PROVIDENCE, R.I. – The brown banner at the Pizzitola Sports Center sits ominously among a slew of white ones and reads “Men’s Basketball Ivy League Champions.”
Below that sits a lone number: 1986 — with plenty of space for a companion or two.
It almost read 2024, of course. We don’t have to rehash what happened last March in New York on this site, but Brown had earned its first NCAA Tournament in 38 years by upsetting Yale and Princeton. Until it hadn’t.
The Bulldogs have now won 10 out of their last 11 games against the Bears under coach James Jones, whose team won another road contest in the series Tuesday night, 80-70. Brown never led.
“Great way to start league play,” Jones said. “Always tough to win on the road, especially with our travel partner. The team is starting to come together. We’re close to playing Bulldog basketball.”
Brown junior guard Kino Lilly Jr. tallied 11 straight points, including his first two three-pointers of the game, to complete the Bears’ 18-point comeback over Siena at the Pizzitola Sports Center Friday afternoon in a 71-67 win.
Following a 12-day break for final exams, Bruno (4-9) came out flat in the first half and found itself down 38-23 at the half.
“They (Siena) played with way more energy than we did,” Brown head coach Mike Martin remarked to ESPN+ at halftime. “They were more excited to be here, and that should never be the case. Unacceptable on our end.”
Our George “Toothless Tiger” Clark on how a classic unfolded between the Princeton and Brown men at the Pizzitola Sports Center Saturday – setting up the game-winning shot from Kino Lilly Jr. and resulting in the Tigers’ first Ivy loss:
This Ivy League men’s basketball season, Brown men’s basketball will open its conference season against Penn.
Brown and the Red & Blue have formed a bit of a rivalry in recent years, facing off in key battles in the last three seasons vying for a berth in the Ivy League Tournament.
Brown has come up just a bit short in these moments and is yet to win an Ivy tourney bid. The Penn Band adds a raucous element on the road.
But here’s a group who won’t be in Providence for the matchup: the vast majority of Brown students.
As the omicron variant has resulted in a large increase in the number of COVID-19 cases across the United States, many businesses and institutions, including several Ivy League athletic departments, have been revisiting their safety policies.
With the start of league play a few days away, Ivy Hoops Online is listing information regarding each team. To get the most detailed and up-to-date information, including what is an acceptable mask, it is recommended to check the links for each institution’s main COVID-19 page. If there are any questions, fans are encouraged to contact the individual universities or athletic departments.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average and NASDAQ were looking up at the end of last week, but more importantly, it’s a good time to be bullish about Ivy League basketball. There’s going to be an actual Ivy hoops season this year, and we’re here to herald its return together. Here’s how Ivy Hoops Online contributors feel about some of the storylines within that greater, happy story as the 2021-22 campaign approaches.
The Tigers claimed one of the four slots available in the Ivy League Tournament with a 71-49 thrashing of the Brown Bears in Providence last night. The key to the win was a signature defensive effort reminiscent of some of the best Tiger teams in the long and illustrious history of the program.
Princeton focused on the Bears’ formidable “Big Three” of Brandon Anderson, Zach Hunsaker and Tameneng Choh, holding the talented trio to a combined 33 points on 12-for-39 shooting from the field. No other Bear player scored more than six.
The game did not start out as a Tiger rout. Brown jumped out to a 5-0 early lead, but two Jaelin Llewellyn threes restored order after five minutes. Jerome Desrosiers and Drew Friberg came off the bench to spark a 9-0 Tiger surge giving the visitors an 18-10 lead with 10 minutes remaining in the opening period. Later, Desrosiers would feature prominently in a 13-0 Tiger run leading to a 40-28 halftime advantage.
Drew Friberg continued his hot streak in the second half. His long three at the 17:05 mark maintained the 12-point Tiger lead, but sparked a 14-0 run to put the game away. With eight minutes left and the score 56-33, Princeton coach Mitch Henderson was able to reach far down the bench.