Ivy Hoops Online contributor George “Toothless Tiger” Clark recaps a third second-half comeback win in as many games for Princeton (3-0) in a 79-76 win at Northeastern (1-1) Sunday afternoon:
Penn women’s basketball tops Maine, 56-52
Beautiful though Maine may be, any visitor from warmer places can be forgiven for feeling a chill there. (Palestra Pete himself froze his butt off one Memorial Day weekend long ago.) And the Penn women’s basketball team stepped onto the University of Maine’s court Sunday with cold shooting hands. But after that frigid start, the Quakers overtook the Maine Black Bears for a 56-52 win.
Maine had a 7-0 lead before Swedish-born Penn senior Stina Almqvist (no doubt advantaged in cold climates) put in a left-handed scoop. Another Maine basket reclaimed the seven-point advantage, but soon it was the home team that had the cold hands as Penn started a 10-point run.
Dartmouth men’s basketball outlasts Sacred Heart, 81-76
HANOVER, N.H. – If you think there’s nowhere to go but up for the Dartmouth men’s basketball team this season, you’re probably not alone. The Big Green won only four Division I games last season and were – to be kind – dreadful offensively: 351st nationally in efficiency, last in the Ivy League by a pretty wide margin. And Dusan Neskovic, who was fifth nationally in usage and third in shots taken, is now at Richmond.
The preseason Ivy League poll would agree with you as well. Dartmouth was picked dead last almost unanimously.
But internally, as the Big Green regrouped, it also marked opportunity for them. Outside of Neskovic’s departure, they are not necessarily starting over. And in their Division I opener Saturday afternoon at Leede Arena, with two seniors and two juniors in the starting lineup, they took an early punch from Sacred Heart and came back to win fairly comfortably (with the exception of the final minute), 81-76.
Princeton women’s basketball routs DePaul, 79-58, for first win of the season
The Princeton women’s basketball team shrugged off a sluggish start and stormed past the DePaul Blue Demons, 79-58, in a Saturday matinee matchup at Wintrust Arena in Chicago.
The win was the first of the season for Princeton (1-1) and its first triumph over DePaul (1-1) in program history. The Blue Demons won the previous three contests against the Tigers in 2011, 2012 and 2018.
LISTEN: Princeton men’s basketball blows by Duquesne, 75-68
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: