Home of the Roundball Poets
Mike Tony 1. Penn (13-6, 3-0 Ivy)
After Penn let Temple slip away at the Palestra last weekend, it got Big 5 revenge Saturday with a 67-56 win over St. Joseph’s, displaying a stout defense that had Steve Donahue singing its praises after the game.
“The story of our team, and our season, is our defense,” Donahue said according to The Daily Pennsylvanian. “Playing two bigs, with the defensive numbers we have right now … we’re way different than last year, and way ahead.”
Going Inside Ivy Hoops with Jill Glessner and Brett Franklin this week are Cornell women’s basketball head coach Dayna Smith and Dartmouth men’s head coach David McLaughlin.
During Brett and Jill’s look at the Ivy men’s hoops scene, Jill praises the Brown men for overcoming the Inside Ivy Hoops jinx, the duo breaks down Harvard’s defensive prowess and offensive struggles, Jill explains why Harvard men should have beaten Dartmouth by double-digits, why Dartmouth is like the Philadelphia Eagles, why she’s going with Yale over Harvard and much more:
During Jill and Brett’s look at the Ivy women’s hoops scene, they note why this weekend is particularly pivotal for the #RoadToIvyMadness, Dominique Leonidas making a name for herself for Brown, Jill explains why she likes Columbia to avenge itself at Cornell, the duo the doubly uptempo matchup of Brown at Dartmouth, how Dartmouth’s guard play will fare against Yale and 2016-17 Ivy Defensive Player of the Year Tamara Simpson and much more:
1. Penn (12-6, 3-0 Ivy)
It says a great deal that, in just his third season at the helm on 33rd Street, that Steve Donahue has turned Penn around to the point that it’s No. 1 in the Ivy Power Poll during league play.
Donahue’s predecessor’s predecessor’s predecessor Fran Dunphy and the Temple Owls still dealt Penn the 11th consecutive loss in the teams’ series Saturday, overcoming a 51-48 deficit with 4:02 to play at the Palestra. Penn went ice cold from deep (8-for-31, 25.8 percent) and notched just 0.81 points per possession against Temple’s stout defense.
Going Inside Ivy Hoops with Brett Franklin and Jill Glessner this week are Yale women’s basketball head coach Allison Guth, IHO writer George Clark and Cornell men’s basketball coach Brian Earl.
Jill and Brett recap the action from last weekend’s conference play on both the men’s and women’s sides and and look ahead to this weekend’s matchups:
Allison Guth on Yale’s nonconference highlights, upset of Brown, what she calls “beautiful Bulldog basketball,” why she decided to stop “Coking up the world one smile at a time” and more:
George Clark explains Bella Alarie’s greatness, highlights Mitch Henderson’s top-notch recruiting and coaching in the face of adversity and Penn’s turnaround under Steve Donahue:
Brian Earl describes his relationships with Sydney Johnson and Mitch Henderson, what drew him to the ivy League as a player and to Cornell as a coach, Matt Morgan taking pride in his shooting percentage and more:
Brett and Jill Glessner check in with Meg Griffith and Mike Martin on this episode of Inside Ivy Hoops.
Brett and Jill recap the action from the first weekend of conference play and look ahead to this weekend’s matchups:
Meg Griffith on why “getting beat up a little bit” in the nonconference is important, what it’s like to coach Camille Zimmerman, her take on Princeton and Penn heading into the weekend’s matchups and more:
Mike Martin on his own journey getting back to Brown, why “we can build this thing into a winner,” the evolution of Brandon Anderson and Desmond Cambridge, how free-throw shooting became a Bears calling card and more:
Jill and Brett check in with IHO writer Rob Browne on the Ivy hoops landscape:
Harvard 61 vs Dartmouth 51
An ugly win is still a win. Harvard fans can take comfort in that fact after the Crimson’s home win over the Big Green, a game that was very much up for grabs until Harvard pulled away with 4-for-4 three-point shooting in a 3:54 span late in the game during which Dartmouth was held scoreless, turning a 45-45 tie into a 54-45 cushion. Harvard notched the win despite Bryce Aiken missing nearly the entire game in a brief return from injury after missing the last four games with a knee injury. Harvard committed 19 turnovers, not a particularly good sign. But the Crimson were led by a career-high 12 points from Christian Juzang and 16 points on 5-for-13 shooting from Seth Towns. Harvard entered the game as one of the worst three-point shooting teams in the country but lit Dartmouth up from deep, going 12-for-25 (48 percent), easily besting Dartmouth’s paltry 5-for-19 (26.3 percent) clip.
Introducing Ivy Hoops Online’s new podcast Inside Ivy Hoops, hosted by Brett Franklin and Jill Glessner, who also serve as the voices of Dartmouth basketball. Each week during conference play through the end of the 2017-18 season, Inside Ivy Hoops will feature guests from around the Ivy hoops landscape, broadcasting just how special and fascinating the people and storylines are that comprise Ivy League basketball on both the women’s and men’s sides.
Joining Jill and Brett for episode one on Thursday were Princeton men’s assistant coach Brett MacConnell, Penn men’s assistant coach Ira Bowman, Harvard women’s head coach Kathy Delaney-Smith and Dartmouth women’s head coach Belle Koclanes.
Intro – Brett Franklin and Jill Glessner:
Brett MacConnell:
Ira Bowman:
Kathy Delaney-Smith:
Belle Koclanes:
1. Princeton (7-7)
The Tigers showed what they’re capable of by scoring the biggest nonconference upset among Ivies this season with a 103-93 toppling of USC in overtime. The Tigers blew a seven-point lead with 46 seconds to go in regulation but rallied in gritty fashion in the extra period, getting seven points from Amir Bell in overtime. Princeton got 30 points from Myles Stephens and 23 points from Devin Cannady, who played all 45 minutes. Stephens and Cannady posted nine rebounds each. But what was perhaps most encouraging about Princeton’s victory over USC was freshman Sebastian Much continuing to emerge with a 19-point, four-assist performance that he followed up with double-figure efforts in Princeton’s next two games against Middle Tennessee State and Akron in the Diamond Head Classic. The Tigers let themselves down at the free throw line in their 69-67 loss to MTSU, going just 14-for-23 (60.9 percent) there.
There hasn’t been much Ivy action the past couple of weeks due to finals, but here’s a snapshot of the Ivy League at the moment:
1. Princeton (4-6)
We haven’t seen “Ivy Princeton” yet, so the Tigers are at the top for now. In other words, just keep in mind Princeton has always seemed to overachieve in league play and underachieve in non-league play under coach Mitch Henderson. But Princeton overcame a 16-3 hole against Monmouth with a subsequent 20-2 run last week to pocket a 69-58 victory at Jadwin Gym, building that run the Princeton way: layups and three-pointers that comprised 18 of those 20 points.
The Tigers lit up Cal Poly from downtown Saturday night, and Princeton’s point distribution has been more even in its past two games. Princeton’s got a shot to shred the “non-Ivy Princeton” narrative by upsetting Southern Cal Tuesday.
Former Dartmouth forward Evan Boudreaux announced Monday he will attend Xavier next year, as both a real person and a cartoon, apparently.
Excited to announce I will be attending Xavier University next year! Appreciate everyone who had helped me throughout the process. Looking forward to the next chapter as a Musketeer! pic.twitter.com/musTZoBdtk
— Evan Boudreaux (@EBoudreaux12) December 11, 2017