Burning questions for Penn men’s basketball: Palestra Ivy Madness edition

by

There is perhaps no juxtaposition which better sums up the current state of college basketball in 2026 than the fact that the NCAA’s transfer portal opened up as One Shining Moment was playing to officially close the books on the 2025-26 season.

As of Tuesday afternoon, more than 1,500 players have entered the portal. Of course, many of those names were known in the weeks leading up to the stroke of midnight on April 7.

The season has barely ended, but these next few weeks will be critical as Penn looks to protect its current stable of talent and reload with some new faces ahead of its Ivy League title defense. Below are just a few of the questions Quakers fans should be asking ahead of a pivotal offseason.

Read more

No. 4 Columbia women’s basketball stymies No. 1 BYU to win WBIT title

by


A wire-to-wire win to cap an even greater wire-to-wire triumph.

That’s what No. 4 Columbia women’s basketball delivered Wednesday night in Wichita, Kan., by holding off No. 1 Brigham Young, 81-64, to win the WBIT Championship.

Columbia never trailed, wrapping a five-game tournament tear during which it led for 190 minutes and 43 seconds out of a possible 200.

Read more

Former Princeton associate head coach Brett MacConnell hired as Dartmouth men’s basketball new head coach

by
Dartmouth men’s basketball looks to new head coach Brett MacConnell to get the Big Green back to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1959. (Dartmouth Athletics)

The Big Green made a big splash on Monday afternoon, hiring former Princeton men’s basketball associate head coach Brett MacConnell as Dartmouth’s new head coach.

“Brett’s deep knowledge of the Ivy League and his ability to identify and develop student-athletes set him apart during our national search,” Dartmouth Athletic Director Mike Harrity said in the school’s press release.  “The way he connects with people, from the recruits to the team and beyond, is exceptional, and his drive, vision, and plan for our program is exactly what Dartmouth Men’s Basketball needs.

Read more

No. 4 Columbia women’s basketball smothers No. 3 Wisconsin to punch WBIT title game ticket

by

In like a lamb, out like a Lion. Right?

That’s how March has played out for Columbia women’s basketball. After two losses to Harvard, including a nail-biter in the Ivy League semifinal, the Lions entered the WBIT as a team on a mission.

Steamrolling St. John’s and North Dakota State and escaping against California, they earned their way to the semifinal in Wichita, Kan.

In their final game of March, the Lions continued their postseason winning ways. Never trailing, Columbia suffocated Wisconsin defensively while doing just enough offensively to earn a comfortable win and punch their ticket to the WBIT final by a score of 67-50.

Read more

Late collapse sinks Harvard women’s basketball at Wisconsin, Columbia triumphs at Cal in WBIT quarterfinals

by

With Harvard up 56-49 with 39 seconds left in regulation, a quarterfinal WBIT win looked inevitable and many Wisconsin fans could be seen heading to the exit of the Kohl Center.

The Badgers, though, had faith in themselves, hitting big shots and forcing multiple Crimson turnovers to improbably send the game into overtime.

Wisconsin held onto a one-point lead with three seconds left on the scoreboard when 5-foot-2 senior guard Ronnie Porter was called for a foul against Harvard’s Abigail Wright that would send the junior forward to the line for two free throws.

Given an extra challenge call in overtime, the Badgers’ coaching staff asked for a review and the call was ultimately reversed, sending the home team and their fans into a frenzy.

After graduate guard Destiny Howell sank two free throws, Harvard junior guard Karlee White had one last chance to send the game into double overtime, but her three-pointer from the top of the key hit high off the backboard and the Crimson season ended with a 64-61 defeat.

Had Harvard won, it would have faced Columbia in a WBIT semifinal matchup after the Lions, as a No. 4 seed, topped No. 3 California on the road, 74-68, after the Harvard-Wisconsin game Thursday night.

Columbia held off the Golden Bears by finishing the game on an 8-2 run in the final 2:06 after the hosts pulled ahead at 67-66, a run strung together with key shots from junior guard Riley Weiss and senior guard/forward Perri Page. Those two combined to deliver 46 of Columbia’s 74 points, setting up the Lions to face Wisconsin in a semifinal showdown in Wichita, Kan. Monday at a time to be determined.

Read more

Reflecting on Carla Berube’s departure and the state of Princeton women’s basketball

by

Princeton coach Carla Berube answers questions at Pauley Pavilion on March 20, 2026 ahead of a first-round NCAA Tournament matchup against Oklahoma State. (Steve Silverman | Ivy Hoops Online) 

It’s been a tumultuous five days for Princeton women’s basketball. 

