Kyle Smith gives thanks for Isaac Cohen after Columbia beats Wofford

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NEW YORK – Two minutes into Columbia’s final game before a brief Thanksgiving break, coach Kyle Smith’s face was redder than cranberry sauce. His team had turned it over on four straight possessions to start the game, the Lions couldn’t stop Wofford from stuffing the ball through the net and were generally playing like turkeys.

So Smith went to his bench and called upon junior forward Jeff Coby and sophomore guard Nate Hickman, the duo that helped turn the game from an 11-3 deficit into a 70-59 win for the Lions at Levien. Hickman hit a three-pointer on his first touch to get the crowd back into the game, and then it was time for the Isaac Cohen/Jeff Coby show. On three straight possessions, the Cohen to Coby combination resulted in layups for the big man and the Lions were back in it. Cohen said he just wanted to be aggressive early in the game, and noticed that Wofford was playing off him which presumably helped open up passing lanes for the senior swingman.

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Ivy Sunday roundup

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Boston College 69, Harvard 56

Free throws. They’re important. The Crimson attempted 23 and missed 14. Harvard lost by 13. You do the math.

Okay, that’s an overly simplistic numbers comparison, but this can’t keep up. Junior center Zena Edosomwan and sophomore forward Chris Egi combined to shoot 5-for-15 from the charity stripe by themselves. Come on. Harvard’s a defense-oriented team that wants to grind it out with some freshman backcourt threes thrown in. If you’re going to play that way, you better make the most of your foul line trips.

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Three takeaways from Columbia’s 88-61 win over Lehigh

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Facing a Lehigh team that was the preseason Patriot League favorite, Columbia (2-2) turned in what was by far its best performance of the season in an 88-61 win. The Lions imposed their will at their own end of the floor, so much so that C.J. Davis’ three-pointer just to the right of the key felt like a dagger, even though it only gave them a 22-12 lead.

Here’s what we learned from Columbia’s win:

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Princeton holds off Saint Peter’s, 75-72

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In his recap of Saturday’s Ivy action, Mike Tony described Princeton’s win against Saint Peter’s as “gritty,” thereby stealing the story line from Old Toothless. Both teams displayed toughness and resilience. The Tigers were fortunate to hang on at the end for a 75-72 victory in the contest played at Dillon Gym, which last hosted varsity basketball in January 1969.

Pete Miller controlled the opening tap, resulting in a Steve Cook layup four seconds into the game. The Tigers needed the remaining 39:56 to add the third point to the winning margin.

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Ivy Saturday roundup

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Washington 104, Penn 67

This one was over before it started.  The Huskies raced out to a 16-0 lead and never let up, maintaining a full-court press that Washington coach Lorenzo Romar kept up even when the Huskies built a 42-point lead. The Quakers needed to be lights out from deep and weren’t, hitting just six of 28 three-point attempts. It also seems Penn will be one of many Ivies – Columbia, Princeton and Cornell included – who will struggle defensively this season. Penn got open looks but could not convert, and its interior defense got exposed early and often. Probably won’t be the last time that happens, either.

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Behind Enemy Lines: Q&A with BC Interruption’s Arthur Bailin

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With Harvard’s matchup at Boston College less than 24 hours away, it’s time to go behind enemy lines with Arthur Bailin, hoops writer at BC Interruption, the SB Nation Washington Huskies community.

Ivy Hoops Online: The Eagles came into this season with nine vacant roster spots. Is there anything resembling a general rotation around senior guard Eli Carter and freshman guard Jerome Robinson yet, and what are general expectations for the team this season?

BC Interruption: would say that they both have really good chemistry when they are on the floor. Both are bona fide scorers that are a threat whenever they are on the floor. They complement each other really well. For example, last Thursday night Eli Carter had a lot of trouble from the field in the first half. Jerome Robinson was able to keep BC afloat and when Carter caught fire in the second BC was solid. They complement each other really well, and that gives them dangerousness.

