Quakeaways from Penn men’s basketball’s win over Brown

Penn avoided the dreaded 0-2 start to Ivy play thanks to a pair of sterling performances from its senior leaders.

Wings Ethan Roberts and Michael Zanoni scored 28 and 20, respectively, in an 81-73 win over Brown at the Palestra. No other Quakers player scored more than nine. The win had the added benefit of snapping a four-game losing streak to the Bears (6-9, 0-2 Ivy).

Penn (8-7, 1-1) scored an efficient 1.2 points per possession against a good defensive team. The Quakers badly needed it, given their own defensive struggles. The Red and Blue managed to get to the halftime locker room tied despite an awful start, then seized control of the game with a 13-6 run out of the break.

Zanoni gave Penn a lead it would not surrender with an open three by the right sideline off a nice feed out of the lane by Roberts 50 seconds into the second half. Roberts later capped off the run with a wide-open three from the left wing thanks to a good screen from big man Augustus Gerhart with 16:17 to go in the half.

What did Penn fans learn from a solid win?

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Second half spells doom for Yale women’s basketball in loss to Brown

There was reason for hope.

Yale had won three out of five games and lost the other two in overtime. It grabbed a 25-18 first-quarter lead over a scrappy, veteran Brown squad and was tied with the Bears at 41 at the half in their Ivy League opener at John  J. Lee Amphitheater Monday.

And then reality struck.

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Yale men’s basketball makes a second-half statement in win at Brown

Yale men’s basketball overcame a subpar game from its leading scorer on the season, senior forward Nick Townsend, and a slow first-half start to defeat Brown 70-53 in Providence Monday night.

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Kent: Does Ivy League hear alarm bells with another departure?

With the news that Alexander Lesburt Jr. is pulling a Caden Pierce at Brown men’s basketball, sitting out his senior season and entering the portal, the alarm bells are getting louder and louder.

First, as to Lesburt. He was expected to be a key player for Mike Martin after averaging 10.3 points and 3.6 rebounds per game last season and is a skilled three-point shooter. But he is no longer on the team, Brown announced Tuesday, noting he left the program to preserve his final year of eligibility.

Numerous Ivy players in basketball and other sports are exploring this three-year graduation route to obtain a coveted Ivy League degree and get another payday year elsewhere.

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2025-26 Ivy League women’s basketball preview

The release of the Ivy League preseason media poll and 2025-26 Media Day revealed Princeton as the favorite heading into the 2025-26 season, followed by three-time defending champion Columbia, 2025 Ivy Madness title-holder Harvard in third and Penn rounding out the upper half of the conference.

Brown, which has tied the Quakers for fourth place the last two years, is the clear choice for the fifth slot. Dartmouth, Cornell and Yale are pegged for the last three spots, with the Big Green one point ahead of the Big Red and seven points in front of the Bulldogs.

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2025-26 IHO Men’s Preseason Poll

The 2025-26 Ivy men’s basketball season tips off Friday, so it’s time for Ivy Hoops Online’s preseason poll – not to be confused with the Ivy League-released media preseason poll. Here’s how our contributors collectively predict the league will shake out, with select observations from some of them:

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2025-26 IHO Women’s Preseason Poll

The 2025-26 Ivy women’s basketball season tips off Friday, so it’s time for Ivy Hoops Online’s preseason poll – not to be confused with the Ivy League-released media preseason poll. Here’s how our contributors collectively predict the league will shake out, with select observations from some of them:

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New year, same goal for Brown men’s hoops

(Steve Silverman | Ivy Hoops Online)

Brown men’s basketball has not danced since 1986, but head coach Mike Martin is like a kid in a candy store when he talks about that goal. With year 14 fast approaching for Martin, it’s the furious pursuit of March magic that keeps his feet planted in Providence. 

“The administration here, president [Christina] Paxson and [vice president for athletics and recreation] Grace Calhoun have been incredibly supportive in trying to help grow our program,” Martin told Ivy Hoops Online. “This is the job I’ve always wanted.”

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Longtime Yale men’s basketball assistant Justin Simon departs for Carnegie Mellon

Justin Simon has left his post as Yale men’s basketball associate head coach to become the new head coach at Carnegie Mellon. (Yale Athletics)

The golden era of Yale men’s basketball has taken place over the last decade under the tutelage of longtime head coach James Jones.

Playing no small part in such excellence has been associate head coach Justin Simon, who was named the head coach at Division III Carnegie Mellon University Wednesday.

“I am really fortunate to have been surrounded by so many extraordinary people during my tenure at Yale,” Simon said.

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Ivy Madness: Men’s Basketball Media Day

A memorial to Washington Post reporter John Feinstein, who unexpectedly passed away on March 13, was stationed in the Ivy Tournament Media Room (photo: Rob Browne for Ivy Hoops Online)

PROVIDENCE, R.I.- Day two at Ivy Madness started in the mid-morning with the four participants on the men’s side of the ledger.

In a very nice gesture, the Ivy League memorialized a seat for Washington Post sportswriter John Feinstein, who unexpectedly passed away at 68 Thursday. Despite attending Duke, John was a big fan of Ivy League sports, attending several Ivy League tournaments and writing about the conference’s gridiron in this past November’s “The Ancient Eight: College Football’s Ivy League and the Game They Play Today.”

Yale arrives as the regular season champion and heavy favorite to the be the first No. 1 seed to win the conference tournament since Princeton did it in 2017.

While this is the fifth time at Ivy Madness for No. 2 Cornell, it is the first time the Big Red enter as a semifinal favorite and are being led by former player and longtime assistant Jon Jaques.

Speaking of first timers, Dave McLaughlin and Dartmouth are making their inaugural appearance at the Ivy League’s Big Dance. The Big Green are looking to emulate Brown, which upset higher-seeded Princeton last year in its debut tournament last year.

Dartmouth was picked eighth in the preseason media poll and ended up third. On the other hand, the Tigers were picked to repeat as regular-season champions but ended up fourth. They clinched their seventh top-four finish in the tournament era on the final day of the season.

 As the top seed, Yale opted to hang out for an extra hour and gave the opening slot to Princeton. After the Bulldogs’ press conference, Cornell and Dartmouth followed in the traditional No. 2 and No. 3-seed slots.

Below are highlights from the four media sessions:

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