Yale men’s basketball takes first season loss after Rhode Island second-half surge

by

Yale men’s basketball took its first loss of the 2025-26 season Tuesday night at John J. Lee Amphitheater, squandering a 10-point second-half lead and falling tamely to KenPom No. 102 Rhode Island, 86-77.

The Rams (4-1) went on a 17-6 run to grab a 57-56 lead and hold off the Bulldogs (3-1). The visitors were more physical than Yale in the second half and outscored them, 46-31, in the frame.

“We did a poor job of getting back [on defense],” Yale coach James Jones said. “They have some quickness there [at guard].”

Read more

Quakeaways from Penn men’s basketball’s big Big 5 win over Saint Joseph’s

by

PHILADELPHIA — With 15:51 to play last night, Penn held a 48-46 lead at the Palestra on Saint Joseph’s and former coach Steve Donahue. The Quakers entered Monday as a six-point underdog, but the small lead clearly wasn’t enough for Penn coach Fran McCaffery — or anyone on the bench, for that manner.

One benefit of my seats behind the scorer’s table is that I can pick up bits and pieces of what’s said on the Penn bench or in the huddle. You can see players get coached up as they come off the floor, or hear an assistant demanding someone on the court cut or help.

I didn’t pick up a ton of what McCaffery was saying during that timeout, but one sentence aimed at the Hawks came through perfectly clear.

“They ****ing can’t defend!”

A few minutes later, Penn proved its new coach right. A 5-0 Penn run — capped by a wing three from Ethan Roberts in transition — would force Saint Joseph’s into a timeout and help lift the Quakers to a thrilling 83-74 win.

Penn (2-2, 1-0 Big 5) was physically overwhelmed by Saint Joseph’s (2-2, 1-1) on the same floor last year, the first big red flag in a season that got Donahue fired. Not so on Monday. The Quakers put up 1.11 points per possession and played at times brilliant offense against an ostensibly superior opponent.

Where do they go from here?

Read more

Princeton women’s basketball falls back to Earth, loses at No. 9 Maryland

by

After taking down two power-conference opponents on the road to open the season, the Princeton women’s basketball team finally met its match at Maryland, falling to the No. 9 Terps, 84-68, at the XFINITY Center in College Park, Md. Sunday.

Read more

Columbia women’s basketball falls to sharpshooting Richmond

by

In a battle between two of the nation’s premier mid-major teams, Richmond women’s basketball used hot three-point shooting to come away from Levien Gymnasium with a 77-67 win Saturday night.

Both teams, which made it to the NCAA Tournament and won a game last year, have aspirations of returning to the Big Dance in 2026. A victory for the Spiders (3-1) helps their overall resume, in case they cannot secure the Atlantic 10’s automatic bid in March. Despite the unfavorable result, the Lions (2-1), as often is the case, will find valuable lessons as they move forward with their difficult nonconference schedule.

Read more

Simone Sawyer propels Penn women’s basketball to bounceback win at Hofstra

by
Tina Njike readies for the opening tip against Hofstra at the David S. Mack Sports and Exhibition Complex on Nov. 15, 2025. (Rob Browne/Ivy Hoops Online)

HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. – Simone Sawyer dominated both sides of the ball on Saturday afternoon, leading the Penn women’s team to a methodical 67-55 defeat of Hofstra at the David S. Mack Sports and Exhibition Complex.

The senior guard from Lincolnshire, Ill. led the offense with a 21-point, nine rebound performance and spearheaded a tenacious Quakers defense that shut down the Pride’s top three scorers in the second half.

“This was the best basketball game we’ve seen a guard at Penn play in a long time. Simone Sawyer was that good,” Penn coach Mike McLaughlin told Ivy Hoops Online immediately after the game. “She defended 94 feet almost the entire time, she guarded their point of attack. A great effort.” 

The victory was a solid return to form, following a tough loss at Drexel earlier in the week, and puts Penn at 3-1 on the young season. Hofstra, meanwhile, moves to 1-2.

Read more

Yale men’s basketball steps past Stony Brook

by

Yale men’s basketball was finally tested but survived a Stony Brook scare and hung on for an 86-79 win Saturday at John J. Lee Amphitheater.

The Bulldogs (3-0) held a narrow 40-38 halftime lead over the Seawolves (3-1), who went 8-for-14 from three-point range in the stanza.

Yale was up 46-43 and then went on a 15-6 run, keyed by two threes by senior forward Nick Townsend.

Stony Brook cut the score to 74-70 at the 2:12 mark. Then junior guard Trevor Mullin hit a key trey and Yale never looked back.

Read more

Tiger Takeaways from Princeton women’s basketball’s dreamy start and a look ahead to Maryland

by

So far, the Princeton women’s basketball team’s dream season has unfolded, well, like a dream.

The Tigers have opened up the 2025-26 campaign with two big road wins over power-conference opponents, both in exhilarating fashion. In each game, the Tigers trailed for a majority of the contest only to have the lights suddenly come on in the final stanza. 

In the team’s season opener Sunday at Georgia Tech, Carla Berube’s squad overcame a sluggish first quarter and an eight-point deficit in the fourth quarter to win, 67-61.

Three days later at Villanova, the Tigers rallied in carbon-copy fashion from a 10-point deficit in the fourth to win again, 73-68. 

Here are three takeaways from the Tigers’ promising start to the season and a preview of this weekend’s epic matchup with Maryland:

Read more

LISTEN: Princeton men’s basketball overwhelms John Jay

by

Ivy Hoops Online contributor George “Toothless Tiger” Clark reports on Princeton men’s basketball’s 100-59 win over Division III squad John Jay Thursday night at Jadwin Gym, from which Tigers coach Mitch Henderson departed early: