For the first time all season, we’re being treated to four league games on a Friday night, as the traditional Ivy weekend schedule finally gets under way. Want another “coach returns to his old stomping grounds to face his former team” storyline? You got it. How about two expected first-division programs now trying to save their seasons on the road? Check. Add in two teams looking to stay within striking distance of the leader, and you’ve got yourself four compelling matchups.

Penn (11-7, 2-0 Ivy) at Brown (6-13, 1-3 Ivy) – 7:00 pm ET
Live stats | Penn audio | Brown audio
The talk of Glen Miller’s homecoming to the Pizzitola Center is dominating the coverage of this game, and while it’s certainly a big deal to Miller and his former players, there are bigger things at stake. For Brown, not only would an upset of Penn be sweet revenge on the coach who left them for a league rival, but it would be another high in what has been an up-and-down — okay, mostly down — season for the Bears. On the other bench, Penn will be looking to leave Providence undefeated and with its third Ivy road win in the bag. The Brown players feel they have an advantage in that they are familiar with their old system, but they’re going to discover that Penn is running a mix of old and new, as Miller hasn’t fully implemented the scheme they know. Rather, with three former Brown coaches now in Philadelphia, it is the Quakers who should have the mother of all scouting reports on the Bears.

Brown will need to come out fired up and play with intensity while executing well to surprise Penn tonight. Simply put, this is a terrible matchup for the Bears, who are very deficient in the area where opponents can best exploit a Quaker shortcoming: offensive rebounding. Brown just doesn’t have the personnel or interest to go get offensive boards, ranking 334th out of 336 Division I teams at just 23.5 percent on the offensive glass this season. Moreover, the Bears’ extremely high turnover rate (25.4 percent) and heavy reliance on three-point shooting should create a high number of the transition opportunities that make Penn so deadly effective. Brown will look to get to the line as it has done all season, but Penn has fouled infrequently against mid-major opposition on the year. Unless the Bears are hot and hitting their shots and the Quakers unexpectedly struggle against the trapping zone, this one has the potential to get ugly for the home team.
Pomeroy says: Penn 72, Brown 61

Princeton (9-7, 0-2 Ivy) at Yale (7-10, 3-1 Ivy) – 7:00 pm ET
Gametracker | Princeton audio | Yale video
Joe Scott may not want to talk about it in these terms, but this is an absolutely huge game for Princeton’s season and his program in general. If the Tigers lose, they’ll be 0-3 in the league for the first time in school history, and Scott doesn’t need another ignominious mark attached to his tenure. For Yale, this also is a crucial game, as the Bulldogs already have lost at home to Brown and simply can’t afford a second home loss before facing Penn. James Jones hasn’t had the same success many of his Ivy cohorts have enjoyed against Scott, going just 1-3 in their head-to-head meetings. The big question entering Friday night’s game is the status of Kyle Koncz. The junior tried his had at practicing late in the week and Scott is hoping to have him available tonight, but his minutes and effectiveness could be very limited due to the stress fracture in his foot.

With Koncz hurting, the Tigers have struggled offensively against opposing zones, so expect Jones to put aside his personal feelings about zone defense and throw a heavy dose of it at Princeton. Yale has been shooting the ball well of late, and Princeton’s matchup zone has fallen apart the last three games, so that’s one trend Scott will need to find a way to reverse. The Tigers actually had a respectable showing on the offensive glass at Seton Hall, but they’re going to have a much tougher time doing so against the Bulldogs, who rank number one in the nation in defensive rebounding at 74.3 percent. In addition to everything else going on between these teams, there will be a battle waged over the game’s tempo, as Yale likes to play at a faster pace (68.9 possessions per 40 minutes), while Princeton is, well, Princeton (54.3 possessions per 40 minutes).
Pomeroy says: Princeton 48, Yale 52

Cornell (10-8, 3-1 Ivy) at Dartmouth (7-10, 2-2 Ivy) – 7:00 pm ET
Live stats | Cornell audio | Dartmouth video | Dartmouth audio
Of all the Friday night games, this one may have the biggest impact on the standings in the sense that we’re talking about two teams with legitimate hopes of finishing in the top half of the league standings. Cornell needs to win prevent the possibility of falling farther behind Penn, while Dartmouth can’t afford another home loss after losing to Yale in Hanover already this year. The Big Red is just 3-3 at Leede Arena under Steve Donahue — tied with Columbia for the worst mark by an Ivy road team at Dartmouth over that time span. Interestingly, these are two teams that fell victim to the injury bug early on. The Big Green has managed to get most of those players back by this point, while the Big Red lost Adam Gore and Jason Hartford for the year.

Both teams have been winning with defense lately, but Cornell’s offense has shown more explosiveness this season. Donahue’s squad has posted offensive efficiencies of 1.05 or better in half its games — compared to just four such performances for Dartmouth. This is a matchup of the best three-point shooting team in the league (Cornell at 39.9 percent) and the worst (Dartmouth at just 31.2 percent). The Big Green’s hard-nosed defense likes to make opponents work hard for shots, but it is fouling way too much. With the Big Red ranking 27th in the nation in free throw shooting at 74.4 percent, this is not a team you want to foul. Dartmouth has been limiting its mistakes very well of late, turning the ball over on fewer than 20 percent of possessions in four of its last five games, while Cornell has regressed alarmingly in that department, going over 24 percent in turnover rate in each of its last five contests.
Pomeroy says: Cornell 63, Dartmouth 58

Columbia (10-8, 1-3 Ivy) at Harvard (9-9, 2-2 Ivy) – 7:00 pm ET
Live stats | Columbia audio | WKCR audio (free) | Harvard video | Harvard audio
We’ll find out tonight what Harvard looks like without Brian Cusworth. Columbia is hoping the answer is “not very good,” because Joe Jones’s team desperately needs a win. After another eye-opening non-league record, the Lions find themselves in the midst of a disastrous collapse in Ivy play for the third straight season. It’s probably too late for Columbia to make any noise in the league this season, but if it wants to contend next year, a sweep this weekend basically is a must. As for Harvard, it is 2-2, but without Cusworth, another finish near the bottom of the standings is looking pretty likely. So much of the offense flowed through the departed big man, leaving the Crimson without much of an offensive identity. Given the way it has played defense this year — which is to say, not much at all — a Harvard squad without an offensive identity is not a promising prospect.

Columbia’s offense has gone in the tank the past three games against excellent defensive efforts by Penn and Cornell, so a date with the league’s worst defense could be just what the doctor ordered. The Lions have struggled with their shooting during the skid, and had a turnover percentage of over 24 percent in both games against the Big Red, but the Crimson is allowing opponents to shoot 48.6 percent from the field on the season and isn’t forcing many turnovers on defense. It will be interesting to see if Harvard still has success at getting to the line without Cusworth. John Baumann and Ben Nwachukwu need to force Evan Harris to finish at the rim and avoid bailing him out with fouls. If Columbia can keep Jim Goffredo in check, it should be able to end its three-game losing streak against a Harvard team that figures to be in transition.
Pomeroy says: Columbia 73, Harvard 75