How Princeton poured it on at the Palestra

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Mitch Henderson improved to 74-46 (.617) as Princeton's head coach with the Tigers' regular season-closing win over Penn. (goprincetontigers.com)
Mitch Henderson improved to 74-46 (.617) as Princeton’s head coach with the Tigers’ regular season-closing win over Penn. (goprincetontigers.com)

Last night’s swan song for Jerome Allen did not follow the script his legion of admirers hoped to see. The ousted coach surely went out the door with class, appearing on the bench in his Penn letter sweater, evoking memories of his heroic exploits on the court, a dramatic statement of loyalty and roots.

The standing ovation, a spontaneous reaction to his introduction as head coach for the final time, while surely not unexpected, provoked an emotional response. Allen sat hunched over while the applause cascaded over him, self-consciously fiddling with his left ankle, gathering himself.

His boss, new Penn Athletic Director Grace Calhoun, sat across the court from the team bench, occupying a prominent seat on press row, very much in charge. I sat in Calhoun’s seat for the women’s game, courtesy of her. She did oust me for the men’s game, but it was better for her to be visible.

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Jerome Allen will always be a winner

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Stay classy, Jerome Allen. (philly.com)
Stay classy, Jerome Allen. (philly.com)

What I do is not who I am.

That was an important distinction for Jerome Allen to make in his final press conference as Penn’s head coach, and the dichotomous night provided all the evidence one needed to believe the statement came from Allen’s heart.

During pregame warm ups for their contest against Princeton on Tuesday, Allen’s players came out not in Penn gear, but in black t-shirts. The players returned to the locker room, and when they came back out, they had changed from blank black shirts to navy blue ones – Penn blue – with the number 53 (Allen’s number when he played for Penn) on the back of each one.

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On the Vine – March 9

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Check out our archive of the latest On the Vine podcast, in which IHO founder Ian Halpern and Steven Tydings of the Daily Pennsylvanian join Peter Andrews & Mike Tony to cover the latest Ivy action. Segments include reflections on what went wrong for Yale at Dartmouth after the Elis trumped Harvard, Jerome Allen and Penn’s future, who will prevail at the Palestra Saturday to earn a NCAA tourney berth and more. Listen by clicking the magic “On the Vine” circle and clicking ” 15 showreel items” on our Mixlr page:

On The Vine is on Mixlr

THE REAL RACE

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It is fitting that this marvelous Ivy League race remains in doubt even as the regular season reaches its conclusion. Those of us who follow IHO understand that Saturday’s one-game playoff between Harvard and Yale for the Championship is surely significant.

But the annual battle royal between The Ancient Quaker and ToothlessTiger for IHO Pick ‘Em bragging rights has captured the imagination of Roundball Poets across the spectrum. It is fitting, indeed, that these two grizzled veterans of so many Ivy wars, each with at least one foot on the nursing home steps, are deadlocked at 37-18 heading in to today’s final regular season contest between … wait for it … Penn and Princeton!!!

The winner gets a coveted opportunity to shout from the top of Mike Tony’s desk in the IHO newsroom, “I am tied with Alan Gluck for fourth place!!!!!”

THIS IS WHY WE STILL CARE!

Editor’s note: Final IHO Pick ‘Em standings, which we know you’ve all been waiting for, will be released after Saturday’s Ivy championship playoff at the Palestra between Harvard and Yale.

Thank you, Jerome

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Jerome Allen won his final 43 Ivy games as a player for Penn from 1992-95, but he lost 103 games since taking over as Penn head coach in Dec. 2009.
Jerome Allen won his final 43 Ivy games as a player for Penn from 1992-95, but he lost 103 games since taking over as Penn head coach in Dec. 2009.

Although I feel compelled to write something about our head coach being fired, there is little I can add that hasn’t already been said elsewhere.

A stellar man of character, universally loved on campus, superb athlete and Penn hoops legend (probably the finest Ivy League player I’ve ever seen), who was to resurrect our program following the Glen Miller disaster. Objectively, the results never materialized. Why? Who knows? It is impossible to speculate. Perhaps outside of the team’s inner sanctum, no one will ever know. Regardless, I don’t think anyone would argue that he was given more than a fair chance to succeed.

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Do you believe in miracles?

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To relive the insane action of Saturday night in video form like never before, click here.

