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Princeton, last year’s undisputed regular season champions, were picked to take home the 2025 Ivy title in the preseason media poll released on Tuesday.
Led by junior forward Caden Pierce, the 2024 Player of the Year, and first team All-Ivy junior guard Xaivian Lee, Mitch Henderson’s Tigers picked up 15 of 16 first place votes and 127 of a maximum 128 points.
Ivy Hoops Online contributor George “Toothless Tiger” Clark recaps an 84-77 loss for Princeton (24-5, 12-3 Ivy) versus UNLV (20-12, 12-7 Mountain West) at Jadwin Gym in the opening round of the NIT to end the Tigers’ season:
NEW YORK – In the immortal words of Ron Burgundy, “That escalated quickly.”
Two-plus hours into Saturday’s Ivy League Tournament tripleheader, the No. 4 Brown Bears shocked No. 1 Princeton, sending the regular-season champions on their way back to Old Nassau and a probable date with the NIT. The Tigers’ faithful, which certainly left the afternoon’s game with great disappointment, could take comfort in the fifth straight Ivy tournament championship for the women’s team.
Some thoughts from a long and exciting day at Levien Gymnasium.
A valiant comeback by the Princeton men’s basketball team came up short at Levien Gym on Saturday afternoon as the No. 1 Tigers fell to the No. 4 Brown Bears, 90-81, in their Ivy League Tournament semifinal matchup Saturday. Here are three takeaways from the shocking end to Princeton’s magical Ivy League season:
NEW YORK – A jubilant and relieved Brown coach Mike Martin said time went backward over the last eight minutes as his team’s 18-point lead evaporated to three with under a minute left in regulation in Saturday’s Ivy League Tournament semifinal,
But the No. 4 Bears held on to defeat No. 1 Princeton, 90-81, in front of a packed house at Levien Gymnasium and a national ESPNU audience.
The team’s semifinal victory, the first-ever for a No. 4 seed in either the men’s or women’s division through the six-year history of the Ivy League Tournament, sends the Bears to Sunday afternoon’s finale and a chance for the program’s first NCAA Tournament appearance since 1986.
Despite a regular season championship, Saturday’s furious comeback and the national memory of last year’s Sweet 16 run, the Tigers’ chances at an at-large bid to the Big Dance appear to be slim.
♂️♂️♂️
BROWN BUILT FOR THIS‼️‼️‼️
WE ARE HEADED TO THE IVY MADNESS FINALS‼️‼️‼️#EverTrue pic.twitter.com/E6tgGDQt29
— Brown Men’s Basketball (@BrownU_MBB) March 16, 2024
Ivy Hoops Online contributor George Clark recaps a 90-81 upset win for No. 4 Brown (13-17, 9-6 Ivy) over No 1 Princeton (24-4, 12-3) in their Ivy League Tournament semifinal matchup that puts the Bears a win away from their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 1986.
The men’s competition in the Ivy League Tournament kicks off on Saturday afternoon at Columbia University and for the first time since the advent of Ivy Madness there is no clear favorite. While the Princeton Tigers enter the tournament as the No. 1 seed and the regular season champion, each of the four teams competing on Saturday at Levien Gym legitimately has a chance to advance to the championship game on Sunday.
Let’s take a closer look at the two semifinal matchups in the men’s competition:
NEW YORK – The second day of the Ivy League Tournament brought the four men’s teams to Levien Gymnasium on the campus of Columbia University.
Below are highlights of the press conferences and links to the videos:
NEW YORK – Welcome to Ivy Madness VI!
For the first time, the Ivy League Tournament visits New York City, home to the largest collection of Ancient Eight alumni and Levien Gymnasium. The 2,700-seat arena, situated on the heart of the Columbia campus, is the fourth smallest venue in the conference and fans are right on top of the action.
When packed, which it often has been for the 2023 and 2024 regular season championship women’s team, it can get incredibly loud and cause problems for opposing players. Fortunately for league, fans and ESPN, Levien will be packed. As of Thursday evening, the Saturday women’s final is sold out, as well as the Saturday men’s semifinals and Sunday men’s final.
There are a small number of tickets remaining for the second women’s semifinal, featuring No. 2 Columbia and No. 3 Harvard, as well as a larger number of tickets for the opening game, which pits No. 1 Princeton against long-time rival No. 4 Penn.
Over the next several days, Ivy Hoops Online will be in Morningside Heights (and watching the world-wide leader) to bring you all the action. With lots of great coverage from George Clark, Steve Silverman, Palestra Pete and Richard Kent, I’ll be around to fill in the spaces and scarf down as many snacks as possible.