Four weeks into basketball season and eight weeks until the Tigers begin conference play, the Ivy League is as unpredictable as it was previously. With Princeton's road 53-32 loss to Evansville last night, which will be fully covered in tomorrow's paper, the Tigers fell to 2-6. Last night's outing gives Princeton the second-worst non-conference record in the league.
Cornell
Leading the Ancient Eight, Cornell (4-2) has won two-thirds of its games, losing only to Ohio University and Colgate. Of the Big Red's four wins, only one has been decisive: its 93-78 victory over Army was the only game won by more than six points.
Three double-figure shooters have led Cornell this season. Sophomore guards Ryan Wittman and Louis Dale average 15.3 and 14.5 points per game respectively, and junior guard Collin Robinson has netted an average of 13 points in each outing.
The Big Red has not yet tipped off against a top-25 opponent this season.
Brown
Led by Craig Robinson '83, the Bears have gotten off to a 4-3 start this season. Taking on teams from conferences large and small, Brown has also suffered losses by large and small margins. Following a 72-57 loss to Michigan, the Bears allowed Rhode Island to go on a 33-9 run in the first half. Despite a valiant effort, Brown could not recover from the deficit.
In their recent matchup with Quinnipiac, the Bears staged a come-from-behind victory behind the effort of junior forward Scott Friske, who scored to tie the game and send it to overtime by snagging an offensive rebound. Friske's overtime free-throw also ended up being the game-winner.
Dartmouth
Picked to finish last in the Ivy League this season, Dartmouth (4-4) is sitting at .500, having faced several of the same teams as its Ivy foes and performing comparably. The Big Green defeated Colgate, a team that brought down Cornell, 81-76, and lost to Rutgers 55-50.
Dartmouth's top scorers are junior forward Alex Barnett and junior guard DeVon Mosley, who have averaged 16.8 and 14 points per game, respectively.
The Big Green has also not squared off against a top-25 opponent this season and has dropped games to James Madison, Air Force and Stony Brook in addition to its loss to Rutgers.
Harvard
After a season-opening shellacking by Stanford — the Cardinal nearly doubled the Crimson's total in the 111-56 loss — Harvard (4-5) recovered some momentum with a 62-51 victory over Michigan last weekend. It must have been transient, however, as the Crimson fell to crosstown rival Boston University on Tuesday, 79-72.
Harvard boasts four players averaging double figures so far this season. An All-Ivy Honorable Mention last season, junior Drew Housman leads the Crimson in scoring with 14.7 points per game. Jeremy Lin, Andrew Pusar and Evan Harris have scored 11.7, 10.8 and 10.6 points per game, respectively. Harvard remains undefeated at Lavietes Pavilion.
Columbia
Senior forward John Baumann is leading the Lions (3-5), as expected. He leads the team in both points and rebounds, putting up 16.8 points and 6.3 rebounds per game.
Columbia has only one opponent in common with the rest of the Ivy League, having decisively defeated Stony Brook, 66-46. The Lions dropped games against Ohio State, Albany, Sacred Heart, Long Island University and Fordham in their opening games of the season.
Yale
Despite its 2-5 record, Yale has performed quite well so far this season. In its match with Stanford, the Bulldogs only lost by 11 points, as opposed to Harvard's 55-point differential with the Cardinal.
In the preseason poll Yale was placed second due to its cadre of senior leaders. The Bulldogs' top scorers are all seniors: center Matt Kyle (11.7 points per game), guard Caleb Holmes (11.3 points per game) and captain and guard Eric Flato (10.7 points per game).
Yale's poorest performance of the season came against then-unbeaten Holy Cross. Kyle was unable to play due to illness, which had a significant effect on the score of the game, as the Bulldogs were held to under 40 points in a 60-39 defeat.
Penn
The Quakers (2-7) have had a very shaky start this year, as they have won only two of their nine games. The two wins both came at the Palestra. The first, a decisive win over The Citadel, was followed the next weekend by a four-point victory over Navy.
So far, Penn has depended on the play of senior Brian Grandieri, the only Quaker to start in all nine games this season. Freshman Tyler Bernardini has also had a significant impact for Penn, as he has averaged 12.8 points per game this season.
Currently, the Quakers are recovering from Tuesday's 101-76 loss to No. 1 North Carolina.
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