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Ivy Hoops Online correspondent George “Toothless Tiger” Clark recaps a 61-60 win for Penn men’s basketball (11-10, 4-4 Ivy) versus archrival Princeton (8-15, 4-4) Saturday at the Palestra that snapped the home program’s 14-game losing streak against the Tigers:
The No. 23 Princeton women’s basketball team rediscovered its identity en route to victory in the second half of Friday night’s clash with arch-rival Penn.
NEW YORK CITY — There were sublime stretches of play, infuriating periods of disjointedness and everything in between. In the end, it added up to Penn men’s basketball getting the split it needed to stay in contention for Ivy Madness during its only true road back-to-back of the season.
In this least predictable of Ivy women’s basketball seasons, it only makes sense that a fired-up Penn team would bounce back from a loss to Cornell to topple Columbia, 64-55, on Saturday in West Philly.
The Cornell women’s red-hot-shooting Big Red built a big lead over Penn and held on for a 62-58 win Friday night at the Palestra – breaking a 16-game losing streak to the Quakers, climbing to 3-3 in league play and taking another step on the road to relevance in the Ivies.
PHILADELPHIA — That Penn lost to Yale in its first matchup against the overwhelming Ivy League favorite should not have come as a shock to anyone.
But it’s the way the Quakers fell at home that should leave a frustrating taste in fans’ mouths.
Penn (9-9, 2-3 Ivy) played well below what it was capable of in a 77-60 loss to the Bulldogs (15-3, 4-1). The Quakers missed plenty of shots they normally hit and put up a season-worst 0.9 points per possession. On the other end of the floor, Yale scored 42 points in the paint, which more than made up for Penn’s admirable efforts to force turnovers and limit the damage from the Bulldogs’ elite outside shooting attack.
The Quakers held several leads throughout the first half but gave up an extended 12-2 run heading into the break which gave Yale a relatively comfortable 10-point edge. Penn had several chances to cut the Bulldogs’ lead to one possession early in the second half but never put any serious game pressure on Yale.
Penn’s defeat was expected, but it now puts a tremendous amount of pressure on next week’s road back-to-back against Columbia and Cornell. Both of these teams are right alongside the Quakers in a six-car pileup that separates second and seventh in the league standings by a single game.
A sweep would be devastating to Penn’s hopes of making Ivy Madness in its first year under Fran McCaffery.
What did fans learn from an underwhelming afternoon?
Two teams desperate for consecutive Ivy League wins after both starting 0-3 met at John J. Lee Amphitheater Saturday. Penn easily downed Yale, 64-37.
The Penn women’s basketball team, which lost its first three Ivy League games of the season, finally came away with a win over Dartmouth on Monday at the Palestra, 67-59.
Penn men’s basketball fell just a few inches short of holding onto a share of first place in the Ivy League standings Monday after it took a tough road loss to Harvard, 64-63.
The Quakers (9-8, 2-2 Ivy) rallied back after giving up an 11-0 run that spanned the end of the first half and the beginning of the second to take multiple leads.
The Crimson (10-8, 3-1) seized back momentum after their star sophomore, Robert Hinton, delivered a highlight-reel, and-one dunk over Quakers big man Augustus Gerhart with 5:31 to play. Penn rallied back to tie the game twice after Hinton’s one-handed flush thanks to the efforts of sophomore point guard AJ Levine, but surrendered baskets at the rim to Harvard on five straight possessions in the game’s final three minutes.
Despite that interior defensive collapse, the Quakers had two long-shot chances to tie or win the game in the final two seconds. But Levine was unable to intentionally miss a free throw with 1.9 seconds left and Penn down two. Harvard missed the front end of a one-and-one after Levine’s unintentional make, but TJ Power’s desperation heave came up short.
There’s nothing wrong with splitting two games on a tough road trip, but it’s hard to shake the feeling that Penn let a big opportunity slip through its fingers.
What did fans learn from a tough afternoon?
Penn men’s basketball picked up a critical victory in its first extended road trip of Ivy League play on Saturday, taking advantage of a spectacular second half to down Dartmouth, the last unbeaten team in the league standings, 84-74.
The Quakers (9-7, 2-1 Ivy) overcame a string of early self-imposed issues thanks to dominant halves from their two best players. Ethan Roberts carried the team in the first half while TJ Power was confined to the bench with foul trouble; Power scored nine points in the 12-0 run early in the second stanza which gave the Quakers the lead for the rest of the afternoon.
Power lived up to his last name during that decisive run. He started it off by dribbling into a wide-open three, then gave the Quakers the lead with a spinning drive on Dartmouth (8-8, 2-1) wing Jayden Williams. No one the Big Green threw at Power could handle the 6-foot-9 junior.
Suddenly, the Ivy season looks wide-open for the Quakers, who are now in a five-way tie for the league lead. Monday’s matchup with fellow 2-1 team Harvard looms as a massive opportunity.
What did Penn fans learn from a happy start to the long weekend?