Men’s Basketball Seeking Fourth Consecutive Ivy League Crown

Men’s basketball’s Ivy League season tips off Jan. 11 at Harvard. There’s a lot at stake for Princeton (11-4) — the team is working toward its fourth consecutive regular-season championship.

But before the Tigers can do any of that, they’ll have to best solid teams from Cornell and Brown and face challenges from Yale and Columbia. Last year, Princeton lost to Brown in the Ivy Madness semifinals, and Yale ultimately won the tournament, the NCAA Tournament bid, and a first-round game against Auburn.

The Tigers are shaping up to be a formidable team, especially after pulling off an 83-82 upset against Rutgers at the Never Forget Tribute Classic hosted at the Prudential Center.

Caden Pierce ’26 put on his best performance of the season, playing for 39 minutes and picking up 21 points and 14 rebounds.

The Rutgers game was Princeton’s best team performance this year — but by no means is it the peak of this team’s potential. Xaivian Lee ’26 shot just 31% from the field against the Scarlet Knights, below his typical average — but still managed to pick up 21 points, six rebounds, and 11 assists. When both Lee and Pierce are playing at the top of their game, the Tigers are a dangerous team.

Prior to the game, much of the discussion was about Rutgers’ two stars, Ace Bailey and Dylan Harper, who are both widely expected to be drafted near the top of the NBA draft.

“I wanted to talk about Lee and Pierce, Lee and Pierce — but those weren’t the questions … we can talk about them now — they were just terrific,” head coach Mitch Henderson ’98 said after the Rutgers game.

Princeton has also worked on building talent across the team, and sophomores Dalen Davis ’27 and Jackson Hicke ’27 have become key players, with Davis starting every game this season. Hicke stepped in for Pierce after the junior had to leave the Akron game with an ankle injury and started against Kean (Pierce is expected to play against Harvard, according to Henderson). Davis also picked up the Ivy League Player of the Week nod for the first week in January after hitting the decisive three against Akron.

Across the Ivy League, Cornell (8-5) picked up a win against California in early December. The contest showed the Big Red playing aggressively on both ends of the court, shooting 49.3% from the field and picking up 10 steals. Cornell’s full court press might present a challenge for the Tigers, who struggled against the scheme earlier in the season.

Brown has posted an impressive season so far (8-5), ruining Rhode Island’s 9–0 start. Two of its losses were to Kansas (No. 8) and Kentucky (No. 10), each by 34 points. Their leading scorer, Kino Lily Jr., returned to the Bears for his senior season, and could pose a threat to the Tiger’s defense.

Yale’s record (7-6) makes it appear to be a worse team than both Brown and Cornell, but the Bulldogs won by 16 points against Akron,  a team that Princeton beat on a last-second contested play. Two of Yale’s best players from last season — John Poulakidas and Bez Mbeng — both returned to the Bulldogs.

“I think the [Ivy League is the] strongest it’s been since I’ve been coach,” Henderson said at a press conference. “And I’ve probably said that before, but the teams that historically have not been making a tournament are doing great.”

On Jan. 11 the Tigers travel to Cambridge to take on the Harvard Crimson. Princeton is favored to win the game — but one thing the Tigers have learned this season is to never take the odds as a sure thing.

You can watch the Tigers play the Crimson on ESPN+ at 2 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 11.