldogs’ favor.

A rattled-in three from Niklas Polonowski cut the Penn deficit down to nine points with just over eight minutes to play, but Ivy League Player of the Year candidate Danny Wolf responded with a personal 10-0 scoring barrage to put the game on ice.

If you had told the average fan after the Quakers’ stunning upset over Villanova that Penn would be buried in the Ivy standings before the Super Bowl, they would have told you that you were crazy. But that is the sad reality.

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Yale men’s basketball takes care of business in 74-58 win over Penn

Letdown? No way.

Yale men’s basketball navigated the treacherous trap game waters with excellence by downing Penn, 74-58, at John J. Lee Amphitheater Saturday night for its eighth consecutive win.

Yale coach James Jones did not see any letdown.

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Penn women’s basketball routs Brown, 77-56

Friday night basketball at the Palestra belonged to Penn senior forward Jordan Obi, who scored her 1,000th point as the Quakers demolished Brown, 77-56.
Obi, the most versatile player at Penn since the arrival of coach Mike McLaughlin 15 years ago, was pretty much perfect: 20 points on 4-for-4 shooting and 11-for-12 from the foul line, plus 13 rebounds, three blocks and a pair of assists. Her totals would have been higher, but McLaughlin pulled his starters early with a 30-point lead.
Obi is the 25th Quaker to hit the 1,000-point mark, and she did it faster than all but six other players, in just the third season of a COVID-shortened career. And her timing for a big game couldn’t have been better, because Penn needed this win against an ascendant Brown program that’s trying for its first ticket to the Ivy League Tournament since 2017. Penn has qualified for the tournament each year since its inception and isn’t interested in ending its season early.
When coaches and players say they don’t pay attention to the standings, don’t believe them.
“There is some discussion,” Obi conceded to reporters after the game. “Beating Brown, losing is not an option.”
“We were aware of everything, where everyone stands, but we go into every game as if it’s our last,” said Simone Sawyer, a Penn sophomore guard. Sawyer, who had a shaky start to the season, was back in the starting lineup for the first time since November and came through with three threes and three steals.
Brown and Penn came into the game obviously charged up: The frenetic first three minutes of play included an Obi block, three scrambles resulting in held balls, seven missed shots, five turnovers and just seven points scored. But then Penn started hitting its shots — 58% in the first three quarters — and Brown struggled from the field, shooting just 29% for the night. Penn led all the way; Brown was down 17-12 with under four minutes left in the first quarter, but then Penn went on a 17-point tear and never felt pressure after that.
“I thought we came out and defended really hard,” McLaughlin told reporters after the game. “They executed on the offensive end. We made shots that first quarter. I thought overall it was a great team win.”
He even had high praise for the Penn Band, which erupted in cheers when Obi hit her milestone basket and presented her with a 1,000-point banner after the game.
As for Obi, McLaughlin told Ivy Hoops Online: “She can play inside, outside. She can shoot the three. She’s a power player at times. She can handle the ball. She’s the full package. She’s a very good defender. She’s long. She’s active. She’s willing.”
Joining Obi in double figures for Penn were the usual suspects: junior Stina Almqvist (17 points, 6-for-11 shooting including 3-for-5 from three-point range, plus three assists and a pair of blocks) and freshman Mataya Gayle (11 points, 5-for-9 shooting, three steals).
Kyla Jones led Brown with 18 points on 7-of-18 shooting, and Isabella Mauricio had 11 points on 4-of-9 from the field.
Penn (11-8, 3-3 Ivies) is back in the Palestra on Saturday night against Yale (4-15, 1-5). Brown (13-6, 4-2) will try its luck at Princeton (16-3, 6-0).