Prelude to a showdown

The potential Game of the Year looms tomorrow night in Ithaca, but both teams have challenging games to get through first tonight before they can turn their attention to Saturday. Meanwhile, both games in snowy New England are scheduled to go on as planned, as the picture at the bottom of the league should come into better focus.

Brown (14-8, 6-2 Ivy) at Columbia (12-11, 5-3 Ivy) – 7:00 pm ET
GameWatcher | Columbia video | Brown audio | Columbia audio | WKCR audio
Even if Brown were to sweep this weekend, the Bears still would need some help from someone to have a shot at the Ivy title. With no margin for error, Craig Robinson’s team can’t afford to slip up tonight against a hot Columbia side that still has yet to suffer The Dreaded Fourth Loss. After failing to deliver on their promise for most of the season, the veteran Lions have been playing their best basketball of the season, reeling off four straight wins and taking five of six since the thumping at the hands of Cornell on January 26. In the first meeting between the two teams in Providence, Columbia was forced to play without its top two point guards, yet managed to lead at halftime before falling by a very respectable 68-63 margin. Joe Jones has made guarding the three-point arc a priority for his team, so Brown will have to look for its points inside and at the line. The latter may be the biggest issue for Columbia, which has done a much better job of preventing opponent free throws in Ivy play this year.
Stat to watch: Points in the paint
Pomeroy says: Brown 61, Columbia 60

Yale (10-12, 4-4 Ivy) at Cornell (16-5, 8-0 Ivy) – 7:00 pm ET
Live stats | Cornell video | WYBC audio | Cornell audio
The two teams couldn’t be coming into this game with more contrasting mindsets. Cornell is flying high after surviving two tougher-than-expected road tests last weekend, while Yale’s numerous seniors saw their final shot at March Madness go up in smoke with the extremely poor loss at Penn. Then again, the Bulldogs may be angered by their early withdrawal from contention and can look to exact some revenge for the 21-point beating the Big Red put on them in New Haven on February 2. One thing Yale has going for it is that Eric Flato is a near-lock to give his team much more than the two points and one assist he put up in the earlier meeting. As a matter of fact, the Bulldogs as a team aren’t likely to shoot as poorly (25.9 percent) as they did the first time around. Yale games tend to involve a lot of free throws, which is good news for Cornell’s lethal free throw shooters, but bad news for its foul-prone and somewhat shallow frontcourt.
Stat to watch: Free throws
Pomeroy says: Yale 67, Cornell 79

Penn (9-15, 4-3 Ivy) at Dartmouth (8-14, 1-7 Ivy) – 7:00 pm ET
GameWatcher |Dartmouth video | Penn audio | Dartmouth audio
Both teams will be looking to improve on their performances from the first meeting, when Dartmouth couldn’t complete a big, late comeback and lost when Elgin Fitzgerald’s potential game-tying shot sat on the rim for seemingly forever before falling off. Penn will be seeking to recreate the success it had in building up a 16-point cushion and eliminating the mistakes that led to being outscored 28-14 over the final 14 minutes. If Dartmouth’s game notes are any indication, Alex Barnett is expected to return to action for the Big Green after missing Saturday’s game with an ankle injury. This isn’t a great matchup for Dartmouth, as Penn doesn’t rely much on the three and actually is pretty solid inside at both ends of the court, and that’s where the hosts get the lion’s share of their points. Also, the Quakers have been getting to the line with great success, while fouls have been a major issue for Terry Dunn’s team.
Stat to watch: Two-point field goals
Pomeroy says: Penn 68, Dartmouth 67

Princeton (5-17, 2-5 Ivy) at Harvard (6-18, 1-7 Ivy) – 7:00 pm ET
GameWatcher | Harvard video | Princeton audio | WPRB audio | Harvard audio | WHRB audio
Princeton has lost five in a row and hasn’t won on the road all season, while Harvard has dropped seven straight, so something has to give tonight on the banks of the Charles. Over the years, few league matchups have produced as many thrilling games as Princeton at Harvard, so the fans in attendance at Lavietes Pavilion tonight will bring high entertainment expectations. The Tigers lead the league in three-point reliance and the Crimson is second, but while the visitors have shot it effectively from long range at 35.6 percent, Tommy Amaker’s squad has hit a woeful 27.6 percent from deep. Harvard’s guards do have a big quickness edge on their Princeton counterparts, so you could see a lot of dribble penetration. The Crimson excels at drawing fouls and getting easy points from the stripe, and the Tigers typically are on the wrong end of lopsided free throw numbers, so that could be a major advantage for the home team.
Stat to watch: Free throws
Pomeroy says: Princeton 59, Harvard 65

Jake Wilson

Publisher and Editor-in-Chief, Basketball U.

Jake Wilson wrote 754 posts

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