Around the Ivy League

Could a men's basketball team other than Princeton or Penn represent the Ivy League in the NCAA Tournament in March? It has not happened since 1988, but many Ivy observers believe this will be the year. PAW takes a quick look at the rest of the league, through Jan. 1.

Brown (6–5) All-Ivy guard Mark McAndrew leads the league in scoring with 16.3 points per game. The Bears, coached by Craig Robinson ’83, won at Northwestern (Nov. 24) against one of Robinson’s mentors, former Princeton coach Bill Carmody.

Columbia (5–7) The Lions started the year with seven consecutive games away from home, posting a 3–4 record. Columbia’s frontcourt duo of All-Ivy forward John Baumann and center Ben Nwachukwu is among the league’s best.

Cornell (6–4) The media poll’s preseason favorite features the Ivy League’s top two assist leaders, Louis Dale and Collin Robinson, a transfer from USC, as well as 2006 Ivy Rookie of the Year Adam Gore, who missed nearly all of last season with a knee injury.

Dartmouth (5–7) The Big Green, searching for its first winning season this decade, started strong, posting its best nonleague start since 2001–02. Forward Alex Barnett and guard DeVon Mosley have combined to average nearly 29 points per game.

Harvard (4–11) The Crimson shocked Michigan, new head coach Tommy Amaker’s former team, with a 62–51 win Dec. 1 in Cambridge. Harvard’s offense has shown explosive potential, scoring 90 points or more in two wins.

Penn (4–8) Penn lost its first three games and dropped below the radar, but the Quakers showed signs of improvement in December, when freshman forward Tyler Bernardini averaged 17.6 points per game in five games.

Yale (3–7) The Bulldogs have been building toward this season, with four seniors in the starting lineup and a second-place Ivy finish last year. All-Ivy guard Eric Flato excelled in wins over Fairfield Dec. 4 and Vermont Dec. 8.