Practices got under way around the nation Friday night, and all eight Ivy programs have big questions for the 2006-07 season that they’ll need to answer over the next few weeks. Here’s a look at 20 of the most pressing ones entering the preseason.

In no particular order…

1. How will Glen Miller’s demanding style go over with his new players at Penn?

2. After four straight disappointing seasons, can James Jones get his team playing with the toughness that characterized his 2001-02 Ivy title squad?

3. Will the positive vibes of Princeton’s final six weeks of last season carry over in the form of a harmonious preseason?

4. With a number of players in the mix for playing time, who will earn spots in the Lions’ wing rotation?

5. Can Craig Robinson find the three-point shooters he needs to make his offense work at Brown?

6. After searching for the right combination of players all season long last year, can Terry Dunn find his rotation in the preseason?

7. Will Graham Dow and Jason Hartford be healthy for Cornell’s opener on November 10?

8. How does Frank Sullivan prepare his team for the season knowing that his star center won’t be playing the final 10 games?

9. Can Joe Jones instill a more defensive-minded approach in his team after giving up a league-worst 1.06 points per possession in Ivy play last year?

10. Will highly regarded freshman big man Zach Finley push Justin Conway for the starting center job at Princeton?

11. Will Brown captain Marcus Becker find himself fighting off a challenge from freshman Steve Gruber for his starting point guard job?

12. With Mike Kach sidelined, who will emerge as Penn’s primary ballhandler for the big season opener against UTEP?

13. Who will win the small forward job for the Big Red?

14. After shooting the three-pointer well as a team last season (36.2 percent) but taking under 30 percent of its shots from outside the arc, will Dartmouth work on making its perimeter game a bigger part of the offense this year?

15. Who will step forward to claim the small forward and power forward jobs for Harvard?

16. How much time will Yale dedicate to free throw shooting practice after converting at just a 62.1-percent clip from the line last year in league play?

17. Who will be given the responsibility of filling Scott Greenman’s spacious shoes as the Tiger point guard?

18. Who will step forward to provide depth in the Quaker frontcourt?

19. After two years as a starter, will Brett Loscalzo keep his starting job running the Columbia offense with freshman Patrick Foley looking over his shoulder?

And finally…

20. With both programs’ rosters very full, who will make the Cornell and Princeton 15-man travel squads?