Now that the Ivy League has clinched the season series with the Patriot League, it’s time for a slight step up in class to the ACC. Columbia dropped its opener to Duke, so the all the Ivies need to do is sweep tonight’s pair of contests at ACC venues to take the head-to-head season series with the top conference in the nation. Then again, a more reasonable goal might be a win in the final game against the Patriot League.
Yale (3-8) at Boston College (8-4) – 7:00 pm ET – Gametracker | Yale audio | Boston College audio
Yale returns to the scene of the 2004 crime when the officials swallowed their whistles on a mugging of Sam Kaplan at the end of regulation in a game Boston College would win in overtime. Kaplan won’t be able to exact any personal revenge, thanks to a broken nose that will have him in street clothes. This might be a rare case where an Ivy team benefits from the more lenient major conference officiating, as the Bulldogs may get away with some of the contact that has been drawing whistles against mid-majors. Watch the rebounding totals in this one — specifically Boston College’s offensive rebounds. Yale has done an outstanding job all season on the defensive glass, but the Eagles come in averaging a whopping 40.0 percent offensive rebounding. If the Bulldogs can limit the second-chance points and don’t get intimidated by shotblocker supreme Sean Williams roaming the paint for Boston College, they might have a chance of making things interesting.
Pomeroy says: Yale 64, Boston College 84
Cornell (4-7) at Colgate (5-7) – 7:00 pm ET – Live stats | Cornell audio | Colgate audio | Colgate video
Entering the game saddled with a four-game losing streak, the Big Red badly needs a win in Hamilton. Defensive struggles have plagued Cornell during the skid, so a matchup with offensively challenged Colgate might be just what the doctor ordered. The Raiders rank 309th in Division I in offensive efficiency at just 0.88 points per possession. If the Big Red can assert itself defensively while continuing to shoot well, Steve Donahue’s crew should start 2007 with a win. Colgate has played two Ivy teams already this season, beating injury-depleted Dartmouth in November and losing at home to Harvard last month.
Pomeroy says: Cornell 61, Colgate 58
Penn (6-5) at #2 North Carolina (12-1) – 8:00 pm ET – Gametracker | Penn audio | North Carolina audio – ESPN
There’s no logical reason to expect this game to be close. As we outlined in Inside the Ivy, North Carolina doesn’t have any obvious weaknesses. Penn’s only chance in this one is to — brace yourself, Penn fans — take a page out of the Princeton playbook and slow it down. Glen Miller loves to push the tempo, and tried doing so early on this year against major conference opposition with poor results. The Quakers need to avoid unnecessary turnovers and poor shots that result from forcing things on offense. They’d also do well to consider getting back on defense instead of crashing the offensive glass to guard against the fastbreak. The Tar Heels like to get out and run, so anything Penn can do to keep the tempo slowed down and shorten the game is only going to help matters. If the Quakers can hit a healthy number of threes while forcing North Carolina to settle for outside shots, they’ll have a puncher’s chance. Otherwise, it’s not going to be pretty.
Pomeroy says: Penn 70, North Carolina 96
