Dartmouth’s been a resilient team throughout this season, bouncing back from a 13-point second-half deficit to push past Penn last month and overcoming a four-point overtime deficit almost midway through the extra period to top UTSA in November. So Dartmouth blowing a 76-71 lead with 70 seconds left in regulation to drop its first meeting with Princeton at Jadwin Gym in an 83-80 overtime decision last month was never going to be the final word on the Big Green’s season.
In its rematch with Princeton at Leede Arena Saturday, it was Dartmouth that delivered a second-half comeback, climbing out of a seven-point hole early in the second stanza to notch an 83-76 win. Dartmouth’s now tied with a quickly cooling Cornell at fifth place in the Ivy standings,
Some thoughts on how Dartmouth got there and where they could be headed:
1. The great Dame
Dartmouth senior forward Dame Adelekun is having an Ivy Player of the Year-caliber campaign. So far in Ivy play, the Gastonia, N.C. native ranks second in free throw rate (getting to the foul line) and effective field goal percentage (accounting for a three-point field goal being worth one more point than a two-point field goal), third in defensive rebounding and block percentages and block percentage, and fourth in assist rate, per KenPom. Now that’s a stat sheet-stuffer.
It was Adelekun who scored five straight points after a 42-42 tie to give Dartmouth the lead for good early in the second half. It was Adelekun who hit two clutch free throws to double the Big Green lead from two to four with 1:56 left after a 21-8 Princeton run slashed Dartmouth’s lead to 73-71. And it was Adelekun who delivered a game-high 25 points on 10-for-14 shooting, five rebounds and two blocks in just 30 minutes. Adelekun was a nonfactor in Dartmouth’s loss to Princeton last month, eventually fouling out after just 18 minutes of play. The Ivy is especially parity-rich this season, and Dartmouth is more than capable of winning the conference tournament when Adelekun is at his best.
2. Regression to the Green
Princeton is in a tie with Yale atop the Ivy standings at 7-3, but the Tigers have not been in a league of their own. They’re a perseverant bunch, shaking off second-half deficits in wins over Cornell (twice), Harvard and Penn in addition to the aforementioned overtime victory they pulled out over Dartmouth in their first meeting.
The luck that complemented perseverance in those wins ran out Saturday in Hanover. Princeton is a young team that doesn’t get a great deal of production from the free-throw line offensively and ranks next-to-last in Ivy play in three-point shooting percentage. Those are concerning figures looking ahead to Ivy Madness, a format unkind to teams prone to shooting droughts and without a knack for winning games at the foul line.
KenPom ranks Princeton second in the Ivy League, just two slots ahead of Cornell and 15 up on Penn among all Division I teams. Further close losses that balance out Princeton’s early conference wins wouldn’t be a surprise down the stretch.
3. Deep benches paying off
Nine Dartmouth players logged at least 10 minutes Saturday. One was sophomore guard Romeo Myrthil, who scored in double figures for just the third time in his collegiate career, with 12 points on 3-for-6 field-goal shooting in 29 minutes off the bench. The Big Green rank third nationally in bench minutes, and while Cornell ranks 13th. Perhaps it’s no coincidence that the Ivy’s two greatest overachievers up to this point have deep benches to draw from. A pivotal battle of the benches in the Ivy League Tournament race is coming Friday when the Big Green visit the Big Red, looking to avenge a home loss in the teams’ first meeting on New Year’s Day.