Matt Morgan had 41 points on a very efficient 13-for-18 night with nine threes, and Josh Warren hit four clutch free-throws in the final 20 seconds and Cornell held on for an 83-80 victory over the Dartmouth Big Green, in Hanover. Cornell went to 11-10 (3-2 Ivy) with the win, and Dartmouth fell to 10-11 (1-4), losing its last four Ivy games after picking up a blowout win over Harvard in their opener.
Bryce Aiken
Harvard shuts down Yale, 65-49, snaps Elis’ eight-game win streak
Ever have one of those really bad days at the office?
The copier is broken, the coffee is rancid, your client cancels an appointment and things get worse from there.
Well, Yale had that type of night at Lavietes Pavilion last night.
And Harvard didn’t.
Harvard avoids sweep with 64-59 win over Dartmouth
After making an impressive runner at the buzzer, Christian Juzang jogged into the Lavietes Pavilion locker room. Despite the acrobatic bucket to end the first period, Harvard still trailed, 26-25.
At press time, coach Tommy Amaker commented on what he told his team at the half. He reminded them of the magnitude of the game, later suggesting that the next 20 minutes had the potential to “define our season.”
Inside Ivy Hoops – Jan. 24, 2019
In the latest episode of Inside Ivy Hoops, Ivy Hoops Online editor Mike Tony is joined by Harvard basketball ’18 alum Chris Egi and IHO writer Richard Kent.
Mike and Richard analyze last weekend’s Yale-Brown men’s and women’s matchups, make sense of the Penn men’s ebb and flow, preview this weekend’s tilts and more:
Chris Egi explains the No More Names 10,000 Voices campaign, reflects on how coach Tommy Amaker makes Harvard a socially conscious basketball program, weighs in on Bryce Aiken’s work ethic and much more:
Mike wraps up with why this past week in Ivy hoops was an example of appreciating what you have while you have it:
Harvard’s Bryce Aiken returns to the court for the first time this season
Minutes before game time at Howard University on Monday afternoon, Harvard Basketball tweeted out the day’s second most important announcement from the D.C. campus – for the first time in 348 days, junior guard Bryce Aiken would be on the court for the Crimson.
Absent Chris Lewis, Harvard stuns Saint Mary’s with impressive road win
Harvard took the floor on Saturday night with an immediate disadvantage: already 8.5-point underdogs on the road against the Gaels, the Crimson had arguably their three best players donning street clothes. On the far right side of their bench sat Bryce Aiken, Seth Towns, and, to the surprise of many, Chris Lewis, Harvard’s leading scorer.
After earning Ivy Rookie of the Year honors in his freshman campaign, Aiken battled knee ailments all of last year and missed an extended amount of time. When he did play, it was clear that he wasn’t at full strength. The former top-100 recruit underwent surgery this past offseason, and was expected to be healthy by the start of this year. However, Aiken has yet to see action in the 2018-19 season.
It’s been an eerily similar journey for Towns, whose breakout sophomore season earned him the 2017-18 Ivy League Men’s Player of the Year award. The lanky sharpshooter scored just under 23 points per 40 minutes last year, shooting more than 44 percent from deep. His impact on Harvard’s offense was especially noticeable late in the shot clock; when the Crimson had no open looks and the clock was nearing zero, Towns would often create shots on his own via isolation play.
2018-19 Ivy League Preseason Power Rankings
Another college basketball season is upon us. So what can we expect from the Ancient Eight this season coming off a down year for the league overall?
With so much returning talent across the conference, anticipate higher quality of play from both the Ivies who make the conference tournament and those who don’t.
1. Harvard
The Crimson missed their two highest-usage players on offense down the stretch of the Ivy League Tournament final versus Penn at the Palestra: Bryce Aiken, who suffered a knee injury and missed 18 of the final 22 games of the season, and Seth Towns, who suffered a knee injury with around eight minutes left and did not return. Of course, Penn edged out Harvard in the end, the Crimson coming up just short in the face of the Red and Blue’s home-court advantage even without the 2017-18 Ivy Player of the Year (Towns) and 2016-17 Rookie of the Year (Aiken).
Harvard would have likely punched a NCAA Tournament ticket if it had those two standouts in tow, and they’ll probably do the same if they have them in tow this season.
If.
Ivy League coaches’ roundtables: About the brand, not the players
In past years, the Ivy League office organized a teleconference call for the men’s basketball coaches, a few days after the preseason media poll. At those events, the coaches would talk about their teams, as well as answer questions from the Ivy League moderator and a small number of reporters. In addition, Reggie Greenwood, the league’s Coordinator of Officials, would discuss any rule changes for the upcoming season. This year, the league decided to do away with the call in favor of having roundtable conversations with the men’s and women’s coaches.
The two 30-minute videos, which were shot in New Haven on Sept. 5 (women’s coaches) and Sept. 12 (men’s coaches), focused on the general improved state of Ivy recruiting, the difficulties in scheduling nonconference games as an improved mid-major conference, the unique challenges in playing back-to-back Ivy weekends, the importance of the Ivy Tournament for late-season competitiveness, and the significance of the league’s partnership with ESPN. What fans did not hear was anything related to the specific teams and players.
What should we expect from Harvard this year?
Last year’s season was a mixed bag for the Crimson. The team emerged from spotty non-conference play to dominate the Ancient Eight, going 12-2 and sharing the conference title with the Quakers. Of course, Penn would go on to defeat Harvard in the conference tournament and earn the most coveted prize: a trip to March Madness.
The Quakers undoubtedly benefited from playing the conference tourney on their home floor, a built-in advantage that executive director Robin Harris has decided is worth the trade-off of hosting the Ivy League Tournament at the largest and most historic venue that the conference has to offer. However, while Crimson fans might be apt to cry foul, there is reasonable evidence that Penn was indeed the best team in the Ivy League.
Ivy League Men’s Basketball Preseason Media Poll released
The 2018-19 Ivy League Men’s Basketball Preseason Poll was released Tuesday, revealing a predicted order of finish and results that are rather interesting, if also mostly expected.
If realized, the projected order of finish will result in yet another Ivy title under coach Tommy Amaker.
Harvard topped the poll after having claimed a share of its first Ivy crown since 2015 but losing in the Ivy Tournament final to co-champion Penn in Steve Donahue’s third season at the helm. Penn finished second in this year’s preseason poll, which projects Yale to place third for a 19th straight top-four finish under coach James Jones.