IHO: Harvard had beaten Boston College six straight times before last season’s 64-57 overtime loss to the Eagles, in no small part due to the fact that the Eagles outscored the Crimson 38-16 in the paint. What does BC’s interior offensive attack look like this season?

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How Northwestern squeaked by Columbia, 83-80, in OT

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Columbia raced out to a 17-5 lead at Northwestern and led 74-68 as late as the 2:18 mark. So how did the Lions lose?

Maodo Lo’s foul trouble

Lo picked up his second foul with 8:10 left in the first half and his fourth foul with 11:31 left in the game. He never fouled out, he spent much of the second half limited defensively by his inability to stay aggressive, a huge loss since he had three steals in the game’s first 12:36 and the Wildcats had trouble with his on-the-ball pressure. Lo playing just 26 minutes – four fewer than any other starter and at least 12 fewer than starters besides Isaac Cohen – meant Columbia’s defense was that much more exposed for longer stretches than usual.

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Behind Enemy Lines: Q&A with UW Dawg Pound’s Lucas Shannon

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With Penn’s matchup at Washington less than 24 hours away, it’s time to go behind enemy lines with Lucas Shannon, hoops editor of UW Dawg Pound, the SB Nation Washington Huskies community.

Check out a flipped Q&A at UW Dawg Pound in which I let Husky fans know what to expect from the Quakers.

Ivy Hoops Online: UW Dawg Pound editor Kirk DeGrasse said you didn’t have high hopes the Huskies would win vs. Texas Friday, but they did. What did this young team show you against the Longhorns that was a pleasant surprise?

UW Dawg Pound: I shared his sentiment.  Like many other Husky fans, I didn’t expect the Huskies to knock off the Longhorns, so the win itself was a pleasant surprise.

The team as a whole showed that they are already able to fight through adversity. They had to travel nearly 5,000 miles for the game as it took place in Beijing, (though to be fair, Texas had to travel 7,000 miles for the game) and overcame a tough shooting night, and were able to scrap out a hard fought victory. This team is obviously very raw and needs to clean up their play a bit—they coughed the ball up 17 times — but the fact that they were able to travel across the world and beat a relatively experienced Texas team is impressive.

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Asked and answered: Sizing up Yale’s 3-0 start

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Our Richard Kent answers the burning questions facing the Bulldogs, who have emerged as the favorite to win the Ivy crown after an impressive 3-0 start during which reigning Ivy Player of the Year Justin Sears has gone stat-stuffing and Makai Mason has established himself as one of the premier backcourt players in the conference.
So how good is Yale?
Very good. Better than expectations. They are perched at 3-0, with wins over Sacred Heart and and a big win over Lehigh on the road last night, teams that are each ranked third in KenPom in their respective conferences (NEC and Patriot League).
 
Can they pull any upsets?
Look for them to beat either USC (Dec. 13) or Illinois (Dec. 9) on the road. They can hang with SMU (Nov. 22).

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A double OT thriller, trouble with triples and an Eli home run: A crazy week already

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Yale – With Princeton missing Hans Brase for the 2015-16 season due to injury and Columbia’s defense still struggling to make an impact, Yale has to be considered the favorite to win the Ivy League title at this early point. The comfort sophomore guard Makai Mason has displayed in running this offense is perhaps the biggest reason why. Mason posted 21 points and five assists in 36 minutes in Yale’s 99-77 home win over Sacred Heart Monday, a game in which pretty much everything came together for the Elis. Yale notched 16 offensive rebounds, scored 27 second-chance points to Sacred Heart’s 10 and took 17 more shots than SHU as a result. The Bulldogs also enjoyed 24 bench points and shot 52.9 percent (9-for-17) from three.

A lot of Ivies can shoot the ball from deep and have offensive depth. None can hit the boards like the Bulldogs can, especially on the offensive end, and that will pay dividends for them come conference play. Yale proved in its season opener that it can win without reigning Ivy Player of the Year Justin Sears.

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