The Ivy League announced its major men’s awards Tuesday, but we know this is the moment you’ve all been waiting for: Ivy Hoops Online’s 2021-22 All-Ivy Awards, as determined by IHO’s contributors:
Ivy League
Listen: NCAA’s approach to name, image and likeness and Ivy League antitrust exemption expiration
Ivy Hoops Online contributor and Manhattanville College sports law professor Richard Kent joined Sports Talk with John & Jimmy on 99.1 The Sports Animal WNML-FM 99.1/AM 990 Monday to discuss the NCAA’s name, image and likeness policy approach, the outlook for reform after the Ivy League’s antitrust exemption expires later this year and more:
COVID’s second hit on the Ivy schedule: Columbia at Yale men’s game postponed
New year, same scheduling challenges.
COVID’s first hit on the Ivy schedule: Princeton at Harvard men’s game postponed
Before the ball dropped in Times Square to end the challenging year of 2021, the 2022 Ivy League schedule took its first hit from COVID-19 with the announced postponement of Sunday’s Princeton-Harvard men’s basketball game.
Late Friday afternoon, Harvard Athletics put out a statement that the league opener at Lavietes Pavilion could not take place due to “COVID-19 concerns and safety protocols within the Harvard men’s basketball program.” This same reason caused the Crimson to cancel Wednesday’s game at No. 6 Kansas.
Ivy Hoops Online’s holiday wishes for 2022 Ivy basketball season
This holiday season, Ivy Hoops Online contributors weigh in on what their holiday wishes are for the 2022 Ivy League basketball campaign. Coming off a season that wasn’t, hopes for a safe, full slate of games come first, but our contributors’ wish list is much longer than that. Happy holidays and warm wishes to all!
Ivy Madness presale begins Monday, with general sale to start Wednesday
Following the cancellation of the 2020 Ivy League Tournament at Harvard and the loss of the 2020-21 season, conference officials decided to return its double dose of final fours to Lavietes Pavilion on March 11-13, 2022. On Monday morning, the Ivy League sent out an announcement to past tournament ticketholders that there would be a 48-hour presale with the general public being able to purchase tickets starting 10 a.m. Wednesday.
The 2020 schedule, which extended the event from two days to three, will be in effect for this year’s version of Ivy Madness. As a result, the women’s semifinals will be played on Fri., Mar. 11 with the No. 1 vs. No. 4 matchup at 4:30 p.m. and the No. 2 vs No. 3 contest at 7:30 p.m. On Saturday, the men’s semifinals will consist of the No. 1 vs. No. 4 game at 11 a.m. and the No. 2 vs. No. 3 battle will begin at 2 p.m. The women’s final will take place at 5 p.m. that same day. On Selection Sunday, the men’s final will begin at noon.
Ivy Hoops Online preseason polls tab Princeton, Yale as women’s and men’s favorites
The Ivy League men’s and women’s preseason media polls amounted to a shrug with Yale emerging on top and a vote of confidence for Princeton, respectively.
So did polls of Ivy Hoops Online’s contributors.
Our contributors unanimously pegged Princeton to finish atop the Ancient Eight on the women’s side, but we were less sure on who would win the Ivy League championship on the men’s side. Penn edged out Columbia by a single point to take second place in our projected women’s standings, while Yale slipped past Harvard by one point to take fourth place, a finish that would knock Harvard out .
Yale received five first-place votes, while Harvard nabbed two and Penn one. While none of our contributors picked Princeton to win the league, three projected the Tigers will place second in the conference standings. We predicted the same order of finish as the men’s and women’s polls. So there’s consensus even amid all the unknowns that the 2020-21 season that wasn’t left the Ivy hoops landscape.
For a preview of what that landscape looks like heading into the first Ivy hoops action in 20 months coming up this week, check out our roundups of the men’s and women’s media days.
Ivy Hoops Online Preseason Polls:
Will Venable: From Princeton-Penn to Red Sox-Yankees
Editor’s note: Ivy Hoops Online contributor Erica Denhoff caught up with former Princeton hoops great Will Venable, who just finished his first season as Boston Red Sox bench coach and reflected on a remarkable two-sport career and Ivy League basketball’s place in it.
Will Venable, Princeton ‘05, shines brightest on the biggest stages.
Against JJ Redick-led No. 5 Duke at Cameron Indoor Stadium on Jan. 5, 2005, Venable, a senior guard, played 39 minutes and put on an offensive skills clinic. He scored 21 points, dished out three assists and collected four rebounds in a 59-46 loss for the Tigers. Venable’s athletic defensive play came to the fore as he stole the ball three times from the Blue Devils.
“Venable was terrific tonight,” Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said. ” … He is a heck of a competitor, in the Ivy League or any league.”
“As we go into our league play, I know that Will Venable is going to give me that 100 percent effort for 40 minutes every single night,” then-Princeton coach Joe Scott said.
Almost one month to the day later, Venable demonstrated both coaches described him accurately.