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Ivy Madness reporter’s notebook: Day 3

March 13, 2022 by Rob Browne

Princeton women’s basketball’s post-Ivy League Tournament final press conference was one of several revealing pressers during Ivy Madness. (photo by Rob Browne)

“This is the business we’ve chosen.” – Brian Earl and Hyman Roth

“We played for, I would say, a good 15 minutes tonight, but that’s not good enough against a good program.” – Columbia head coach Megan Griffith, following the Lions defeat to top-seeded Princeton

No matter what the coaches who did not earn victories on Saturday thought, I felt there were three really good games of college basketball on display at Lavietes Pavilion, including a fantastic opener that saw Princeton escape an upset big from Cornell, 77-73. Hopefully, West Coast fans woke up at 8 a.m. on a Saturday morning to catch it.

Here are some random thoughts and observations from the Ancient Eight’s Super Saturday:

No. 2 Yale men outlast No. 1 Princeton to win Ivy League Tournament, clinch NCAA Tournament berth

March 14, 2022March 13, 2022 by Mike Tony

Senior guard Azar Swain came on strong in the second half in Yale’s Ivy League Tournament final win over Princeton Sunday. Swain registered 15 points on 6-for-13 shooting from the field, including 3-for-6 shooting from three-point range, in the second stanza. (photo by Erica Denhoff)

The Bulldogs are headed back to the Big Dance.

Yale men’s basketball earned its third NCAA Tournament berth in five opportunities since 2016 with a 66-64 win over Princeton in the Ivy League Tournament final Sunday afternoon at Lavietes Pavilion.

Four takeaways from the super Saturday semifinals at the Ivy League Tournament

March 13, 2022 by Steve Silverman

Ivy Player of the Year Tosan Evbuomwan came through in the clutch in Princeton’s Ivy League Tournament semifinal win over Cornell, scoring 14 points in the final 10:14. (photo by Erica Denhoff)

After watching two scintillating semifinal games in the men’s basketball tournament at Lavietes Pavilion on Saturday, here are four takeaways from the perspective of a diehard Princeton fan:

No. 2 Yale men push past No. 3 Penn, 67-61, to advance to Ivy League Tournament final

March 13, 2022March 12, 2022 by Richard Kent

Webster’s defines “toughness” as the quality of being strong and not easily broken. The word and the definition define Yale men’s basketball.

Yale exhibited toughness throughout in defeating Penn, 67-61, to advance to the Ivy League championship game tomorrow at noon against Princeton, a winner in dramatic fashion over Cornell.

Both games were played at Harvard’s Lavietes Pavilion before 1,250 fans.

Yale held a 32-29 lead at the half off 50% shooting. The lead widened to 44-35 before Penn went on an extended run to take a 56-55 lead. After a timeout, the characteristic Yale toughness was apparent in a 7-1 run.

Penn cut the deficit to one, but a dominant Yale defense and a key bucket from Bez Mbeng closed out the win.

“It was another really good college basketball game,” Yale coach James Jones said. “We fought very hard.”

“We just couldn’t put the ball in the basket,” coach Steve Donahue said. “We had our open shots, I thought. It didn’t go in today.”

Penn shot 23-for-58 (39.7%) from the field and 11-for-33 (33.3%) when subtracting the shot output of sophomore guard Jordan Dingle, who notched a game-high 28 points on 12-for-25 shooting.

“Very disappointed that I couldn’t get it done this year with this group of guys,” Dingle said.

Azar Swain led Yale with 25 points on 9-for-15 shooting, including a 5-for-8 outing from three-point range. Captain Jalen Gabbidon was held to nine points, as Penn and Jelani Williams keyed on him. Gabbidon had a total of 53 points in the two earlier meetings between the teams. Swain had shot just 8-for-25 from the field in the teams’ previous two meetings, which they split.

“Azar’s been our guy, obviously, all year, but he was extremely efficient tonight,” Jones said.

Matt Knowling added 10 points for the Bulldogs with an efficient 5-for-9 shooting from the field.

Rookie forward/center Nick Spinoso scored 14 points on 5-for-8 shooting for Penn in just 22 minutes.

Yale committed only seven turnovers.

The Bulldogs improved to 18-11, and Penn finished its season at 12-16.

In attendance for the win were former Yale greats Butch Graves, 16-year NBA veteran Chris Dudley and Steve Leondis, who was recognized during the game and got to see a memorable win for their alma mater.

Ivy Madness reporter’s notebook: Days 1 & 2

March 12, 2022 by Rob Browne

Ivy Madness became Ivy Gladness for Princeton women’s basketball after its 72-67 Ivy League Tournament semifinal win over Harvard at Lavietes Pavilion. (photo by Erica Denhoff)

“As we battle in the WBCA (Women’s Basketball Coaches Association), they’re always talking about “create this environment.” Any time I talk equity with anyone, they always say there’s more pressure on a man because the gyms are full, and the bands are playing. The opposite is true. It’s much easier to play in a (packed) venue like this. It’s very, very hard for women all over the country and play in empty gyms without bands, fighting their schools for support to get the bands there and to get the cheerleaders there. There’s been huge growth at Harvard, but there’s such a long way to go. It’s really wonderful for the athletes to play in this kind of venue and it’s fun to watch as well.” – soon-to-be retiring Harvard women’s coach Kathy Delaney-Smith, talking about the boisterous atmosphere during her team’s 72-67 loss to No. 1 seed Princeton

Some random thoughts after two great days at the 2022 Ivy League Tournament:

Ivy League Tournament: Men’s semifinals preview

March 12, 2022 by Rob Browne

“The expectations (for winning) are always there, they just felt even heavier this year (due to the pandemic). There should be several asterisks next to it (being at the Ivy League Tournament) and that’s true of all the teams.” – Princeton coach Mitch Henderson

“We’re not done”: Columbia throttle Yale in Ivy League Tournament women’s semifinal

March 12, 2022March 12, 2022 by Richard Kent

Columbia junior forward Hannah Pratt and the Lions savored their Ivy League Tournament semifinal romp over Yale at Lavietes Pavilion Friday. (photo by Erica Denhoff)

The time-honored expression that it is difficult to beat a team three times in a season was debunked by Columbia Friday night in the second Ivy League Tournament semifinal at Lavietes Pavilion.

The high-flying Lions completed the season sweep with a 67-38 wire-to-wire win.

“I hope you all enjoyed watching Columbia play today,” Columbia coach Megan Griffith said to open the Lions’ postgame press conference. “We’re not done.”