From top to bottom, Ivy League enjoys early-season success

Lehigh is a football powerhouse. The Mountain Hawks are 11-0 overall, including wins over Princeton and Cornell, and are currently in the second round of the Division I-AA playoffs.

In men's basketball, however, the Mountain Hawks have been punished by the Ivy League . The Ancient Eight have gone 3-0 against Lehigh with wins by Harvard, Dartmouth and Columbia.

The Mountain Hawks are admittedly not the Patriot League's best team. That title seemingly belonged to Holy Cross, the media's pick to win the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament, until the Crusaders took on Dartmouth Nov. 27, widely considered the Ivy League's weakest link. The Big Green won by 11 points.

The Ivy League is 13-7 as a whole against its rivals in the Patriot League. Ivy teams are a collective 26-19 overall and are on pace to shatter the record of 50 out-of-conference wins, set in 1996-97. The league's teams have been nearly perfect at home, posting a 13-2 mark.

Perhaps it is time for the rest of the nation to start respecting the Ivy League teams from top to bottom, not just Penn and Princeton.

So far, the most impressive Ivy squads have been Penn and Brown, both of whom were expected to challenge Princeton for the conference's invite to the Big Dance.

The Bears are 5-1 for the first time since the invention of sliced bread. Guard Earl Hunt, who was expected to carry Brown this year, has done just that. He scored 25 points on Nov. 28 to lead the Bears to a 67-60 win over local rival Providence. The Friars, who advanced with an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament last season, were heavily favored and had not lost to Brown since 1991.

The Quakers, who along with the Tigers play one of the most challenging non-conference schedules in the Ivies, have also started the season 5-1. Penn's only loss came at the hands of No. 6 Illinois, which had to come from behind to knock off the feisty Quakers.

The rest of the nation has taken notice, as Penn has begun to receive votes in the Associated Press Top 25 poll. The Quaker big men — Ugonna Onyekwe and Koko Archibong — have been the team's mainstay, but Elon College transfer Andy Toole's presence in the backcourt has elevated Penn's game to a new level. The Quakers will be tested this weekend at the Philadelphia Big Five by St. Joe's.

Dartmouth, at 4-2, may be the league's biggest surprise. The Big Green, like the rest of its conference, has feasted on the Patriot League with wins over Lehigh and Holy Cross.

Harvard and Columbia have also been solid this season. The Crimson is 4-1 and the Lions are 4-2. Craig Austin, Columbia's star forward, averaged nearly 20 points over the last few games as the Lions knocked off both Lafayette and Lehigh.

Yale is a respectable 4-4, including an overtime loss to George Washing-ton and a win over Penn State. Only two teams in the Ivies are under the .500 mark — defending champion Princeton (1-5) and Cornell (1-5).

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The Tigers have played a tough schedule, including games against No. 4 Maryland, St. Joe's and Cal. Princeton had hoped for an upset or two, however, and got its only win of the season against Rider.

Cornell has also faced some tough teams, as its schedule to date is rated 42nd toughest in the nation. The Big Red picked up its first win Monday by routing crosstown Ithaca College, a Division III team.