Ivy Hoops Online contributor Steve Silverman caught up with first-year Dartmouth women’s basketball coach Linda Cimino Monday to discuss her key influences on the path to taking over in Hanover, plans to strengthen the program, takeaways from her team’s home loss to Siena Sunday, first-year guard Nina Minicozzi’s strong work ethic, how she’d define a successful first season as coach and much more:
General
Quakeaways from Penn men’s basketball’s 76-72 upset of No. 21 Villanova
Penn beats Villanova in an amazing game! Congratulations men! Enjoy this special moment! pic.twitter.com/ts4FQrY9xr
— Mike McLaughlin (@MikeMcLaughli) November 14, 2023
With a little ball-fake and a half jab step, Tyler Perkins generated just enough space to rise up over Villanova’s Brendan Hausen and create a memory Penn fans will remember forever.
The freshman sensation used those moves to bury a corner three in front of the Penn bench that pushed the Quakers’ lead over the Associated Press No. 21 Wildcats to 11 points with four minutes to play and sent the Palestra into a frenzy. After weathering one last barrage of Villanova three-pointers, Penn sealed a stunning 76-72 upset over the Wildcats.
For the Quakers (3-1, 1-1 Big 5), the win was their first triumph over a ranked team since a nearly identical upset over Villanova at the Palestra in December 2018; that edition of the Wildcats was defending an NCAA title and entered ranked 17th in the AP poll.
The images the upset generated — Perkins throwing the ball into the air in joy as time expired, fans storming the court — are the ones that, in a perfect world, would create a whole new generation of dedicated Quakers fans.
What else can Penn fans hold onto from a magical Monday night?
Caden Pierce explosion sparks Princeton men’s basketball in 74-67 win at Hofstra
Ivy Hoops Online writers George “Toothless Tiger” Clark and Rob Browne deliver their respective audio and written reports on Princeton men’a basketball’s 74-67 victory at Hofstra Friday night:
HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. — No Mitch Henderson, no problem.
Princeton men’s basketball’s leader was ejected eight minutes into Friday night’s contest, but a career-high 26 points and 15 rebounds from Caden Pierce propelled Princeton to a convincing 74-67 victory over Hofstra at the David S. Mack Sports and Exhibition Complex Friday night.
Following a Pierce travel, Henderson yelled at the lead official and was quickly called for two technical fouls. As the coach headed towards the locker room or the nearby Jersey Mike’s on Hempstead Turnpike, associated head coach Brett MacConnell took over the reins for fourth time in his career.
Ancient Nine: Men’s game No. 3
Welcome back to Ancient Nine! You probably know the deal by now: fill in each square with a player from the corresponding team who fits that category. For example, if the row was Yale and the column was Ivy Player of the Year, “Paul Atkinson” or “Miye Oni” would each be a correct answer.
You can play in your head or visit this Google sheet to fill in answers directly (click File -> Make a Copy to get an editable version). Here’s today’s grid, featuring two new teams and two new categories:
Ancient Nine: Women’s game No. 1
Welcome back to a women’s edition of Ancient Nine! If you’ve seen Immaculate Grid or similar games, this works the same way: fill in each square with a player from the corresponding team who fits that category. For example, if the row was Columbia and the column was first-team All-Ivy, “Kaitlyn Davis” or “Abbey Hsu” would each be a correct answer.
You can play in your head or visit this Google sheet to fill in answers directly (click File -> Make a Copy to get an editable version). Here’s today’s grid:
2023-24 IHO preseason polls and what we’re watching for
With the start of the 2023-24 Ivy League basketball season just nine days away, Ivy Hoops Online presents our contributors’ predicted final standings.
Finishing atop the conference in the regular season has never been less important on the men’s side given the NCAA’s announcement Friday that for the 2024 NIT, conference regular-season champions that don’t win their conference tournament or are not given an at-large slot in the men’s NCAA Tournament will not receive an automatic bid to the NIT.
That news drew pushback from Ivy League Executive Director Robin Harris, who criticized not only the decision but how it came to be:
Ancient Nine: Men’s game No. 2
Welcome back to Ancient Nine! If you’ve seen Immaculate Grid or similar games, this works the same way: fill in each square with a player from the corresponding team who fits that category. For example, if the row was Penn and the column was Ivy Player of the Year, “Jordan Dingle” or “AJ Brodeur” would each be a correct answer.
You can play in your head or visit this Google sheet to fill in answers directly (click File -> Make a Copy to get an editable version). Here’s today’s grid:
2023-24 Ivy men’s media day recap and season preview
With the season a few weeks away, the Ivy League hosted its Men’s Basketball Media Day on Thursday. the second of two hoops-themed media availabilities. The event was hosted over Zoom for media members and is available on the conference’s YouTube channel.
The preseason media poll was released on Tuesday with Yale, last year’s regular season co-champions, securing the top spot. Princeton, which used its Ivy League Tournament title victory as a springboard to a Sweet 16 NCAA Tournament run, was picked second.
The Bulldogs received 14 of 16 first-place votes, while the Tigers earned the other two top votes.
Ancient Nine: An Ivy hoops grid game
As we await the tip-off of a new season, let’s have some fun with an Ivy hoops trivia game I call Ancient Nine.
If you’ve seen Immaculate Grid or similar games, this works the same way: fill in each square with a player from the corresponding team who fits that category. For example, if the row was Penn and the column was Ivy Player of the Year, “Jordan Dingle” or “AJ Brodeur” would each be a correct answer.
Here’s today’s grid:
You can play in your head or visit this Google sheet to fill in answers directly (click File -> Make a Copy to get an editable version). Pick your favorite stars, your most hated opponents or the most obscure players you can think of–every square today has at least six possible answers.
When you’re done, see all the correct answers on the second tab (going back to 2010; if you want to go older, that’s great, but you’ll have to check them yourself). Then share your grid with us on social or in the comments below! We’ll have a few more men’s and women’s grids over the next couple weeks.
2023-24 Ivy women’s media day recap and season preview
With the season a few weeks away, the Ivy League hosted Women’s Basketball Media Day on Monday, the first of two media availabilities this week. The event was hosted over Zoom for media members and is available on the conference’s YouTube channel.
The preseason media poll was released last Thursday with Princeton earning all 16 first-place votes. Last year’s Ivy Tournament winner and regular season co-champions are the sixth unanimous pick in league history and the first since Penn in 2016-2017.