2023-24 Ivy men’s media day recap and season preview

With the season a few weeks away, the Ivy League hosted its Men’s Basketball Media Day on Thursday. the second of two hoops-themed media availabilities. The event was hosted over Zoom for media members and is available on the conference’s YouTube channel.

The preseason media poll was released on Tuesday with Yale, last year’s regular season co-champions, securing the top spot. Princeton, which used its Ivy League Tournament title victory as a springboard to a Sweet 16 NCAA Tournament run, was picked second.

The Bulldogs received 14 of 16 first-place votes, while the Tigers earned the other two top votes.

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Ivy hoops roundup – July 1, 2023

As we enter the July 4th holiday weekend, we at Ivy Hoops Online wanted to round up some postseason updates:

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Tosan Evbuomwan declares for NBA Draft: The way forward for the point forward

Tosan Evbuomwan was named to the NCAA South Region All-Tournament Team and was the Ivy League Tournament Most Outstanding Player. (Erica Denhoff)

Newcastle, United Kingdom / D.O.B: 02.16.2001 / 6-foot-8, 219 pounds

2022-23 stat line: 15.1 ppg, 6.3 rpg, 4.9 apg / 51.5% FG, 32.4% 3P, 65.5% FT,  1.68 A-TO ratio / 31.4 min in 32 GP

Bankable skills: versatile tweener, playmaking

Defensive matchup versatility: 2 to 4 spots

Swing factor: 3pt-ball + jump shot

They say March is Madness, and we couldn’t agree more watching Princeton going to the Sweet 16 in its first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2017. Great news for the Ivy League champions and for Tosan Evbuomwan, the senior from Newcastle, England, who just declared for the NBA Draft after powering the Tigers’ Sweet 16 and Ivy Madness runs.

Evbuomwan has deservedly gained the national attention amid that run, but his performances in the spotlight shouldn’t have been a surprise given that the wing/forward has been a genuine offensive motor for the last couple of seasons and earned almost every award available in the Ivy League in the process.

What’s to like about Evbuomwan? Everything, starting with his physical profile.

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Road to redemption: A look ahead to 2023-24 for Penn men’s basketball

Penn gets to benefit from Jordan Dingle’s dynamic scoring prowess again next season. (Photo by Erica Denhoff)

March is defined by thin margins.

Penn’s season collapsed with the blow of a referee’s whistle with 90 seconds to go in its Ivy League tournament semifinal against Princeton. If Nick Spinoso’s charge on the Tigers’ Keeshawn Kellman in a one-point game had been ruled a no-call or a flop, would Penn have advanced?

Yale can ask itself a similar question. If August Mahoney — the third-best free throw shooter in the country — converted his one-and-one with 2:18 to go in a three-point game in the Ivy League Tournament final against Princeton, would the Bulldogs have completed their furious second-half rally?

Both those teams could only watch as Princeton went on to go on a magical run to the Sweet 16, the deepest an Ivy League champion has gone in the NCAA Tournament since 2010.

Plenty of Penn fans are probably still bitter, and could you blame them?

But a look at the Quakers’ returning roster indicates that fans’ high expectations for redemption in 2023-24 will be well-justified:

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Q&As with Princeton men’s coaches Mitch Henderson and Brett MacConnell

Our George “Toothless Tiger” Clark caught up with Princeton head coach Mitch Henderson and associate head coach Brett MacConnell at the KFC Yum! Center in Louisville ahead of No. 15 Princeton’s Sweet 16 matchup with No. 6 Creighton slated for 9 p.m. ET on TBS:

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Eight reasons to savor Princeton men’s NCAA Tournament run with Elite 8 a win away

Princeton Athletics’ pinned tweet on Twitter borrows the Sacramento Kings’ rallying call referring to a purple beam of light that comes from the Golden 1 Center after a team win. Princeton men’s basketball’s two wins at the Golden 1 Center lifted the program to its first Sweet 16 appearance of the modern NCAA Tournament era. (Princeton Athletics)

With the Elite 8 just a win away for No. 15 Princeton as it prepares for No. 6 Creighton in Louisville Friday, here are eight reasons for not only Tiger folk but the entire Ancient Eight to savor the Tigers’ historic Sweet 16 run:

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How Princeton men’s basketball made its stunning run to the Sweet 16

Princeton Athletics’ pinned tweet on Twitter borrows the Sacramento Kings’ rallying call referring to a purple beam of light that comes from the Golden 1 Center after a team win. Princeton men’s basketball’s two wins at the Golden 1 Center lifted the program to its first Sweet 16 appearance of the modern NCAA Tournament era. (Princeton Athletics)

As the Princeton men’s basketball team was coasting past the Missouri Tigers on Saturday en route to the program’s first trip to the Sweet 16 in the modern NCAA Tournament era, my phone began to buzz with text messages from friends and family members, many of whom were asking the same question:  How is Princeton doing this?  

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No. 15 Princeton men dominate No. 7 Missouri in 78-63 triumph to advance to NCAA Tournament Sweet 16

No. 15 Princeton men’s basketball made history with authority Saturday, emphatically dispatching No. 7 Missouri in a 78-63 win at the Golden 1 Center in Sacramento to advance to the program’s first Sweet 16 appearance in the modern NCAA Tournament era. Our George “Toothless Tiger” Clark recaps the action of a lifetime:

No. 15 Princeton claws past No. 2 Arizona in NCAA Tournament win for the ages

A paltry 4-for-25 from three-point range.

Just three points from the foul line.

A major size disadvantage against the No. 10 KenPom team in the country 2,800 miles from home.

None of it stopped No. 15 Princeton from stunning No. 2 Arizona at the Golden1 Center in Sacramento, Calif. Thursday to advance to the NCAA Tournament Round of 32 in a winning effort for the ages.

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Princeton men triumph over Yale to win Ivy League Tournament, clinch NCAA Tournament berth

Princeton men’s basketball celebrates winning the Ivy League Tournament on its own floor at Jadwin Gym to clinch the program’s first NCAA Tournament berth since 2017 Sunday. (Steve Silverman)

Our George “Toothless Tiger” Clark recaps Princeton’s 74-65 win over Yale at Jadwin Gym to punch a ticket to the NCAA Tournament: