Second place meets third place tonight in New Haven, as two of the three teams with more than a mathematical chance of winning the league square off. Elsewhere, the leaders will try to keep their momentum going in Boston, while fourth place is on the line in Providence, and the loser of of the game in Hanover will find itself in the most undesired location: the cellar.
Cornell (14-10, 7-3 Ivy) at Yale (12-11, 8-2 Ivy) – 7:00 pm ET
Gametracker | Cornell audio | Yale video | Yale audio
The Ivy race may very well come down to tonight’s Cornell-Yale game in New Haven. If the Big Red goes into Lee Amphitheater and knocks off the Bulldogs, that all but wraps up the title for Penn, while a win by the home team puts Yale on a collision course with Penn next weekend. It’s the Bulldog seniors’ final home weekend, and from the sound of things, Casey Hughes is probable tonight. Additionally, if Sam Kaplan’s rise in the “Off the Bench” portion of the Yale game notes is any clue, he may be back on the court for the first time in a month. The first game in Ithaca was a classic, so the bar has been set very high.
Yale’s perimeter-oriented attack has its work cut out against Cornell’s stingy three-point ddefense. The Bulldogs will need to do a good job on the defensive glass, as the Big Red ranks first in the league in offensive rebounding. Watch the free throw attempts in this one, as Yale gets to the line more than anyone else in the league, while Cornell is tops in free throw prevention.
Pomeroy says: Cornell 63, Yale 68
Penn (17-8, 8-1 Ivy) at Harvard (10-14, 3-7 Ivy) – 7:00 pm ET
Live stats | Penn audio | Harvard video | Harvard audio
Penn gets back on the bus for its final Ivy weekend roadtrip, starting with a Harvard team that has dropped five of six. When the two teams played two weeks ago at The Palestra, the Crimson acquitted itself well, hanging tough for most of the game before a late Quaker run resulted in a lopsided final score. Frank Sullivan needs Jim Goffredo to bounce back from a nightmarish game at Yale last time out, and if he can hit his threes, Harvard once again could prove tough to shake.
In the first meeting, Penn was content to pound the ball inside, which has been a defensive weakness for Harvard all season. The Crimson had good success on the boards — particularly the offensive glass — against a Quaker squad that has struggled with its rebounding in Ivy play. As always, Harvard will look to draw fouls and get to the line for its offense, so Penn will have to make sure to watch the fouling, particularly Mark Zoller and Steve Danley.
Pomeroy says: Penn 87, Harvard 74
Columbia (13-11, 4-6 Ivy) at Brown (9-16, 4-6 Ivy) – 7:00 pm ET
Live stats | Columbia audio | WKCR audio | Brown audio
A couple of weeks ago, Columbia seemed like a near-lock for an upper-division finish. But last weekend the Lions were swept by the Ps, while Brown busted out with an impressive sweep of Harvard and Dartmouth, and now the two teams are tied for fourth. Columbia took the first head-to-head meeting in New York, absorbing a 26-point outburst by Mark McAndrew to claim a 77-68 win.
After doing such a good job of limiting the fouls outside the league, Columbia has suffered a relapse in Ivy play. That’s bad news against a Brown team that gets to the line more than anyone else in Division I. The Lions will look to pound the weak-rebounding Bears on the boards. Joe Jones needs much better effort out of Ben Nwachukwu and John Baumann, who should be able to have their way against a weak and thin Brown frontcourt.
Pomeroy says: Columbia 59, Brown 61
Princeton (11-12, 2-7 Ivy) at Dartmouth (8-15, 3-7 Ivy)
Live stats | Princeton audio | Dartmouth video | Dartmouth audio
Up until Saturday, Dartmouth would have figured to be a sizable favorite in this game after winning on Princeton’s floor a week ago. However, the Big Green had a horrendous showing in Providence, and Princeton earned a much-needed victory over Columbia. It’s tough to know what to take away from the first meeting, as both teams were missing their leading scorers — Leon Pattman was back in Hanover with a viral infection and Kyle Knocz was in street clothes with his stress reaction.
Terry Dunn opted not to zone Princeton the first game, and the Tigers could make them pay with back cuts and inside buckets. Nobody in the league sends opponents to the line as frequently as Dartmouth, so Princeton will need to do much better than its 10-for-21 performance from the stripe in the first game.
Pomeroy says: Princeton 47, Dartmouth 46
