Harvard men’s basketball’s case for optimism despite loss to Boston University

by

UNCASVILLE, Conn. – As you would expect, the Harvard men’s basketball pregame hype video played just before its starting lineup is announced includes clips from both its 2013 and 2014 NCAA Tournament victories.

But it also includes one from the 2015 Ivy League playoff, a grinding win over Yale at The Palestra after the Bulldogs lost on the last day of the regular season and the two rivals finished the season tied. Although they would get edged 67-65 by North Carolina to prevent its third straight season with a NCAA win the next week, it was the culmination of four straight NCAA Tournament berths and six straight 20-win campaigns.

Read more

Princeton women’s basketball hits century mark, defeats Penn State in another comeback

by

Stop me if you’ve heard this before.

Playing against a power-conference opponent, the Princeton women’s basketball team fell behind early, trailed by four at half, then rallied in the second half to grind out a big win.

On Saturday afternoon, that’s exactly what the Tigers did. Again. Except this time, Princeton’s offense exploded to take down Penn State, 100-93, in the opening clash of the Battle 4 Atlantis in the Bahamas. 

Read more

Quakeaways from Penn men’s basketball’s 33rd Street thrashing of Drexel

by

PHILADELPHIA — Penn’s first Big 5 game was thrilling. Its second was a killing.

The Quakers physically dominated Drexel from the opening tip on Friday night and never trailed en route to an 84-68 win over the Dragons at nearby Daskalakis Athletic Center. The victory ensures that Penn (3-2, 2-0 Big 5) will face either Villanova or Temple for the Big 5 title on Dec. 6.

Penn’s stat sheet was littered with green flags. Unfazed by efforts from Drexel (2-4, 0-2) efforts to slow the game down, the Quakers shot 59.4% inside the arc, held the Dragons to 1.01 points per possession, had 15 assists on 27 made baskets and finished with a plus-7 rebounding margin (40-33).

Three-pointers by senior guard Cam Thrower on consecutive possessions — the last of which came while Thrower was shooting on one good leg after rolling his ankle — extended the Quakers’ lead to 17 points midway through the second half and effectively ended the game.

Penn has now strung together back-to-back impressive (and winning) performances as both KenPom and Vegas underdogs. It’s fair to wonder how far ahead of schedule Penn is in its first year under new coach Fran McCaffery after …

Read more

Columbia women’s basketball gets schooled by Saint Joseph’s in Education Day defeat

by

In front of a boisterous Education Day crowd of New York City schoolkids, Columbia women’s basketball struggled to get anything going and went down to a 66-48 defeat to Saint Joseph’s at Levien Gymnasium on Thursday afternoon.

With the win, the Hawks improved to 4-1 on the season and get ready for a Monday Big 5 matchup against Penn. Meanwhile, the Lions lost their second consecutive game and fall to 2-2 on the year.

Read more

Princeton men’s basketball beats Northeastern, loses Dalen Davis to injury

by

Ivy Hoops Online correspondent George “Toothless Tiger” Clark reports on a 70-57 win for Princeton men’s basketball (3-3) over Northeastern (2-3) at Jadwin Gym Thursday night – and a concerning injury for junior guard Dalen Davis, the Tigers’ leading scorer.

Kent: Does Ivy League hear alarm bells with another departure?

by

With the news that Alexander Lesburt Jr. is pulling a Caden Pierce at Brown men’s basketball, sitting out his senior season and entering the portal, the alarm bells are getting louder and louder.

First, as to Lesburt. He was expected to be a key player for Mike Martin after averaging 10.3 points and 3.6 rebounds per game last season and is a skilled three-point shooter. But he is no longer on the team, Brown announced Tuesday, noting he left the program to preserve his final year of eligibility.

Numerous Ivy players in basketball and other sports are exploring this three-year graduation route to obtain a coveted Ivy League degree and get another payday year elsewhere.

Read more

Princeton women’s basketball mounts another fourth-quarter rally to defeat Rice in home opener

by

Another game, another fourth-quarter comeback.

So it goes this season for the Princeton women’s basketball team, which rallied again in the fourth quarter to win its home opener over Rice, 69-56, at Jadwin Gymnasium.

In the first ever meeting between the two programs, the Tigers once again made things difficult for themselves by missing shots early and often.

After Madison St. Rose tallied a layup to open the scoring for Princeton, a series of six missed shots and two turnovers resulted in eight consecutive empty possessions for the Tigers, a near-replay of Princeton’s first-quarter performance at Maryland on Sunday.

Read more

Career night from Abigail Wright leads Harvard women’s basketball at Boston College in overtime

by

Harvard women’s basketball rode the hot hands of junior forward Abigail Wright, who notched a career-best 23 points and 13 rebounds in her first-ever double-double, to a 72-65 overtime victory over Boston College at the Conte Center on Wednesday night.

While the Crimson got back into the win column and evened its record at 3-3 on the season, the triumph was tempered by the loss of Karlee White, who had been the team’s leading scorer, midway through the third quarter. The junior guard, who is arguably the on and off court leader for Carrie Moore’s team, went down with a non-contact left knee injury and did not return for the rest of the evening.

Harvard Athletics did not respond to a request for comment on White’s status.

Read more

Yale men’s basketball takes first season loss after Rhode Island second-half surge

by

Yale men’s basketball took its first loss of the 2025-26 season Tuesday night at John J. Lee Amphitheater, squandering a 10-point second-half lead and falling tamely to KenPom No. 102 Rhode Island, 86-77.

The Rams (4-1) went on a 17-6 run to grab a 57-56 lead and hold off the Bulldogs (3-1). The visitors were more physical than Yale in the second half and outscored them, 46-31, in the frame.

“We did a poor job of getting back [on defense],” Yale coach James Jones said. “They have some quickness there [at guard].”

Read more