Princeton

Quakeaways from Penn men’s basketball’s 61-59 loss to Princeton

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There have been plenty of excruciating losses in Penn’s 12-game losing streak to arch-rival Princeton, but none have inflicted a pain quite like Friday’s 61-59 loss to the Tigers at the Palestra.

With less than a minute to go, there was Penn (6-14, 2-5 Ivy) in the lead despite being forced to play without star wing Ethan Roberts, who sat out the contest with an undisclosed injury. As has happened in so many of these losses to Princeton (16-6, 5-2), every break possible went the wrong way for the Quakers when it mattered most.

After sophomore guard Sam Brown missed the back-end of a one-and-one which would have extended the Penn lead to 59-56, junior forward Johnnie Walter had the offensive rebound in his hands for a split-second but couldn’t quite corral the ball. The Tigers secured possession and then saw sophomore guard Dalen Davis break free to drain a wide-open three-pointer from the left wing, giving the Tigers a 59-58 advantage with just over 30 seconds remaining.

On the next possession, senior big man Nick Spinoso drew heavy contact as he went up for a layup, hit his first free throw to tie the game, but missed the freebie which would have given Penn the lead. Walter then fouled Princeton’s Jackson Hicke as he put up a midrange jumper with six-tenths of a second to play.

There was zero doubt Hicke would miss. The 6-foot-5 sophomore hit both shots at the line to kick Penn fans back into a familiar pit of misery.

What could Penn fans take away from yet another disheartening loss?

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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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LISTEN: Reflecting on Princeton men’s basketball’s wild road so far

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Princeton correspondent George “Toothless Tiger” Clark reflects on what has been a wild road for the Tigers (15-6, 4-2 Ivy) this season as they near the midway point of Ivy League play: Audio Player

Yale men’s basketball really is as good as advertised – and maybe better

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So much for a nip-and-tuck game with arch-rival Princeton.

And so much for a trap game at Penn in between playing at Princeton and Cornell.

Yale answered those bells emphatically with a 77-70 win at Jadwin Gym and a 90-61 win at The Palestra.

In fairness to Penn, it was a 12-point game with a little under six minutes t0 play and then Yale closed the game out with a 23-6 run. But the game was never in doubt.

If consistency is a virtue, then Yale was more than virtuous. The Bulldogs shot 57% from the filed in both games and held both Princeton and Penn to 34% shooting.

“That’s a really good Yale basketball game,” Yale coach James Jones said. “A really good game from us from start to finish.”

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Princeton women’s basketball shuts down Brown in the fourth quarter for 60-47 win

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After scoring a dominant win over Yale on Friday night, the Princeton women’s basketball team got on a bus and motored up Interstate 95 to Providence in anticipation of a tough matchup a few hours later against the Brown Bears. Brown hasn’t beaten Princeton in eight years.

The Tigers’ 60-47 triumph at the Pizzitola Sports Center on Saturday night kept that streak going.

Despite the double-digit victory, this game was a struggle for the Tigers, who at times showed their fatigue in having to play back-to-back road games in less than 24 hours.

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LISTEN: Princeton men’s basketball shuts down Brown, 69-49

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Ivy Hoops Online correspondent George “Toothless Tiger” Clark recaps a 69-49 win for Princeton (15-6, 4-2 Ivy) over Brown (10-9, 2-4) at Jadwin Gym Saturday:

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Princeton women’s basketball rolls over Yale, 74-38, in opening night of back-to-back weekend

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The Princeton women’s basketball team used tenacious defense and efficient offense on Friday night to collar the Yale Bulldogs, 74-38, at Lee Amphitheater in New Haven. Yale’s 38 points were the fewest allowed by Princeton so far this season.

The Tigers raced out to a 4-0 lead when Fadima Tall found a cutting Skye Belker for a beautifully executed backdoor layup. The Tigers never looked back from there as Princeton led wire-to-wire for the seventh time in their last 10 games.

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LISTEN: Princeton men’s basketball’s postgame press conference after 77-70 loss to Yale

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Ivy Hoops Online correspondent George “Toothless Tiger” Clark brings us Princeton’s press conference after a 77-70 home loss for Princeton (14-6, 3-2 Ivy) to Yale (12-6, 5-0) Friday evening:

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Yale and Princeton: This era’s Ivy League men’s basketball duopoly

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I am old enough to remember the Princeton-Penn hegemony in Ivy hoops.

We’re talking 1965-2015. That’s 50 years. That’s a long time. Names like Carril, Dunphy, Bradley, Petrie, Calhoun and many, many more.

Tommy Amaker entered in 2007 and assisted in disrupting the world order. In 2010, Cornell made a run to the Sweet 16.

Since then, it has been mostly Yale and Princeton.

And the rivalry is very heated.

James Jones and Mitch Henderson could not be more different, personally and stylistically. But since 2016, their hegemony is crystal clear.

Yale has gone 88-28 and Princeton 85-31 in the Ivy regular season. Yale has won three Ivy League tourneys and Princeton two. They have each won two NCAA tourney games.

Little to separate them, but Yale has won 11 out of the last 14.

Princeton and Yale have, as a duo, separated from the pack.

This year, Yale sits atop the Ivy standings at 4-0. Princeton is 3-1 after a home loss to Cornell.

Yale has a league-leading NET ranking of 79 and a KenPom ranking of 75. Princeton sits at 130 and 137, respectively.

“I’m excited about the opportunity,” Yale coach James Jones. “That’s what college basketball is all about.”

And he is correct. The 5 p.m. start at Jadwin Gym will be televised by ESPN2.

Keys to the game:

  • Yale senior guard John Poulakidas shooting from long range.
  • Princeton senior guard Blake Peters making three-plus treys.
  • Yale senior guard Bez Mbeng not picking up two quick fouls guarding Princeton junior guard Xaivian Lee.
  • Princeton being able to rebound with Yale, especially on the offensive glass. How vocal an expected sold-out crowd is at Jadwin.

Princeton women’s basketball holds on to beat Cornell, 62-54, for first road win in two months

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In basketball, size matters.

Just ask Parker Hill, Princeton’s 6-foot-4 senior center, who scored 20 points and grabbed 12 rebounds, both career highs, in Princeton’s 62-54 triumph over Cornell on Saturday at Newman Arena in Ithaca.

“Well, what was working is we definitely put an emphasis on looking into the post,” Hill told the ESPN+ broadcast crew. “We definitely had a size advantage there . . . I think I got the benefit of my teammates seeing me . . . So yeah, I think it’s just a little tough. Size is tough to match, so I think [Cornell] did a great job. But in the end, [size] won out.”

The win gave the Tigers a two-game sweep of the Big Red and provided Princeton with its first road win since November 29, when the Orange and Black defeated Temple, 62-57, in Philadelphia. The win was Princeton’s 15th consecutive triumph over Cornell.  

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