Although the men's basketball team is in the midst of a 19-day break from games for exams, the rest of the Ivy League squads are still wrapping up their non-conference schedules.
The Tigers (8-5 overall) get back into action on Jan. 24 against Division III Haverford, in the annual intersession tuneup game. They open league play Jan. 28-29, when Brown and Yale visit Jadwin Gym.
Here's a rundown of where the other seven Ivy teams stand.
Brown
After being suspended for the first two games of the season for "conduct detrimental to the team," senior Jason Forte has continued the strong play that earned him Ivy League Player of the Year honors last season. The speedy point guard is averaging 16.9 points a game.
But Brown (6-7) has played unevenly, struggling to replace Patrick Powers and Mike Martin. As expected, junior forward Luke Ruscoe has helped fill the scoring void, averaging 13.3 points a game.
The emergence of freshman guard Damon Huffman has also helped. In the season opener, with Forte out, Huffman played the point and scored 16 points against Missouri. That game was perhaps the Bears' best of the season, as they lost, 68-60, to a talented team that upset Gonzaga earlier this month.
Columbia
The only team besides the Tigers to boast a winning record, the Lions (8-4) have continued their resurgence under second-year head coach Joe Jones. After going winless in league play in 2003, Columbia won six games last year.
The Lions served notice that they're ready to challenge for the league title this season with their performance at Madison Square Garden on Dec. 28, when they led No. 14 North Carolina St. in the second half before falling, 84-74.
Seniors Matt Preston and Jeremiah Boswell and junior Draguntin Kravic are all scoring in double digits. The trio is complemented by freshman Brett Loscalzo, who has been a pleasant surprise at point guard.
Columbia opens its Ivy season with a home-and-home series against Cornell over the next two Saturdays, Jan. 15 and Jan. 22.
Cornell
The Big Red (5-8) lost its first three games of the season and has played inconsistently since. Cornell lost to Bucknell, who Princeton easily dispatched by 15 points. Two nights later, however, the Big Red played No. 7 Syracuse even for a half and lost by just 13.
Senior guard Cody Toppert led the way against the Orange, scoring 23 points thanks to seven three pointers. He is Cornell's second leading scorer, behind junior swingman Lenny Collins (15.9 ppg) who has emerged as the Big Red's best all-around player.
Dartmouth
The Big Green (4-10 overall, 1-1 Ivy League) appear headed to the cellar again. A bleak situation got worse when last year's league Rookie of the Year, Leon Pattman, left the team in early December.
But all is not yet lost in Hanover. Junior guard Michael Lang and senior center David Gardner have picked up the scoring slack for first-year head coach Terry Dunn, and freshman forward Jonathan Ball has looked promising off the bench.
Dartmouth earned a split in its early January series with Harvard, as each team won on its home court. The Big Green took the second of the two contests, 49-46, on Jan. 8, when Harvard missed a shot at the buzzer.
Harvard
After finishing seventh last year, the Crimson (5-10, 1-1) had hoped to move up in the league, but it's hard to imagine that Harvard will finish in the top half of the Ivy League.
The Crimson boasts a pair of stars, but otherwise is short on talent. Junior forward Matt Stehle is averaging 15 points and nine rebounds, scoring 25 in Harvard's 76-74 win over Dartmouth on Jan. 2. Meanwhile, sophomore seven-footer Brian Cusworth is averaging a double-double after missing all of last year.
Penn
For the Quakers (4-7), location has dominated: they're undefeated at home, but winless on the road.
Two those road losses were disappointing 30-plus point blowouts versus Providence and Wisconsin. Penn played better against Temple, but still lost, 52-51. In the Quakers' other game against a common opponent of the Tigers, they defeated Bucknell, 65-52.
Senior stalwart Tim Begley has played well, averaging 13 points a game, but Penn's young guns have yet to fill holes left by graduation. Sophomore Ibby Jabbar has played unevenly at point guard, and classmate Mark Zoller has been limited by a nagging ankle injury. Making matters worse, Michael Kach, the Quakers top freshman recruit, has left the team.
Yale
The Elis (4-8) may be on the wrong side of .500, but they have shown as much potential as any Ivy team so far. The most impressive performance came in a double-OT loss at Boston College; the Eagles are 13-0 and ranked No. 25 in the country. Yale lost another OT heartbreaker, to Bucknell, but finally picked up an overtime win, against Santa Clara.
Former Tiger Dominic Martin is playing the best basketball of his career, averaging 16 points and eight rebounds a game. Seniors Alex Gamboa and Edwin Draughn are consistently steady in the backcourt, and athletic sophomore Casey Hughes has looked good as a starter.
The biggest question remains the very thin bench. So far, freshman guard Eric Flato has been the only reserve to consistently step up.
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