On Saturday night, the Tigers’ memorable season came to a crashing halt at 26-4 in a humbling 82-68 loss to Oklahoma State in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

Then, four days later, Princeton coach Carla Berube announced she was leaving Old Nassau for purpler pastures at Northwestern.

Now, Orange and Black nation is holding its collective breath waiting to see if any Princeton players will defect with Berube to Northwestern, where they can earn athletic scholarships and NIL dollars while plying their craft on a larger stage than the one offered by Princeton.

And yet only a fortnight ago, Princeton women’s basketball appeared to be resurgent.

The Tigers had won an unexpected outright Ivy League championship on the last day of the regular season when they handled business at home against Yale and then watched Harvard upset Columbia in Morningside Heights.

Then, a week later at Ivy Madness in Ithaca, the Tigers powered their way past Brown and Havard to win their fifth Ivy League Tournament championship in the past eight years and their seventh consecutive trip to the Big Dance.

Why did everything suddenly go south for Princeton women’s basketball and where does the program go from here?

Read more

Carla Berube leaves Princeton women’s basketball for head coaching job at Northwestern

by

Then-Princeton women’s basketball coach Carla Berube answers questions at Pauley Pavilion on March 20, 2026, ahead of a first-round NCAA Tournament matchup against Oklahoma State that turned out to be her final game at Princeton’s helm. (Steve Silverman | Ivy Hoops Online)

The Carla Berube era at Princeton is over.

In an announcement Wednesday that reverberated instantly throughout the world of women’s college basketball, Princeton Athletics announced that Tigers coach Carla Berube had accepted the head coaching position at Northwestern.

Read more

Columbia, Harvard women’s basketball rout North Dakota State, Eastern Kentucky respectively in WBIT second round

by

Immediately after losing to Harvard women’s basketball in the Ivy League semifinal, Columbia senior forward Perri Page said in no uncertain terms, “We are winning the WBIT. I can tell you that right now.”

Two games in, Columbia are more than backing up Page. After demolishing St. John’s 74–26 at home on Thursday, the Lions (22–8, 11–3 Ivy) romped past North Dakota State (29–5, 15–1 Summit), 86–57, in Columbia’s first-ever trip to the Peace Garden State. 

“Our team has done a great job of turning the page,” Columbia coach Megan Griffith told ESPN+ after the game.

Harvard, which dispatched Columbia from the Ivy League Tournament after spoiling the latter’s Ivy League title pursuit late in the season, took care of business at Lavietes Pavilion to advance from the WBIT’s second round simultaneously Sunday, holding Eastern Kentucky to just two first-quarter points en route to a 63-34 win.

Read more

No. 9 Princeton women’s basketball falls to No. 8 Oklahoma State in NCAA Tournament first round

by

Princeton’s Olivia Hutcherson (2) jumps ball against Oklahoma State’s Achol Akot (11) in a NCAA Tournament first-round matchup at Pauley Pavilion on March 21, 2026. (Steve Silverman | Ivy Hoops Online)

LOS ANGELES – A stellar season for the Princeton women’s basketball team came to an abrupt end at Pauley Pavilion today as the No. 9 Tigers fell to No. 8 Oklahoma State, 82-68, in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

“[This] was not the outcome we were hoping for,” said a disappointed coach Carla Berube in the postgame press conference for Princeton (26-4). “Of course, a ton of credit to Oklahoma State. They were really tough. They made things really, really hard for us on both ends of the floor.”

Read more

No. 9 Princeton v. No. 8 Oklahoma State: 2026 NCAA Tournament Round of 64 women’s preview

by

Princeton’s Skye Belker, Madison St. Rose and Fadima Tall answer questions at a NCAA Tournament press conference at Pauley Pavilion in Los Angeles on March 20, 2026. (Steve Silverman | Ivy Hoops Online)

LOS ANGELES – When No. 9 Princeton women’s basketball (26-3) takes on No. 8 Oklahoma State (23-9) in a NCAA Tournament Round of 64 matchup on Saturday afternoon at UCLA’s Pauley Pavilion, they’ll be looking at a mirror image of themselves.

And not just because the Cowgirls also wear orange and black. 

Both teams are near look-alikes in how they are configured and play the game. 

“When you size up our rosters, I think we’re dang near identical,” quipped Oklahoma State coach Jacie Hoyt at Friday’s pregame press conference.

The Tigers’ trademark all season has been balanced scoring, with all five starters averaging double-digit scoring per game. Ditto for Oklahoma State, which also has five players averaging double digits.

And both teams rank among the nation’s highest in adjusted offensive efficiency, with the Cowgirls coming in at No. 23 in the Torvik rankings while Princeton slots in at 30th. 

But the resemblance doesn’t end there.

Read more