Men's Basketball: Tigers set to pounce as Ivy play continues

The men’s basketball team has gotten off to one of its best starts in recent history. Behind the tutelage of third-year coach Sydney Johnson ‘97, Princeton (11-5 overall, 2-0 Ivy League) has staked out an early spot atop the Ivy League standings. The Tigers are led in scoring by sophomore Doug Davis, who averages 14.1 points per game, and junior Dan Mavraides, who averages 11.5 points.

Two of Princeton’s players have also been honored with Ivy League awards this past week. Davis, who leads the team in points, was awarded Player of the Week, and freshman Ian Hummer was awarded Rookie of the Week.

Ivy League play is always “tough because all the teams are so familiar with each other,” junior guard Bobby Foley said.

Princeton opened its Ivy campaign with wins against Brown and Yale. and sits second in the league with a 2-0 record. Cornell leads the pack with a 4-0 record after a season sweep against Columbia and wins against Dartmouth and Harvard. Following a 36-point loss to the Big Red, Harvard sits third in the league, followed by Yale and Penn. Columbia and Brown are next in the standings, and Dartmouth brings up the rear with a record of 0-4 in the league.

After trouncing Harvard, the Big Red (18-3, 4-0) has emerged as the preeminent favorite in the Ivy League this year. Cornell nearly defeated national title contender Kansas earlier this year and currently sits at No. 25 in the USA Today/ESPN poll and No. 27 in the Associated Press poll. The Big Red team is led in scoring by senior sharpshooter Ryan Wittman, with 17.5 points per game, and senior center Jeff Foote, who has been a commanding presence in the middle and averages 12.4 points and a league-leading 8.4 rebounds.

Close behind Cornell and Princeton is Harvard (14-4, 3-1). The Crimson defeated Columbia and swept Dartmouth, before falling to Cornell. Harvard’s leading scorer is senior point guard Jeremy Lin, a Wooden Award Finalist who averages 17.1 points and 4.4 assists per game.

Yale (8-13, 2-2) sits behind Harvard in the league standings. The Bulldogs have lost at home against Brown and Princeton, but managed a road win against Brown and a home victory against Penn.

Like Princeton, the Quakers (2-14, 1-1) have played only two league games so far. Unlike the Tigers, Penn endured a losing non-conference campaign and split its first two league games, losing to Yale before beating Brown.

“The Penn-Princeton games are always important because of the history between the two schools, and there is always some extra emotion in those games,” Foley said.

Columbia (7-11, 1-3) has gotten off to a rough start in league play. The Lions cruised to a win over Dartmouth, but has suffered two double-digit losses to Cornell and one to Harvard.

Brown (7-14, 1-3) sits tied with Columbia near the bottom of the league standings. The Bears opened Ivy play splitting games against Yale, before suffering consecutive losses against Princeton and Penn.

Dartmouth (4-14, 0-4) is currently mired in the basement of the Ivy League. So far, the Big Green has dropped two games to Harvard, and one apiece to Columbia and Cornell. Dartmouth has struggled to replace Alex Barnett — last year’s league player of the year.