It was a Saturday night full of excitement and controversy, but the locus of the intrigue was over 300 miles from where people would have thought.
Penn scored the final six points over the last 33 seconds of the game, including a controversial tip-in by forward Dan Monckton possibly after time had expired, to slip past Brown 55-54 last night. While the Bears had a legitimate argument that the final bucket could have been waived off, the game really should not have come to that. Zack Rosen’s layup with 20 seconds left pulled the Quakers to within three, and Brown freshman forward Tucker Halpern traveled almost immediately after the Bears got the ball inbounded.
Penn couldn’t take advantage, however, as Rosen missed the front end of a one-and-one in what would become a pattern over the final 15 seconds. Both Halpern and Peter Sullivan missed front ends for Brown while Rosen hit two free throws and Monckton added that controversial bucket to grab the victory in Providence.
Had Halpern or Sullivan been able to convert at the line, the Monckton shot might not have mattered, or at the very least would have provided Brown the opportunity to win the game in overtime.
The loss was the Bears’ third straight at home and sent Brown tumbling toward the bottom of the standings, tied with Columbia for sixth and one game ahead of last place Dartmouth with all four dates with Cornell and Harvard remaining on its schedule, while the Lions and Big Green have already knocked three of four off their lists.
STATEMENT MADE
Cornell looked forward to this matchup since Harvard’s strong play against UConn and BC allowed it to start stealing some of the spotlight from the Big Red back in December.
All five starters for Cornell got into double figures and everything went right for the Big Red as it stomped the Crimson 86-50 in Ithaca last night. Offensively, Cornell pressed the matchup of its center Jeff Foote against Harvard’s reserve forward Andrew Van Nest. Van Nest, who is more of a European five, was no match for Foote in the post, which forced the Crimson to collapse on the interior. Foote got his points and made smart kickouts for easy threes, as Cornell put up 38 first-half points.
On the other side, absolutely nothing went right for Harvard, though none of it could be described as unexpected. The Crimson turned the ball over 25 times – the second-highest turnover rate of the season – and posted its second-worst offensive efficiency rating of the season. Jeremy Lin turned the ball over as many times himself (8) as Cornell’s entire team did on the night. Both he and freshman forward Kyle Casey got into foul trouble, the latter hurting Harvard due to its thin frontcourt with Pat Magnarelli out for three weeks with a high-ankle sprain.
The Big Red really only has two more tricky dates left on its schedule (Feb. 13 at Princeton and Feb. 19 at Harvard) and should otherwise cruise through the Ivy slate. For the Crimson, the rebound from this absolute disaster must be quick, as Harvard gets a visit from the Tigers this Friday and then must navigate the Yale/Brown roadtrip before getting a second crack at Cornell in Boston.
SPOILER OR CONTENDER
Princeton had a very slient, but impressive weekend, demolishing Brown in Providence before weathering a second-half rally by Yale to pull away for a 58-45 win.
The Tigers now have set up a virtual loser’s bracket elimination game with the Crimson next weekend in Boston. A Harvard win would almost force Princeton to sweep Cornell, while a Tigers victory would hand the Crimson its second loss, which would likely be too much to overcome. If Princeton sweeps next weekend to move to 4-0, it would actually have a very accommodating road down the stretch with seven of its final 10 games at home.
And while Harvard is the contender with the best athleticism to match up with the Big Red, the Tigers might be the contender with the best natural gameplan to take Cornell down, as their slow pace and league-leading defense could allow it to take advantage if the Big Red have a cold shooting night against them.
KNEE JERK POWER RANKINGS
1. Cornell
Couldn’t have scripted a better first meeting with Harvard.
2. Princeton
A couple more weekend like this past one should put the Tigers in the postseason discussion.
3. Harvard
The Crimson must take care of the basketball. Period. Turn the ball over 25 times and losses follow.
4. Yale
Clearly the best of the Ivy teams on the other side of the great divide.
5. Penn
You could make an argument that the Quakers could win as many as six league games. You shouldn’t. But you could.
6. Columbia
Should finally learn something about this Lions team next weekend against comparable competition.
7. Brown
Disastrous weekend for the Bears, who only have four more home games remaining, two of which are against Cornell and Harvard.
8. Dartmouth
Never got it going in Ithaca and didn’t have enough down the stretch against Columbia to grab its first league win.