It was about 10:30 p.m. at Lavietes Pavilion on Friday night. Thirty minutes earlier, Yale had defeated Harvard, 62-52. The fans had long since left, most disappointed. Yale players, coaches and their families hugged and celebrated their Ivy title and likely trip to the NCAA Tournament. Their bliss, though hard to swallow for a Crimson onlooker, was well-deserved. The Bulldogs had done it. They had beaten Harvard to virtually assure an end to the Crimson’s reign of dominance in the Ivy League – or, at least, to postpone it for a year.

But Harvard senior Wesley Saunders wasn’t ready to concede the trophy just yet. When asked about his team’s chances of getting another opportunity to knock off Yale in a one-game playoff, he said, “Crazier things have happened.” I’m not sure what “crazy” things Saunders was referring to, but there’s no way they could have been more insane than what went down on Saturday night atop the Ivy League.

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The Chairman’s big night at Jadwin … and the Tigers’ big win

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The theme for Saturday night’s visit by the Columbia Lions to Jadwin Gym was “HISTORY.”

The Tiger faithful gathered to celebrate history, honoring at halftime the 50th Anniversary of the 1965 Final Four team, captained by the incomparable Bill Bradley. Sensing the significance of the occasion, Columbia’s Maodo “The Chairman” Lo determined to make a little history of his own. More on that below.

The 1965 Tigers reached the Final Four in an Eastern Regional matchup facing the Providence Friars at their place. The night before the final, the Friars celebrated their win in the semis by cutting down the nets in what remains the most egregious example of early chicken counting in this writer’s memory. (The back-slapping of James Jones and his staff in the last minute at Harvard Friday night is a recent contender.) Stung by the snub, the Tigers thrashed the Friars, 109-69. A request for the previous evening’s nets was declined.

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Ivy Saturday Roundup

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Princeton 85, Columbia 83

An 11-0 run in the final 2:08 gave Princeton the series sweep over the Lions, now losers of four straight in spite of junior guard Maodo Lo shooting a stunning 11-for-15 from beyond the arc for 37 points. Princeton junior forward Hans Brase exploded for 23 points and made the game-winning layup with 15 seconds remaining. The Tigers will finish third in the conference.

Harvard 72, Brown 62

Harvard did what it needed to do to online casino one-game playoff” href=”https://ivyhoopsonline.com/2015/03/07/yale-loses-late-at-dartmouth-triggers-one-game-playoff/” target=”_blank”>(successfully) stay in the Ivy title hunt thanks to junior guard Siyani Chambers” 15-point performance and in spite of Brown junior forward Cedric Kuakumensah”s  23 points and seven boards.

Penn 79, Cornell 72

Just hours after news broke that Penn coach Jerome Allen will not be retained at season”s end, the Quakers destroyed Cornell in a game more lopsided than the final score indicated. Six Quakers scored in double figures to easily offset Cornell senior forward Shonn Miller”s 23 points and eight boards in his final game with the Big Red.

Yale loses late at Dartmouth, triggers one-game playoff

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Yale had its first NCAA tournament berth in 53 years in its grasp.

And then it slipped away.

Leading 57-52 with 24.1 seconds left and having trailed for just 43 seconds of the entire game up to that point, the Bulldogs collapsed.  Freshman guard Miles Wright hit two free throws for Dartmouth and added a three-pointer that tied the game. A 1-for-2 trip to the charity stripe for Yale senior guard Javier Duren gave the Elis a 58-57 edge with 2.3 seconds left, and Dartmouth had to go the length of the court in that span.

But the Dartmouth cross-court pass was batted out by Yale junior forward Justin Sears, who inexplicably and purposefully batted the ball out of bounds, hoping to take more time off the clock. As a result, the Big Green got the ball under Yale’s basket, where senior forward Gabas Maldunas used a screen from junior guard Alex Mitola to get free for the game-winning layup, clinching Dartmouth’s first postseason appearance since 1959.

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One injury too many for Columbia

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In the Ivy game I’m sure you all were watching on Friday night, Columbia put out a horribly uninspired performance in the Palestra, falling to Penn 54-46. The Lions scored just nine points in a nightmarish first half, knocking down just three of the 20 shots they put in the air.

Sitting on the bench, watching three after three clang off the rim (or, in Cory Osetkowski’s case, miss everything entirely), Steve Frankoski sat, unusually quiet, with a large brace on his right ankle.

Frankoski’s playing time on this team has fluctuated over the course of the season, but he started to come on down the stretch. The senior picked up his first start in Columbia’s rout of Brown, and scored six points in the first three minutes the next night at Yale.

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