The games were much closer than last weekend’s, but the results stayed the same, with the first division taking all four from the second division last night. What appeared to be extreme home court advantage in Ivy play turned out to be more of a scheduling quirk that had the better teams playing at home early on. The four road teams will try for a rare winless home weekend for the Ivy League tonight, and all four visitors are favored.
Yale (10-11, 4-3 Ivy) at Penn (8-15, 3-3 Ivy) – 6:00 pm ET
GameWatcher | Penn video |WYBC audio | Penn audio
The Quakers haven’t been swept in a home Ivy weekend since 1968, but there’s a very good chance that run will come to an end tonight against the Bulldogs. Yale put together a crucial late run to get past Princeton last night, and while Penn put in the work on defense to make a similar rally down the stretch, it couldn’t take care of the scoring part and lost at home to Brown. The Bulldogs actually don’t take many threes, so the Quakers’ poor defense of the three-point arc might not be a huge liability in this game. However, so far in league play, the Bulldogs lead the league in defensive steal rate, and that’s been a real problem of late for the hosts. It could be an interesting battle inside, as both teams look to work the ball inside, and both tend to play in games with a lot of fouls and free throws.
Stat to watch: Two-point shooting
Pomeroy says: Yale 73, Penn 69
Columbia (11-11, 4-3 Ivy) vs. Harvard (6-17, 1-6 Ivy) – 7:00 pm ET
GameWatcher | Harvard video | Columbia audio | WKCR audio | Harvard audio
Harvard will be trying to get over the heartbreaking late meltdown in the loss to Cornell, while Columbia gutted out a win up in Hanover last night. Neither team has been particularly great at taking care of the ball, though the Lions have had much more difficulty in that area, and it could play a role tonight. If Saturday night officiating becomes an issue, the Crimson has a very favorable free throw differential, while the visitors tend to be on the wrong side of that statistic. Stopping John Baumann will have to be a priority for the home team, after the All-Ivy selection carried his team to victory in Hanover. A win for Harvard would halt the six-game losing streak, while Columbia will be eyeing a victory for the purpose of staying alive on the margins of the Ivy title chase.
Stat to watch: Turnovers
Pomeroy says: Columbia 66, Harvard 67
Cornell (15-5, 7-0 Ivy) at Dartmouth (8-13, 1-6 Ivy) – 7:00 pm ET
GameWatcher | Dartmouth video | Cornell audio | Dartmouth audio
Life on the road can be tough and can result in some surprises, as the Big Red can tell you after last night’s shocking comeback at Harvard. Dartmouth was able to hang tough with Columbia, but ultimately came up short in its bid to end its losing streak that now has reached five games. One thing the Big Green has going in its favor is the way it has guarded the three-point line in Ivy play, allowing just 33.3-percent shooting by opponents from long range. Cornell may have to go inside — either by dribble penetration by its guards or by feeding the post — to get to 8-0. The good news for the visitors is that Dartmouth has been hurting itself with fouls and opponents tend to get a lot of free throws. That’s a recipe for disaster for the home team against a Big Red squad that is shooting 83.7 percent from the stripe as a team so far in league play.
Stat to watch: Free throws
Pomeroy says: Cornell 78, Dartmouth 62
Brown (13-8, 5-2 Ivy) at Princeton (5-16, 2-4 Ivy) – 7:30 pm ET
GameWatcher | Princeton video | Brown audio | Princeton audio | WPRB audio
The talk out of Princeton is centering around the Tigers’ inability to play 40 strong minutes, but few games really see one team capable of doing that, as every team usually makes a run or two. Tonight, the hosts should focus on doing everything they can to keep Brown off the free throw line, which will be a challenge with the way Princeton has been playing defense so far this Ivy season and with the Bears’ proclivity for getting to the line. Another disconcerting statistic for Tiger fans is the fact Brown is allowing league opponents to shoot just 32.3 percent from three-point range — where Princeton attempts nearly half of its field goals. If this one follows the trends, Craig Robinson should leave his former home gym with the win, and his team should retain its status as the only real hope for a competitive Ivy title race this season.
Stat to watch: Free throws
Pomeroy says: Brown 59, Princeton 53
