Ray Curren

No. 1 Yale men’s basketball holds off No. 4 Cornell to advance to Ivy League Tournament final

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Cornell and Yale men’s basketball tip off their Ivy League Tournament semifinal matchup at Newman Arena on March 14, 2026. (Ray Curren/Ivy Hoops Online)

ITHACA, N.Y. – Cornell senior Josh Baldwin entered the center circle for the opening tip Saturday morning at Newman Arena and just smiled at Yale’s Samson Aletan.

At 6-foot-5, Baldwin knew he had no chance to win the jump, but his insertion into the starting lineup has been integral to Cornell’s late-season success, particularly on the defensive end, where the Big Red made great strides to win eight of 11 and somewhat improbably get to Ivy Madness at all after an 0-3 league start. The most prominent of those wins was an uncharacteristic 72-69 slugfest over two-time defending champ Yale two weeks ago.

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Dartmouth men’s basketball moves on from David McLaughlin

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David McLaughlin (Dartmouth Athletics)

Dartmouth officially confirmed Tuesday night what had been rumored for the last couple of weeks: head men’s basketball coach David McLaughlin would not be offered a new contract for the 2026-27 season.

It closes the book on a 10-year coaching career in Hanover (nine seasons), which saw McLaughlin post records of 87-161 overall and 41-85 in Ivy League play.

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Cornell men’s basketball buries Dartmouth, takes momentum into Ivy League Tournament

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Pictured is the scoreboard at Leede Arena in Hanover, N.H. after Cornell men’s basketball’s 111-90 win at Dartmouth on March 7, 2026. (Ray Curren/Ivy Hoops Online)

HANOVER, N.H. – When we last left the Cornell men’s basketball team, it had given up 100 points or more in three straight Ivy League losses and didn’t seem to have many answers, seemingly on its way to being the third straight Ivy Madness hosts to not qualify for postseason play.

Fast forward six weeks, and the Big Red will not only be on the court in Ithaca next week, but it wouldn’t be shocking to see them win it.

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Penn men’s basketball second-half takeover downs Dartmouth

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Dartmouth and Penn men’s basketball tip off at the Palestra on Feb. 27, 2026. (Ray Curren / Ivy Hoops Online)

PHILADELPHIA – There isn’t exactly a large sample size of Ivy League transfers from Duke (or Virginia for that matter), so when TJ Power signed with Penn last spring, the bar was set pretty high.

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Brown men’s basketball catches fire to down Dartmouth

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 Brown and Dartmouth men’s basketball tip off at Leede Arena on Feb. 14, 2026. (Ray Curren / Ivy Hoops Online)

HANOVER, N.H. – Throughout a more than a little frustrating season, the defense has not been the problem for Brown men’s basketball.

The Bears are solidly in the middle of the pack in Ivy League defensive efficiency.

But the Bears just can’t score. Or more appropriately, they can’t shoot, ranking among one of the worst teams nationally in effective field-goal shooting (as well as three-point shooting).

All of which made the second half at Leede Arena Saturday night stunning.

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Yale men’s basketball outlasts Dartmouth at Leede Arena

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HANOVER, N.H. – There was some concern for the Ivy League preseason favorite Yale men’s basketball team after it stumbled against Harvard at home on Jan. 31 and followed that up with a dreadful first half against Brown the following week before pulling it out.

But the Bulldog offense that had climbed as high as 15th nationally in efficiency back in nonconference play appears to be back. Dartmouth had no answers, particularly in the second half, as Yale rolled to an 83-70 win at Leede Arena Friday night.

“I think we were pretty clean offensively in both halves,” Yale coach James Jones said. “We were dominant and had good leads in both halves. Most games in the first half are going to be like a prizefight trying to figure each other out. That takes a little time, but I thought we played well.”

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Harvard men’s basketball dispatches Dartmouth at Leede Arena

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Harvard and Dartmouth men’s basketball tip off at Leede Arena on Feb. 7, 2026. (Ray Curren/Ivy Hoops Online)

HANOVER, N.H. – For those of us who saw Harvard men’s basketball dominate the Ivy League (and make a big mark on the national stage) for most of the 2010s, it’s somewhat unfathomable to point out that the Crimson have not been part of Ivy Madness since 2019.

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Columbia men’s basketball ends three-game skid win at Dartmouth

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HANOVER, N.H. – Kevin Hovde knew his first order of business coming into Columbia was cleaning up the defensive end of the floor, which turned out to be his predecessor Jim Engles’ undoing, along with some unfortunately timed injuries.

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Kareem Thomas lifts Dartmouth men’s basketball past Princeton

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Dartmouth men’s basketball celebrates at Leede Arena, where it posted a 71-69 win over Princeton on Jan. 19, 2026. (Ray Curren/Ivy Hoops Online)

HANOVER, N.H. – When Dartmouth made its inaugural appearance in the Ivy League Tournament last March, Kareem Thomas was what in hockey parlance is called a healthy scratch, he never saw the court.

In fact, other than blowouts, Thomas never played more than two minutes in any game as a freshman as he struggled to adjust to the college game.

Fast forward a few months, and Monday night everyone at Leede Arena knew who was getting the ball in a tied game on the final possession, including the Princeton coaching staff: Kareem Thomas.

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