Princeton’s Carla Berube and Columbia’s Megan Griffith talk prior to Saturday’s Ivy League championship (Photo: Rob Browne)
Following Princeton’s victory over Columbia in Saturday night’s Ivy League championship, the thought of two conference teams making into the field of 68 seemed improbable. However, Sunday night’s selection show provided a pleasant surprise for everyone connected to the Ancient Eight, with the announcement of an automatic qualifier spot for the Tigers and an at-large bid for the Lions.
This year’s decision marks the second time the Ivies have sent two teams to the Big Dance, with Princeton claiming the second bid and Penn taking the automatic spot in 2016.
Princeton celebrates securing a fifth consecutive Ivy League Tournament crown at Levien Gym Saturday. (Photo by Steve Silverman)
Two down, one to go.
Princeton women’s basketball added an exclamation point to its already triumphant Ivy League season Saturday by soundly defeating the Columbia Lions, 75-58, for its fifth consecutive Ivy League Tournament championship.
The Columbia women prepare to battle Princeton in the Ivy League Tournament championship on Saturday evening. (Photo: Rob Browne)
NEW YORK – Even though the Columbia women were the No. 2 seed for the 2024 Ivy League Tournament, the Lions felt everything was going their way as team continued its quest for its first-ever bid to the NCAA Tournament.
Unfortunately for the team and Light Blue fans, No. 1 Princeton used a strong inside game to cruise to a 75-58 victory and secure its five straight conference postseason title.
Columbia coach Megan Griffith’s crew graduated seven players, including three starters, from last year’s Ivy League regular season champion, and still captured its second straight league title.
While last year’s squad buckled just enough from the end-of-season pressure, including an overtime win to close out the season against lower division Cornell and an overtime loss to Harvard in the Ivy tournament semifinal, to lose out on a chance to get to March Madness, this team seemed to embrace the challenges.
First, Columbia beat Princeton at Levien by two on Feb. 24. Second, the Lions ran Cornell out of Newman Arena by 36 on the last day of the season. Third, they took down Harvard in a two-point win, which was not as close as the score would indicate, in the Ivy semifinal.
After the Tigers were taken to the wire by No. 4 Penn in Friday’s first semifinal, Columbia, buoyed by its passionate fanbase and home surroundings, appeared to be the slight favorite in the battle for Ancient Eight supremacy.
Princeton coach Mitch Henderson paces the sideline in the final minute of his team’s 90-81 upset loss to Brown in their Ivy League Tournament semifinal matchup Saturday. (Photo by Steve Silverman)
A valiant comeback by the Princeton men’s basketball team came up short at Levien Gym on Saturday afternoon as the No. 1 Tigers fell to the No. 4 Brown Bears, 90-81, in their Ivy League Tournament semifinal matchup Saturday. Here are three takeaways from the shocking end to Princeton’s magical Ivy League season:
Brown head coach Mike Martin and junior forward Nana Owusu-Anane talk to the media after the Bears 90-81 upset of Princeton in the first Ivy semifinal. (Photo: Rob Browne)
NEW YORK – A jubilant and relieved Brown coach Mike Martin said time went backward over the last eight minutes as his team’s 18-point lead evaporated to three with under a minute left in regulation in Saturday’s Ivy League Tournament semifinal,
But the No. 4 Bears held on to defeat No. 1 Princeton, 90-81, in front of a packed house at Levien Gymnasium and a national ESPNU audience.
The team’s semifinal victory, the first-ever for a No. 4 seed in either the men’s or women’s division through the six-year history of the Ivy League Tournament, sends the Bears to Sunday afternoon’s finale and a chance for the program’s first NCAA Tournament appearance since 1986.
Despite a regular season championship, Saturday’s furious comeback and the national memory of last year’s Sweet 16 run, the Tigers’ chances at an at-large bid to the Big Dance appear to be slim.
Ivy Hoops Online contributor George Clark recaps a 90-81 upset win for No. 4 Brown (13-17, 9-6 Ivy) over No 1 Princeton (24-4, 12-3) in their Ivy League Tournament semifinal matchup that puts the Bears a win away from their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 1986.
NEW YORK – The No. 1 Princeton women’s basketball team withstood a furious rally by the No. 4 Penn Quakers on Friday evening to advance to the championship game of the Ivy League Tournament in a 59-54 victory.
The Tigers entered the contest with an 11-game winning streak against their rivals from Philadelphia. The 12th win was anything but easy. The Tigers were led by sophomore Madison St. Rose, who tallied 19 points, all but three of them coming in the second half.
The men’s competition in the Ivy League Tournament kicks off on Saturday afternoon at Columbia University and for the first time since the advent of Ivy Madness there is no clear favorite. While the Princeton Tigers enter the tournament as the No. 1 seed and the regular season champion, each of the four teams competing on Saturday at Levien Gym legitimately has a chance to advance to the championship game on Sunday.
Let’s take a closer look at the two semifinal matchups in the men’s competition:
