The first weekend of full Ivy play brought provided some surprises. The road trip expected to be the toughest turned out to be no big deal, as visitors went 3-1. Meanwhile, while the traditional killer road trip turned out to be exactly that as the traditional powers both swept the weekend. The result is a pretty significant shakeup in this week’s Power Rankings.
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| 1. | Cornell (12-5, 4-0 Ivy) | 1 | The memo about league parity doesn’t appear to have reached Ithaca, as the Big Red machine looks downright unstoppable right now. The other three contenders all have at least two losses — two have three defeats — and Cornell has swept them all on the road by double digits. |
| 2. | Brown (10-8, 2-2 Ivy) | 2 | Friday’s loss to Cornell was doubly devastating to Brown’s title aspirations, as it was a second early loss and came against the main competition. The Bears were able to bounce back and stay alive by holding off Columbia the next night, but now they need help in the title chase. |
| 3. | Columbia (8-12, 1-3 Ivy) | 5 | Once again, the Lions went into the Lee Amphitheater crucible and left with a decisive victory, saving their season in the process. However, the dreaded third loss came the following night at Brown, and Joe Jones now must keep up spirits a senior-heavy squad that had championship dreams. |
| 4. | Princeton (5-12, 2-0 Ivy) | 7 | The Tigers opened Ivy play the same way they started their season, claiming a pair of home wins over struggling opposition. Princeton fans will be hoping to avoid repeating the 12-game losing streak that followed, but things now get much tougher with the New York State trip. |
| 5. | Penn (7-12, 2-0 Ivy) | 8 | After regressing after the holidays, Penn dug down and gutted out a pair of narrow home wins to start its new season on a very positive note. Glen Miller is getting major contributions from his freshman class, but the Quaker newcomers get their first taste of Ivy road trips next weekend. |
| 6. | Yale (7-11, 1-3 Ivy) | 3 | It’s been all downhill for the Bulldogs ever since their big win over Brown in their league opener, and thanks to three straight losses, they’re now in need of a miracle. The last time Yale dropped both ends of an Ivy weekend at home by double digits, Eric Flato was 15 years old. |
| 7. | Dartmouth (8-10, 1-3 Ivy) | 4 | The Big Green couldn’t carry the momentum from its three-game winning streak into the weekend, as a pair of narrow losses resulted in a fruitless trip to Princeton and Penn. Alex Barnett did more than his part, as the junior standout averaged 19.0 points and 8.0 rebounds in the two games. |
| 8. | Harvard (6-14, 1-3 Ivy) | 6 | Not even wearing the home whites at Princeton on Saturday could help the Crimson grab that elusive road win. Tommy Amaker was 13-35 away from home in Big Ten play at Michigan, and this appears to have followed him to Harvard, which is now 0-11 as the visitor this season. |
