NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament Central

2011 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship Bracket
2011 Ivy League Postseason Information:  Release | Media Teleconference
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Photo courtesy of Princeton Athletic Communications

TAMPA, Fla. -- The Ivy League boasts multiple teams in the postseason for the third time in four years with Princeton making its 24th appearance in the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship and Harvard receiving its first-ever Postseason National Invitation Tournament (NIT) bid.

Last season, the Ivy League had three teams compete in the postseason for just the second time in conference history. Cornell's NCAA Sweet 16 run led the Ancient Eight's presence in the postseason. Princeton turned in a strong showing in the College Basketball Invitational (CBI) reaching the semifinals and Harvard made its first postseason appearance since 1946 playing in the CollegeInsider.com Tournament (CIT). It marked the first time three Ivy teams were in the postseason since the 2001-02 season when Penn earned the League's bid to the NCAA Tournament after winning a three-team playoff and other two tri-champions, Princeton and Yale, received bids to the Postseason NIT.

Princeton's 24 NCAA Tournament appearances lead the Ivy League, breaking a tie with Penn, which has taken 23 NCAA postseason trips. The co-champion Tigers secured the League's NCAA Tournament automatic bid by virtue of its win over co-champion Harvard in a one-game playoff on March 12, giving Princeton its first trip back to the Big Dance since 2004. This ends Princeton's longest NCAA Tournament drought (seven years) since a similar seven-year drought from 1969-76. The Tigers are making the 68th NCAA Tournament appearance for an Ivy League team and 54th for the League since the League's first official season (1956-57). Since 1939, Ivy teams have combined for a 40-77 (.342) record in 67 appearances in the NCAA Tournament. Since 1957, the Ivy League has a 31-57 (.352) record in 53 appearances in the NCAA Tournament..  

Princeton (25-6, 12-2 Ivy) vs. Kentucky (25-8, 10-6 SEC)
Date: Thursday, March 17 – 2:45 p.m.
Location: St. Pete Times Forum • Tampa, Fla.
Television: CBS
Radio: Westwood One | Princeton Radio
Princeton-Kentucky Series: Kentucky leads, 2-1
Last Meeting: Kentucky 72, Princeton 58 • 3/12/77 • Philadelphia
Live Stats | Video | Westwood One Audio | Princeton Audio
Princeton Game Notes | Kentucky Game Notes