Yale men’s basketball tops Harvard, 78-65

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Remember those Yale trips to hostile environments at Gonzaga and then-No. 2 Kansas in November and December?

Well, they certainly prepared the Bulldogs for a sold-out and raucous crowd at Lavietes Pavilion Saturday as they prevailed against Harvard, 78-65, for their sixth consecutive win and fifth straight over the Crimson.

Yale (13-6, 4-0 Ivy) got the win despite its highest scorer, sophomore frontcourt stalwart Danny Wolf (14.6) being held to a season low and second-leading scorer (13.5) junior guard Bez Mbeng managing only two points.

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Princeton women’s basketball cruises past Cornell, 85-47

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It was déjà vu all over again for Princeton women’s basketball. 

Three weeks ago, the Tigers opened their Ivy campaign with a resounding road win over the Cornell Big Red, 79-38, at Newman Arena in Ithaca. On Saturday afternoon at Jadwin Gym, Princeton delivered a carbon-copy performance, dominating the Big Red in every facet of the game en route to a 85-47 win.  

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LISTEN: In-depth Q&A with Cornell men’s basketball coach Brian Earl

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Brian Earl (Cornell Athletics)

Cornell men’s basketball coach Brian Earl reflects on the Big Red’s 14-3 (3-0 Ivy) start this season, how he sells recruits on his hockey-like substitutions, playing fast, his relationship with Princeton coach and former teammate Mitch Henderson and more in this in-depth interview with Ivy Hoops Online contributor George “Toothless Tiger” Clark ahead of his team’s showdown with Princeton (15-1, 3-0) Saturday:

How Princeton women’s basketball won a chess match against Columbia

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Princeton women’s basketball coach Carla Berube led the Tigers to another big win in a big game versus Columbia Saturday.

The contrast in demeanor could not have been starker.

Trailing 3-2 at the 8:23 mark of the first quarter, Columbia coach Megan Griffith gathered her team while officials reviewed a play to check for possible head contact.  Griffith smiled broadly, exuding confidence as she leaned into her team’s huddle. Her players listened and nodded while she spoke, their arms wrapped around each other in a tight circle.  

On the other sideline, a grim-looking Carla Berube paced while her Princeton players stood apart from each other, hands of their hips.  

Was there meaning in this moment?  Did Griffith’s sureness foretell an upset or was she simply trying to radiate belief in her team in the biggest game of the Ivy League season so far?

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Cornell men’s basketball holds off Brown second-half rally, 84-83

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On Monday, Brown men’s basketball built up a big second half lead at Harvard and held on in the final minute for a two-point win. Five days later, however, the Bears found itself on the other end of that formula and came up one-point short against Cornell in an 84-83 defeat at the Pizzitola Sports Center.

The Big Red (13-3, 3-0 Ivy), winners of three straight league contests for the first time since their Sweet 16 2009-10 season, finished the day tied with Princeton and Yale at the top of the Ancient Eight standings, while the Bears (5-13, 1-2) were knotted in fourth place with Harvard and Penn.

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Quakeaways from Penn men’s basketball’s 70-61 loss to Harvard

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PHILADELPHIA — Penn picked a bad day to come out flat.

The Quakers dug themselves a 21-point deficit in the first half against Harvard thanks to stretches of stagnant offense and white-hot shooting from the Crimson. It proved to be too much to overcome in a 70-61 loss, despite a valiant comeback effort in the second half.

The loss isn’t fatal to Penn’s Ivy Madness hopes, but it ratchets up the pressure on the Quakers ahead of upcoming road games against Columbia and Brown. They’ll need to win one — if not both — of those games to feel good about their chances of reaching New York City.

There aren’t too many happy Quakeaways from Saturday. Penn (9-9, 1-2 Ivy) no-showed for 20 minutes against Harvard (10-6, 1-2) in front of a relatively full Palestra — including a packed student section. It wasn’t the type of product that will encourage those students to be repeat customers.

The Red and Blue have lots of questions to wrestle with ahead of next Saturday’s trip to Levien Gymnasium, starting with …

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Yale men’s basketball shuts down Dartmouth, 76-51

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Yale men’s basketball put together its best defensive effort and perhaps most complete game of the season to defeat Dartmouth, 76-51, Saturday at Leede Arena.

Dartmouth (4-12, 0-3 Ivy) put up some early resistance and led 12-11 on two free throws by sophomore forward Brandon Mitchell-Day. But Yale (12-6, 3-0) went on a 10-0 run and led 38-28 at the half.

With the score 45-32, Yale went on a 16-0 run, culminating in a jumper by sophomore forward Casey Simmons.

The Bulldogs’ largest lead was 68-36.

Dartmouth mustered just 28.8% shooting from the field and 27.3% from three-point land.

“Extremely happy with our defensive performance,” Yale coach James Jones said. “Hope we can build on this effort.”

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LISTEN: Princeton men’s basketball outlasts Columbia, 70-62

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Ivy Hoops Online contributor George “Toothless Tger” Clark delivers an audio report on a 70-62 victory for Princeton (15-1, 3-0 Ivy) over Columbia (9-7, 0-3) at Levien Gym Saturday:

Princeton women’s basketball takes round one over Columbia, 80-65

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Ivy Hoops Online contributor George “Toothless Tiger” Clark brings us the postgame press conference after a 80-65 win for Princeton women’s basketball (14-3, 4-0 Ivy) over Columbia (12-5, 3-1) in a key matchup in the Ivy League championship race Saturday. Senior guard Chet Nweke, sophomore guard Madison St. Rose, freshman guard Skye Belker and coach Carla Berube held court at the presser after engineering the win on the court at Jadwin Gym:

Ivy Hoops Online contributor Rob Browne recaps the action:

The Tigers, winners of nine straight, claimed sole possession of first place in the Ancient Eight, while the Lions, which had their own 10-game winning streak stopped, slipped into a three-way tie for second place with Harvard and Brown.

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Harmoni Turner, Katie Krupa lead Harvard women’s basketball past Penn

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Katie Krupa (Harvard Athletics)
Harmoni Turner and Katie Krupa delivered career scoring highs Saturday to carry Harvard women’s basketball to a homecourt 69-56 win over Penn.
Turner, the junior guard, is often the engine behind the Harvard offense, averaging just under 20 points a game and four assists. Against Penn, she knocked down 31 points on 12-for-22 shooting to match her career best — plus 10 rebounds and a half-dozen assists. For Krupa, a sophomore forward, it was a breakout performance: 25 points on 8-for-12 shooting, including 3-for-7 on threes.

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