Ivy's best duel as men's hoops battles Penn for league title

Compared to less than a week ago, the Ivy League race has been greatly simplified. Before men's basketball defeated Yale and Brown on the road this weekend, scenarios existed where a four-team playoff mini-tournament was possible in which Princeton, Penn, Yale and Brown could all share the Ivy League title.

Thanks to Princeton extending its winning streak to four games, however, the league finale is much more succinct. Princeton (15-10 overall, 10-3 Ivy League) and Penn (12-16, 9-4) have won the Ivy League title each of the last 13 years, and this season will be no different.

Much is on the line in tonight's game. While it is certain that the Ivy League champion's name will begin with a 'P,' there might be two of those 'P's tied atop the standings as the season comes to a close.

The Tigers have the upper hand going into tonight's game. Since Penn stumbled at Brown on Friday, the Tigers are up one game on their rival. If Princeton wins tonight's matchup, then it will be the outright Ivy League champ and go on to the NCAA tournament. But if Penn wins, the two teams will be co-champs and a playoff game will be played at Lehigh 7:30 p.m. Saturday to determine who moves on to the NCAA Tournament and who goes home.

Although the postseason picture has come into focus, there is still much that remains to be determined. The Tigers and Quakers have been plagued by inconsistency all season long, and it is still uncertain which teams will actually show up tonight.

Any number of Tiger teams could take to the court tonight. It could be the one that defeated Xavier (21-6) 58-52, Patriot League leader Holy Cross (21-7) 47-46, or Penn itself by a commanding 67-53 margin on Feb. 13th. Or the Tigers that show up could be the team that lost by 17 to league cellar-dweller Cornell or by one to fellow last-place team Dartmouth.

"We can beat any team in this league, and we can lose to any team in this league," head coach John Thompson '88 said.

Penn has taken up the same mantra this season as well. The Quakers lost to Harvard by 15, yet destroyed Yale by 25 points. While Penn has been inconsistent throughout most of this season, with its back up against the wall, it is still a very dangerous opponent.

Another part of the equation was that neither team shot very well in their first meeting. The Tigers shot 39.6 percent from the floor, while the Quakers shot an abysmal 34 percent, with many of the baskets coming in the closing minutes.

"We were fortunate that their shots didn't fall," Thompson said after that game.

But the Tigers did do many things right that game. Princeton out-rebounded the much taller Penn frontcourt, out-hustling the Quakers and boxing out to grab the loose ball. The Tigers made their free throws in the closing minutes, shooting 87 percent from the charity stripe. And most importantly, every time the Quakers started to make a run, a Princeton player stepped up and answered with a basket of his own.

Since that loss, the Quakers have been led by their two top seniors, center Geoff Owens and guard Lamar Plummer. Plummer led the Quakers with 17 points Saturday when they defeated Yale. That night he became broke Penn's single-season record for three-pointers when he dumped in five from behind the arc on the night for 93 on the season. Plummer was shut down by a Tiger zone defense and the hustle of junior guard Ahmed El Nokali and freshman guard Ed Persia and limited to just four points off of 2-for-12 shooting when the teams first met. When Plummer has struggled, so have the Quakers. Containing the senior sharp-shooter will be a must if Princeton is to win.

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The Tigers also have history on their side when they take to the court tonight. Out of the last ten meetings between the two teams, the team that won the first match-up went on to also win the second meeting nine out of the ten times. It remains to be seen if that can hold true once again.