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:
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.
The Ivy League announced its major men’s awards Wednesday. But we know this is the moment you’ve all been waiting for: Ivy Hoops Online’s 2023-24 All-Ivy Awards, as determined by IHO’s contributors:
Ivy Hoops Online contributor George “Toothless Tiger” Clark shares his thoughts on a 105-83 win for Princeton (24-3, 12-2 Ivy) at Penn (11-18, 3-11) Saturday that clinched the Tigers an outright Ivy League championship:
— Princeton Men’s Basketball (@PrincetonMBB) March 10, 2024
Coach Mitch Henderson, senior forward Zach Martini and sophomore forward Caden Pierce reflect postgame on a 105-83 win for Princeton (24-3, 12-2 Ivy) at Penn (11-18, 3-11) Saturday that clinched the Tigers an outright Ivy League championship:
Ivy Hoops Online contributor George “Toothless Tiger” Clark sizes up a scintillating 79-77 win for (23-3, 11-2 Ivy) over Cornell (21-6, 10-3) Saturday at a sold-out Jadwin Gym:
When the final horn sounded at a sold out Jadwin Gymnasium, Cornell had to think back to last weekend.
The Big Red fell to Princeton 79-77 on Saturday, making it a split with the Tigers on the season. But that’s not what sunk Cornell in the fight for a share of the regular-season title and the top seed in Ivy Madness. The fatal flaw came last weekend, losing to Brown at Newman Arena.
Still, the Big Red could have redeemed themselves in front of a white-hot Princeton squad.
Tigers senior guard Matt Allocco, senior forward Zach Martini and coach Mitch Henderson take stock of a 79-77 win qualifying as an instant classic for Princeton men’s basketball (23-3, 11-2 Ivy) over Cornell (21-6, 10-3) Saturday at a sold-out Jadwin Gym: