Jack McCloskey, former Penn coach and player, dies at 91

Jack McCloskey (center) with Penn standout players Jeff Neuman and Stan Pawlak. (Penn Athletics)

Jack McCloskey, who led Penn to an Ivy League championship as a coach in 1966 and led the Detroit Pistons to NBA titles in 1989 and 1990 as a general manager, died Thursday at 91 in Savannah, Ga., per the New York Times, due to complications from Alzheimer’s disease.

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Princeton graduate transfer Hans Brase commits to Iowa State

Hans Brase is going to be a Cyclone.

Brase has committed to Iowa State, the Des Moines Register reported Friday. Brase had suffered back-to-back season-ending injuries in 2015-16 and 2016-17 at Princeton, including a torn ACL in 2015.

The Clover, S.C. native, a 6-foot-9 forward, averaged 9.3 points and 5.7 rebounds per game during his 93 contests as a Tiger.

 

Yale guard Makai Mason to transfer to Baylor for 2018-19 season

“I will make you recruit me.” (Fansided)

Makai Mason made a name for himself on a national level by posting 31 points in a NCAA Tournament Round of 64 win over Baylor in 2016, Yale’s first-ever win in the Big Dance.

Now Mason has decided that if you can beat ’em, join ’em.

Several sources announced Thursday that Mason would join Baylor as a graduate transfer in the 2018-19 season following one more season at Yale in 2017-18.

Jon Rothstein of FanRag Sports reported in February that Mason would play for the Elis in the 2017-18 season and become a graduate transfer following that season.

Mason was a standout during Yale’s NCAA Tournament run in 2016 but was injured in a scrimmage in November, reportedly needing to undergo surgery to repair his foot. Yale bowed out to Duke in the Round of 32 in the 2016 NCAA Tournament.

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Ivy League Tournament to return to the Palestra in 2018

The Ivy League’s athletic directors just couldn’t pass up the Palestra – again.

They announced Thursday that the 2018 Ivy League Tournaments will be held at the Palestra in Philadelphia, the same site that hosted the inaugural league men’s and women’s tournaments in March.

The 2018 Ivy tournaments will be featured on the ESPN family of networks, the league announced, adding that ticket and specific broadcast information will be announced at a later date.

“The Inaugural Ivy League Men’s and Women’s Basketball Tournaments were an unequivocal success,” conference Executive Director Robin Harris said in the league’s press release. “We featured the tremendous talent of our basketball student-athletes in an electric atmosphere, and we look forward to an even better event in 2018.”

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On the Vine – Mar. 23, 2017

Joining hosts Peter Andrews and Mike Tony for the season three finale episode of On the Vine are special guest Mike James (@ivybball) and IHO writers George Clark and Robert Crawford.

The panel reflects on Princeton’s NCAA Tournament loss to Notre Dame and the rest of the Ivy League campaign, and then looks ahead to the 2017-18 season:

On the Vine program alert

Joining hosts Peter Andrews and Mike Tony tonight for the season finale edition of On the Vine will be special guest Mike James (@ivybball) and IHO writers George Clark and Robert Crawford to reflect on the 2016-17 campaign and look ahead to the 2017-18 season.

Listen live at 8:30 p.m. EST on Mixlr.

No. 12 Penn suffers largest collapse in NCAA Tournament history, loses to No. 5 Texas A&M, 63-61

Penn women’s basketball appeared to have its first NCAA Tournament win in program history in the bag, enjoying a 58-37 lead with eight and a half minutes to play.

But in the fourth quarter, Penn’s golden carriage turned jarringly back into a pumpkin and what looked to be a burgeoning Cinderella run worthy of Tinseltown became the largest collapse in NCAA Tournament history.

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No. 5 Notre Dame ekes out 60-58 win over No. 12 Princeton in NCAA Tournament

Princeton had what it wanted: sophomore sharpshooter and Indiana native Devin Cannady launching an open three-pointer from the left wing for a chance to beat Notre Dame in the first round of the NCAA Tournament Thursday at Buffalo’s KeyBank Center.

Cannady’s high-arcing trey rimmed out, though, and the Fighting Irish hung on for a 60-58 victory, ending a remarkable Princeton (23-7, 14-0 Ivy) season that in the regular season culminated in winning the inaugural Ivy League men’s basketball tournament.

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On the Vine – Mar. 15, 2017

Joining hosts Peter Andrews and Mike Tony for a special Ivy League Tournament recap and NCAA Tournament preview edition of On the Vine are special guest Bobby Norell of One Foot Down (SB Nation’s Notre Dame site), and IHO writers Rob Browne and George Clark.

(Here’s Norell’s Princeton-Notre Dame preview for One Foot Down.)

The panel gets a detailed breakdown of Notre Dame’s team, season and program from Norell and then reflects extensively on the ups and downs of the inaugural Ivy League Tournament and the future of the tourney.

On the Vine program alert

Joining hosts Peter Andrews and Mike Tony tonight for a special, Ivy League Tournament recap and NCAA Tournament preview edition of On the Vine will be special guest Bobby Norell of One Foot Down (SB Nation’s Notre Dame site), and IHO writers Rob Browne and George Clark.

Listen live at 8:00 p.m. EST on Mixlr.