Three wins will guarantee m. hoops Ivy championship

"Here is the score from the Palestra," the Jadwin gym announcer began, when the band suddenly started blaring music from the stands. Everyone winced and waited. It was deep into the second half of the men's basketball team's second straight blow-out Ivy win, and there was nothing else to wait for. The sounds from the horns and the drums continued as spectators began to squirm in their seats, until, finally, mercifully, the instruments fell silent.

"From the Palestra," the announcer continued hastily, " Yale 63."

He paused.

"Penn 72!"

The crowd roared. With Yale's third league loss, Princeton (9-2 Ivy League) slid into the first-place slot for the first time since the beginning of the season.

It is an odd Ivy race when Princeton fans cheer Penn victories. But the three top teams — Yale (9-3), Penn (8-3) and Princeton — are now within one game of each other, setting up a chance for the first tri-championship Ivy season since the league was formally established in 1956.

If each team sweeps its games this weekend, and the Quakers defeat the Tigers at the Palestra March 5, all three teams will end the year tied. Although Harvard (7-5) remains technically alive, it is unlikely that the Crimson will be able to grab a share of the championship.

Only Princeton can seize the title by winning its remaining games. Penn can assure at least a tie if it wins its final three games, while Yale's post-season fate hinges on Princeton losing at least one more game.

Brown was officially eliminated from the race Saturday night after falling to Princeton, 73-47. But in case the Bears felt overmatched in the rowdy confines of Jadwin, the band offered these words of appreciation: "Thanks for beating Yale!" they yelled. The Bears did not appear comforted.

In the event of a three-way tie, the teams will participate in a playoff for the league's automatic NCAA bid, seeded based on their head-to-head competition. At 3-1, the Quakers would be the number one seed, sitting out the first round. The Tigers, with the worst record at 1-3, would play the Elis at a neutral site — preferably another Ivy school — and the winner would take on Penn.

But the Tigers should not look past their upcoming games against Cornell and Columbia to the potential clinching game at Penn a week from Tuesday. Despite defeating Yale and Brown by a combined score of 132-93, the Tigers scrambled to find ways to score against the Lions in their first meeting on Feb. 1, escaping with a 49-41 win.

Last year, the Lions and the Big Red each defeated Princeton by 17 points after losing games in Jadwin Gym.

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"We can't start looking to Tuesday," head coach John Thompson '88 said after Saturday's game.

There are reasons to suspect that the Tigers will not. After what Thompson called an "emotional" win Friday night against then-first-place Yale, Princeton emerged the next night and displayed some of its sharpest — and most mature — play this season. There were 21 assists on 26 baskets. They switched seamlessly between man-to-man and zone, adjusting to the strengths of each opponent, while using the different defenses to generate energy when needed.

"We know what people are doing now," junior forward Ray Robins said. And, he added, "We know that if we win each game, we'll end up in first."

Three to go.