Get schooled.
Key sequence: Ben Nwachukwu hit a pair of free throws to draw Columbia to within four at 68-64 with 1:49 left, but all the Lions could get out of their next three possessions were two turnovers and a missed three-pointer. Meanwhile, Yale went one-for-two at the line five straight times in this span to push its lead back to nine with under 30 seconds left.
Key sequence: After Keenan Jeppesen drilled a three-pointer to cut Cornell’s lead to two with 21 seconds left, Brown fouled Adam Gore. The freshman converted both free throws to make it a four-point game with 19 seconds remaining. Brown then got four shots in the final 11 seconds, but couldn’t hit any of them and the Big Red escaped with the 63-59 win.
Key sequence: Harvard led by six inside the final minute when Princeton’s Edwin Buffmire corralled the rebound off Mike Strittmatter’s miss and laid it in to cut the Tigers’ deficit to four with 55 seconds left. Princeton trapped and went for the steal instead of fouling, and Harvard tried a long pass to Brian Cusworth. But there was a collision in the air and no foul was whistled, leaving Kyle Koncz to gather the loose ball. At the other end, Koncz found Scott Greenman for an open three-pointer to cut the margin to one with 31 seconds left. On the ensuing possession, Princeton appeared to foul Harvard’s Jim Goffredo, but no call was whistled and the Tigers came up with the steal. Greenman worked the clock down and found Noah Savage wide open on the baseline for the game winner with 0.2 seconds left.
Key sequence: Penn’s lead was just 9-8 until an Ibby Jaaber highlight reel performance triggered an 11-0 run. After a pair of Steve Danley free throws, Jaaber stripped Dartmouth’s DeVon Mosley near halfcourt and then windmill dunked on the freshman guard. Jaaber then blocked a Mosley breakaway layup before making a steal from Leon Pattman and dunking once again. After an easy bucket by Brian Grandieri, Jaaber capped the burst with a three-pointer that made it 20-11.
Tonight’s Princeton-Harvard tilt at Lavietes Pavilion will make the winner an Ivy contender — at least for one night — and will almost certainly kill the loser’s chances of getting in the Ivy title chase. It’s the one truly intriguing matchup of the evening, as the other three teams still realistically alive all play teams with four or more league losses already.