Mike Tony

Princeton stymies Penn again, notches season sweep

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Princeton notched its fourth season sweep of Penn in the past five seasons Saturday at the Palestra, once again overcoming an early deficit to grind out an ugly win over its arch-rival and defending Ivy League champion.

The 62-53 victory for Princeton (9-5, 2-0 Ivy) came despite the Tigers making just three treys (on 16 attempts), committing five more turnovers (13) than Penn (10-6, 0-2), missing 17 of their first 19 shots from the floor while turning the ball over seven times in the first 13 minutes and shooting 32.3 percent from the floor overall (20-for-62). Princeton’s emerging standout Richmond Aririguzoh turned the ball over three times in the first four minutes, and Penn built an early 20-10 lead with 6:55 to go in the first half, a throwback (on a night of throwbacks) to Penn’s 19-10 lead early in the first half at Princeton last Saturday.

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Inside Ivy Hoops – Jan. 10, 2019

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In the latest episode of Inside Ivy Hoops, Ivy Hoops Online editor Mike Tony is joined by Columbia women’s basketball coach Megan Griffith and IHO writer George Clark.

Mike and George recap last weekend’s Penn-Princeton doubleheader, preview the rematch between the Ps at the Palestra Saturday and weigh in other action from around the league:

Coach Griffith reflects on Columbia’s big win at Mercer Sunday, her team’s relative youth and the importance of confidence, her thoughts on the Ivy League Tournament and much more:

Mike notes the payoff of continuity and experience for Ivy men’s and women’s hoops this season – and the few rookies who are breaking through so far:

Penn-Princeton doubleheader yields two thrillers at Jadwin Gym

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Saturday’s Penn-Princeton doubleheader at Jadwin Gym was full of highs and lows for both Ps, as the two games featured a combined 12 lead changes (seven for the men, five for the women) and a split for each school.

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Inside Ivy Hoops – Jan. 3, 2019

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Ivy Hoops Online editor Mike Tony is joined by Ivy League Executive Director Robin Harris and IHO writer George Clark for the season premiere of the Inside Ivy Hoops podcast.

Mike and George preview both the men’s and women’s Penn-Princeton tilts to come Saturday, making sense of the two very different trajectories that the Penn and Princeton men are on going into their matchup as well as what has changed and what hasn’t for the Penn and Princeton women, plus why the Penn-Princeton scheduling this season is particularly disappointing:

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Penn beats No. 17 Villanova for first time since 2002, snaps Wildcats’ 25-game Big 5 win streak

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Penn did it.

The Red & Blue were simply better than the defending national champion Villanova Wildcats throughout their matchup at the Palestra Tuesday night, notching a 78-75 victory that underscored how each Big 5 squad is trending in opposite directions.

The continuation of Penn’s remarkable improvement made history at No. 17 Villanova’s expense, repeatedly getting easy buckets via cuts to the basket and making just enough free throws down the stretch to snap Villanova’s 15-game winning streak over Penn (dating back to Dec. 10, 2002) and 25-game Big 5 win streak (dating back to Dec. 5, 2013).

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Penn shoots lights out, dropping Miami to 0-2 in Ivy League

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Penn pulled off the most impressive win of the Steve Donahue era (at least according to KenPom) Tuesday night at the Palestra, taking full advantage of hosting a high-major by besting Miami in convincing fashion, 89-75.

The Quakers (7-2) notched an astounding 1.39 points per possession, posting 50 points in the first half against the Hurricanes’ zone, a defense that ranks just outside the nation’s top 50 per KenPom.

The loss came in the first true road game of the season for Miami (5-4), which has now lost four games in a row, including a 79-75 home loss to Yale in the ‘Canes’ previous tilt Saturday.

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Behind Enemy Lines: Q&A with The Juice Online

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It’s time for Ivy Hoops Online’s annual exchange with The Juice Online since another edition of Cornell-Syracuse is upon us. Saturday will bring another family affair between the Big Red and the host Orange, with Cornell sophomore forward Jimmy Boeheim squaring off against not only his father, longtime Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim, but brother and Orange freshman guard Buddy Boeheim. Syracuse is coming off a Wednesday win at Ohio State, which was No. 1 in the first NCAA NET college basketball rankings. Cornell is coming off a Wednesday overtime win at Lafayette.
Ivy Hoops Online: Tell us about The Juice.
The Juice Online: The Juice (then called The Big Orange) was founded in 1992, one of approximately 50 independent publications devoted to the coverage of its school’s athletics programs. In 2002, it became a full-color, glossy magazine which was owned by Fox Sports. The print product ceased publication in June of 2010 and was relaunched as The Juice Online in December of 2010. In February 2012, The Juice Online partnered with SportsNet New York, the official television home of the New York Mets and New York Jets. As part of SNY.tv’s Blog Network, The Juice Online supplements SNY’s coverage of more than 125 college football and basketball games, as well as other college sports programming.
IHO: What are the major storylines with Syracuse coming into this season?

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2018-19 Ivy League Preseason Power Rankings

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Another college basketball season is upon us. So what can we expect from the Ancient Eight this season coming off a down year for the league overall?

With so much returning talent across the conference, anticipate higher quality of play from both the Ivies who make the conference tournament and those who don’t.

1. Harvard

The Crimson missed their two highest-usage players on offense down the stretch of the Ivy League Tournament final versus Penn at the Palestra: Bryce Aiken, who suffered a knee injury and missed 18 of the final 22 games of the season, and Seth Towns, who suffered a knee injury with around eight minutes left and did not return. Of course, Penn edged out Harvard in the end, the Crimson coming up just short in the face of the Red and Blue’s home-court advantage even without the 2017-18 Ivy Player of the Year (Towns) and 2016-17 Rookie of the Year (Aiken).

Harvard would have likely punched a NCAA Tournament ticket if it had those two standouts in tow, and they’ll probably do the same if they have them in tow this season.

If.

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Ivy League Women’s Basketball Preseason Media Poll released

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The Ivy League Women’s Basketball Preseason Media Poll was released Wednesday, revealing Princeton at the top slot for the eighth time since the poll began in 1999 and the seventh time in the past nine years.

The Tigers won the Ivy League regular season and tournament championships last season, and the poll indicates agreement that they’ll repeat. Of course, Penn topped the poll last season, and that projection didn’t come to fruition.

Penn’s second in this poll, just ahead of Harvard, which also placed third in the final standings last season.

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Ivy League Men’s Basketball Preseason Media Poll released

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The 2018-19 Ivy League Men’s Basketball Preseason Poll was released Tuesday, revealing a predicted order of finish and results that are rather interesting, if also mostly expected.

If realized, the projected order of finish will result in yet another Ivy title under coach Tommy Amaker.

Harvard topped the poll after having claimed a share of its first Ivy crown since 2015 but losing in the Ivy Tournament final to co-champion Penn in Steve Donahue’s third season at the helm. Penn finished second in this year’s preseason poll, which projects Yale to place third for a 19th straight top-four finish under coach James Jones.

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