All in all, it was a respectable week for the Ivy League, though last week’s top team takes a tumble following a couple of disappointing performances on the road. Elsewhere, two struggling preseason contenders took steps forward with improved performances, while a third continued to exhibit maddening inconsistency.
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| 1. | Brown (5-4) | 3 | It would have been great had Brown played Providence tougher, but the Bears have performed better than anyone else in the league against Ivy-level competition. It’s been a whirlwind last 11 days with five games in that span, but Craig Robinson’s guys acquitted themselves well. |
| 2. | Cornell (4-2) | 2 | The Big Red holds steady in the second spot during its exam break, which should allow plenty of time to think about the disappointing Colgate loss and fix some things. Jeff Foote will be eligible to play when Cornell returns from hiatus, which only can help things at the defensive end. |
| 3. | Yale (3-5) | 5 | The early problems seem to be in the past, as Yale grabbed a pair of important victories this week, keyed by improved shooting. The really good news was Eric Flato’s strong performance in Saturday’s win over Vermont, which was his best all-around game so far this season. |
| 4. | Dartmouth (4-4) | 4 | The Big Green got back to .500 by protecting its home court against an improved UC Davis squad earlier in the week. It was encouraging to see Alex Barnett get some scoring help from DeVon Mosley and John Ball, and even better to have Jarrett Mathis return from his knee injury. |
| Harvard (4-6) | 1 | Hopes for building on the momentum of last week’s success at home were dashed quickly with a disappointing loss at Boston University three days later. It looked like the Crimson had put its road woes behind it after a good first half at Lehigh, but it all came apart after halftime. | |
| 6. | Penn (3-7) | 7 | With most Penn fans bracing for an embarrassment on national television at the hands of North Carolina, the Quakers gave the top-ranked Tar Heels a competitive game for a half. Glen Miller’s team then turned in its best all-around performance this season in the win at Monmouth. |
| 7. | Columbia (3-6) | 7 | It looked like the Lions had turned their season around with an emphatic win on the road against a Wagner team that had won at Brown and Yale. Then came Columbia’s second home game of the season that ended up a giant step back with a 14-point loss to Lafayette. |
| 8. | Princeton (2-6) | 6 | Following decent back-to-back showings against Big East competition, the wheels came off the Tiger bus at Evansville. Pulling out those first two close wins at home has turned out to be a big deal, as the season might have a much more negative feel were Princeton 0-8 at this point. |
