Harvard

Hot shooting leads Harvard men’s basketball to 87-75 win over Columbia

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Behind a career high 31-point performance from sophomore forward Thomas Batties II, the Harvard men cruised to an 87-75 victory over visiting Columbia at Lavietes Pavilion on Saturday night.

The win gave head coach Tommy Amaker his 301st as head coach at Cambridge and, coupled with a 75-73 triumph over Cornell on Friday night, a weekend sweep of the Empire State Ivies. The Crimson (9-13, 4-5 Ivy) finish the weekend where it started, in fifth place in the conference, only one game out of the running for the Ivy Tournament.

The Lions (12-10, 1-8), which lost to Dartmouth by 22 points the previous evening, have been in the loss column for nine of its last ten contests, including five of six since leading scorer Geronimo Rubio De La Rosa went down to an injury. Jim Engles’ squad heads back to New York City in sole possession of last place.

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Could three Ivy League teams gain berths to the 2025 NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament?

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With fewer than five weeks to go before Selection Sunday, coaches, players and the soothsayers known as bracketologists are beginning to focus their attention on which teams might gain a coveted berth to the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament.

Three teams in the Ivy League realistically are in contention for the 68 invitations that will be spread among the 362 Division I teams this year: Columbia, Harvard and Princeton.  

One of these three teams is very likely to earn the automatic qualification slotted for the team that wins the Ivy League Tournament in Providence on March 15. For the past five years in which Ivy teams have competed (COVID resulted in no Ivy League postseason play in in 2020 and 2021), Princeton has secured the automatic bid by winning the Ivy League Tournament.  

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Why Dartmouth men’s basketball believes after a 76-56 romp over Harvard

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Harvard and Dartmouth tip off at Leede Arena in Hanover, N.H. in what became a 76-56 win for the Big Green Saturday. (Ray Curren | Ivy Hoops Online)

HANOVER, N.H. – It’s getting to be Ted Lasso time for the Dartmouth men’s basketball team as we reach the midpoint of the 2024-25 Ivy League campaign.

The Big Green believe.

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Taking stock of the big three at the midway point of the Ivy League women’s basketball season

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With seven conference games in the books for every Ivy League women’s basketball team, the race for the regular season conference title has reached the halfway mark. 

The three teams picked in the preseason to contend for an Ivy League title – Princeton, Columbia and Harvard – have lived up to their billing, racking up big wins in the nonconference season and largely dominating the other five Ivy teams in league play.

Here’s where each of the big three stands as we head into the final five weeks of the Ivy League regular season:

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Cornell men’s basketball sweeps Dartmouth and Harvard to maintain second place in Ivy League race

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Cornell men’s basketball has been known for its offensive prowess over the last several seasons. But it added strong defensive efforts on Friday and Saturday night to defeat Dartmouth and Harvard at Newman Arena.

The Cornell (13-6, 5-1 Ivy) sweep left Jon Jaques’ squad in sole possession of second place in the Ivy League standings, one week before a crucial home game against first-place Yale.

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“We jumped on them quick”: Yale men’s basketball routs Harvard, 84-55

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Harvard and Yale tip off Saturday at John J. Lee Amphitheater, where the Bulldogs dominated in an 84-55 win. (Ray Curren | Ivy Hoops Online)

NEW HAVEN, Conn. – The Yale students were back at Lee Amphitheater, Harvard was starting three freshmen, John Poulakidas hit his first couple of shots, and all that meant the Crimson had no chance Saturday afternoon.

Harvard fought in fits and starts, but in the end, the result was a formality, an 84-55 Yale win that brought the Bulldogs to the top of the Ivy League after Princeton’s loss and setting up a showdown with the Tigers Friday night in New Jersey.

“We jumped on them quick,” Yale coach James Jones said. “We were really efficient, we didn’t have a turnover (in the first 19 minutes), we were poised and focused. We lost it a little at the end of the first half and fought to get it back, and we did in the middle of the second half. When we’re playing at a high level like we were, we’re pretty good and it’s fun to watch.”

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Quakeaways from Penn men’s basketball’s 82-67 win at Harvard

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For 40 minutes of basketball on Monday, Penn looked like the team optimists thought it could be in a surprising road win over Harvard.

The Quakers entered the matchup with the Crimson as healthy underdogs — six points by KenPom and seven-and-a-half by Vegas oddsmakers.

No matter. The Red and Blue used efficient offense, crisp passing and excellent outside shooting to produce an 82-67 triumph.

A nine-point Penn (5-11, 1-2 Ivy) halftime lead had dwindled to as little as two around the under-eight media timeout. But a catch-and-shoot three from senior wing George Smith pushed Penn back to a five-point advantage. Then, after an exchange of free throws, Smith found junior wing Ethan Roberts for threes on back-to-back possessions.

The latter of those shots, a deep pull-up shot in transition, gave Penn a 64-53 edge with just under five minutes to play. Harvard (6-10, 1-2) never seriously threatened after.

Penn put up a season-best 1.28 points per possession. How did the Quakers pull it off?

It all started with how …

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Harvard women’s basketball crushes Brown, 83-53, to get back into win column

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The Harvard women rebounded from last weekend’s last-second loss to Princeton in a big way, dominating Brown in all facets of the game in route to an easy 83-53 victory Saturday afternoon at Lavietes Pavilion.

While Carrie Moore’s squad, presently ranked the No. 2 team in the College Insider Mid-Major Top 25, is now 13-2 overall and 2-1 in the Ivy League, Monique LeBlanc’s Bears are 7-9 for the season and 1-2 in the Ancient Eight.

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Harvard men’s basketball bests Brown on the road, 80-67

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Harvard and Brown tip off at the Pizzitola Sports Center Saturday for what became an 80-67 victory for the Crimson over the Bears. (Ray Curren | Ivy Hoops Online)

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Two weeks ago, Harvard was down double digits to Division III Bowdoin and having trouble getting good looks in the paint.

Saturday afternoon at the Pizzitola Sports Center, the Crimson took it to favored Brown, dominating the interior and seemingly scoring at will – particularly in the second half – on their way to an 80-67 victory that rekindles some hope Harvard might return to Providence in March for its first Ivy League Tournament since 2019.

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