Ivy Hoops Online contributor George “Toothless Tiger” Clark recaps another furious second-half rally in a 75-68 win for Princeton (2-0) over Duquesne (0-2) at the Jersey Jam in Trenton, N.J. Friday night:
Penn women’s basketball opens with win over Merrimack
The Penn women’s basketball team faced a basic question as it opened the season Friday afternoon at the Palestra: Is it ready to win again?
The answer was yes: In place of All-Ivy forward Jordan Obi, 6-foot-1 freshman Katie Collins had an emphatic debut as Penn beat Merrimack, 64-52.
Yale men’s basketball fades in 91-79 loss at UIC
Yale held a 41-34 halftime lead on the road over Illinois Chicago and appeared in control of the game Friday night.
Then the second half happened.
How Harvard women’s basketball took down No. 25 Indiana
For the first time in the Carrie Moore era, the Harvard women defeated a Top 25 team, beating No. 25 Indiana, 72-68, in overtime on Thursday night.
“I’m just so happy for them,” the head coach told the BIG+ Network immediately after the buzzer ended and she was mobbed by her jubilant team. “When I got here, there was a lot of work that needed to be done, and these guys bought in and invested.”
Quakeaways from Penn men’s basketball eking out win over UMES
After another frenetic final minute, Penn is 2-0.
The Quakers had to survive an 18-point barrage from Maryland Eastern Shore (UMES) in the game’s last 60 seconds but escaped with an 85-84 win in their opening game at the Palestra.
Penn moved ahead for good with 7:13 to go in the first half after senior forward Nick Spinoso laser-beamed an excellent pass to classmate George Smith, who hit a nice layup to give the Quakers a 20-19 lead they would not surrender.
Strong shooting performances in the second half from sophomore Sam Brown (22 points) and Ethan Roberts (23 points) helped Penn build a lead of as many as 16 points, but the Hawks got hot enough to make the end a nail-biter.
How stressful did it get? After Brown drained two free throws to give the Quakers a game-sealing 85-81 lead with 0.8 seconds left, UMES rolled the ball inbounds into the arms of junior guard Jose Cuello, who casually picked up the ball and drained a three from beyond half-court.
So, what have we learned about Penn after two victories against ostensibly inferior competition that were closer than expected?
Tiger Takeaways from Princeton’s comeback win over Iona
The Princeton men’s basketball team staged a comeback for the ages in the Tigers’ thrilling, 81-80 triumph over the Iona Gaels at Jadwin Gym on Monday night.
Here are three thoughts about how the Tigers managed to claw their way back from a 16-point deficit to win their opening game of the season:
Harvard men’s and women’s basketball victorious in doubleheader sweep
After more than four hours of opening night basketball at Lavietes Pavilion, the Harvard faithful were in a great mood following wins by their men’s and women’s programs.
The men (1-0) started off the festivities with a convincing 79-66 victory over Marist (0-1), while the women (1-0) pulled away late from in-state rival UMass (0-1) on its way to a 71-55 triumph.
Princeton men’s basketball nips Iona in season-opening comeback win
Our George “Toothless Tiger” Clark recaps an 81-80 season-opening comeback win for Princeton men’s basketball (1-0) over Iona (0-1) at Jadwin Gym Monday night:
Yale men’s basketball clocks Quinnipiac, 88-62, in season opener
No Danny Wolf, no problem.
In its first game since the former Yale standout’s transfer to what should be a grateful Michigan program, Yale men’s basketball cruised to an 88-62 win over Quinnipiac Monday night in a battle of Whitney Avenue at John J. Lee Amphitheater.
And it wasn’t even that close.
Quakeaways from Penn men’s basketball’s comeback win over NJIT
NEWARK, N.J. — It wasn’t pretty, but it was gritty.
Staring down the barrel of a dispiriting opening night loss to KenPom No. 334 NJIT, Penn used a combination of a well-schemed 2-3 zone and a relentless interior attack to slowly turn a 17-point second-half deficit into a 58-57 victory.
The winning moment on Monday night came when junior wing Ethan Roberts got the ball in an isolation backdown on the left block with six seconds to go. The Drake transfer bullied his way into the paint and drew a foul with just 1.6 ticks left on the clock. Roberts missed his first free throw but drained the second, the capper on a 15-point Penn debut.
NJIT got a decent turnaround look for forward Levi Lawal at the buzzer, but the sophomore airballed the jumper and the dozens of Quakers fans assembled in Newark could finally exhale.
There’s plenty for Penn to mull over after a near-certain defeat turned into a celebration, starting with how …