Men's Basketball Weekly Release - Week 15

Cornell's Chris Wroblewski and Dartmouth's Jvonte Brooks

Complete Ivy League Men's Basketball Weekly Release in pdf format

Photos courtesy of Cornell Athletic Communications and Dartmouth Varsity Athletics Communications

PRINCETON, N.J. -- The race for the Ivy League men’s basketball title heats up with just two games in the loss column separating the top five teams going into this weekend’s games.

Harvard still sits at the top of the League standings despite its loss at Princeton over the weekend. The Crimson looks to rebound with its next four games in the friendly confines of Lavietes Pavilion, beginning with Brown and Yale.

The Bulldogs hope to keep pace with Harvard, playing four of its final six on the road starting with Dartmouth Friday night before looking to avenge their 30-point loss to the Crimson Saturday night. Also with just two setbacks in League play, Penn is poised to be among the lead pack as the sprint to the Ivy title rounds the final turn. Like Harvard, the Quakers have four of its remaining six games at home, starting with Cornell on Friday night and Columbia on Saturday night.

The Big Red made a big statement this past weekend with two wins at home and now hopes to carry some momentum on the road for its next four games, opening with a tough back-to-back at Penn and Princeton. The Tigers pulled off a shocker with their upset over Harvard and hope to keep their winning ways going for a second-straight game in front a national television audience on ESPNU Friday night against Columbia. The next night, Princeton welcomes the red-hot Big Red to Jadwin Gymnasium in another pivotal matchup as the League race goes down the final stretch.

"Inside Ivy League Basketball" returns for its ninth episode on Wednesday, Feb. 15, at 7 p.m. featuring interviews with Cornell junior guard Johnathan Gray, Brown women's basketball head coach Jean Marie Burr and Wall Street Journal reporter Jason Gay, who will give his perspective on the phenomenon of current New York Knicks point guard and former Harvard star Jeremy Lin.

"Inside Ivy League Basketball" is hosted by Dan Loney and Brian Seltzer and takes an in-depth look at all the news and notes surrounding Ivy men’s and women’s basketball on and off the courts during the 2011-12 season. The 12-episode show debuted Thursday, Nov. 10 at 7 p.m. on BlogTalkRadio.com (blogtalkradio.com/insideivyleaguebasketball) and is available on-demand via BlogTalkRadio and IvyLeagueSports.com.     

Each episode is packed with highlights, statistics and expert analysis in its 'Around the League' segment. With its interview segments 'Program Profile,' 'Student-Athlete Spotlight' and 'Alumni Focus,' the show will visit with past and present players, coaches and administrators who impact Ivy League basketball.

Fans and alumni can interact with the show via its social media platforms -- Facebook (Inside Ivy League Basketball) and Twitter (@insideivyhoops) -- as well as provide ideas and content for the show’s 'Twitter Talk/Facebook Fodder' segment.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Cornell senior guard Chris Wroblewski (Highland Park, Ill.) was simply dominant in a pair of wins over Yale and Brown, averaging 16.5 points, 9.0 assists, 6.5 rebounds and 2.0 steals while turning the ball over just once all weekend in 76 minutes. Wroblewski shot 50 percent from the floor, 63 percent from three-point range, connected on all four free throw attempts, and even added a block. In the Big Red’s 85-84 overtime win over Yale, he fell just two rebounds shy of Cornell’s first-ever triple double, ending the night with 18 points, 10 assists, eight rebounds and two steals without a turnover in 42 minutes. In the final three minutes of regulation, Wroblewski hit a pair of jumpers, assisted on a huge three-point basket and had three rebounds, including an offensive tap-out that led to a possession that Cornell scored on. In overtime, Wroblewski had an offensive rebound and dished off to an open shooter for a three-pointer to make it a two-possession game, and after Yale cut the deficit to one, hit a fall-away baseline jumper over Yale’s 6-10 Greg Mangano to put Cornell up 84-81 with 27 seconds to play. The following night against Brown he added 15 points, eight assists, five rebounds, two steals and one turnover in the 72-63 victory. He made 3-of-4 shots from beyond the arc and posted nine points and four assists in the decisive second half.

Wroblewski's Statistics for the Week

ROOKIE OF THE WEEK
Dartmouth freshman forward Jvonte Brooks (Santee, Calif.) registered his third and fourth double-doubles of the season over the weekend, posting 11 points and a season-best 13 rebounds at Princeton before scoring a season-high 18 points while hauling in 10 off the glass in a last-second loss at Penn. Brooks had 10 rebounds against the Tigers before 14 minutes had elapsed from the clock in helping the Big Green take a two-point lead into the locker room at the half. Then at Penn, Brooks battled his way to his 18 points, connecting on 12-of-14 at the line, the most made in an Ivy League game this year and which helped Dartmouth battle back from a 15-point deficit in the second half to tie the score in the final minute of play.

Brooks' Statistics for the Week

HONOR ROLL
Brian Barbour, Columbia, Junior, Guard (Alamo, Calif.)    
16 points, 2 rebounds, 9 assists vs. Brown
10 points, 3 rebounds, 7 assists vs. Yale

Johnathan Gray, Cornell, Junior, Guard (Tampa, Fla.)    
29 points, 6 rebounds vs. Yale
16 points, 9 rebounds, 2 assists vs. Brown

Ian Hummer, Princeton, Junior, Forward (Vienna, Va.)    
20 points, 9 rebounds, 6 assists vs. Harvard
4 points, 8 rebounds, 2 blocks vs. Dartmouth

Zack Rosen, Penn, Senior, Guard (Colonia, N.J.)    
16 points, 4 rebounds, 6 assists vs. Harvard
12 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals vs. Dartmouth

Matt Sullivan, Brown, Junior, Guard (Wilmette, Ill.)    
21 points, 3 rebounds at Cornell
17 points, 3 rebounds at Columbia

Reggie Willhite, Yale, Senior, Forward (Elk Grove, Calif.)    
24 points, 3 rebounds, 7 steals at Columbia
9 points, 7 rebounds, 8 assists at Cornell

Keith Wright, Harvard, Senior, Forward (Suffolk, Va.)    
16 points, 12 rebounds, 3 steals at Princeton
4 points, 13 rebounds at Penn

UPCOMING SCHEDULE
Friday, February 17
*Brown at Harvard, 7 pm
*Columbia at Princeton, 7 pm [ESPNU]
*Cornell at Penn, 7 pm
*Yale at Dartmouth, 7 pm

Saturday, February 18
*Cornell at Princeton, 6 pm
*Brown at Dartmouth, 7 pm
*Columbia at Penn, 7 pm
*Yale at Harvard, 7 pm

* Ivy League Contest

KEY:
ESPNU (DirecTV 208, DISH 141, Verizon FiOS 73 (SD), 573 (HD))