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Men's Basketball Preview for March 1-2
Complete Men's Basketball Weekly Release in pdf
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Photo courtesy of Harvard Athletic Communications
PRINCETON, N.J. -- "The 14-Game Tournament" for Ivy League men's basketball comes down to one important game on Friday, March 1 at Jadwin Gymnasium as first-place Harvard takes on second-place Princeton in a return matchup that can be seen live at 7 p.m. on ESPNU and WatchESPN.com.
The Crimson (17-7, 9-1 Ivy League) comes into the matchup poised to make one step closer in capturing this year's Ivy title outright with a victory. That victory will not come easy for head coach Tommy Amaker's squad, which has not won on the Tigers' (14-9, 7-2 Ivy) home court in 23 years.
Two of the League's Player of the Year candidates will be on display with Harvard sophomore forward Wesley Saunders (16.7 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 3.7 apg) going up against Princeton senior forward Ian Hummer (16.1 ppg, 6.3 rpg, 4.3 apg). The tandem has shared Player of the Week honors three times this season with Hummer setting the single-season record with six Player of the Week awards. Saunders is close behind with five Player of Week honors of his own.
A game of this magnitude could come down to play at the guard position, especially at the point, and both teams have had solid play from that position all season. Princeton junior guard T.J. Bray (8.7 ppg, 3.8 apg) is in his second season being the Tigers' floor general and his has produced. He has dished an assist in 55 straight games and has doled out 53 assists to only 18 turnovers in Princeton's 11 wins over its last 14 games. Harvard freshman Siyani Chambers has shined in his first year at the point for the Crimson, sitting among the NCAA Division I leaders in assists per game at 5.9 to go along with his 13.0 ppg average.
Just behind Harvard and Princeton in the standings, there is still a lot of basketball to be played, especially amongst Cornell (13-14, 5-5 Ivy), Yale (11-16, 5-5 Ivy) and Penn (7-19, 4-5) to see which team may end the season in the top half of the League.
The Big experienced a setback last weekend with losses to Penn and Princeton but strives to get back on the positive side of the ledger in its final home weekend of the season against Brown (10-14, 4-6 Ivy) and Yale. Cornell swept the two just two weekends prior so head coach Bill Courtney hopes his team is up for a repeat performance to remain in the top half of the League. Sophomore forward Shonn Miller (11.5 ppg, 6.8 rpg, 1.9 bpg) and senior guard Johnathan Gray (10.0 ppg, 3.1 rpg) lead the Big Red, which is 11-1 this season when scoring 68 points or more.
Yale has won two of its last three games and enter the weekend with a three-game winning streak at Columbia (11-13, 3-7 Ivy). The Bulldogs split with the two New York teams earlier this season and are looking for their first Columbia-Cornell road sweep since the 2002-03 season. Over the last three games, Yale has seen almost identical production from the trio of freshman forward Justin Sears (10.0 ppg, 3.3 rpg), sophomore forward Matt Townsend (10.0 ppg, 3.0) and sophomore guard Javier Duren (9.7 ppg, 2.0 rpg).
Penn has been getting some improved play from its guard play as well as the Quakers have been victorious in two of their last three games. Junior Miles Cartwright, who just became the 38th player in school history to reach 1,000 career points, paces the team at 13.6 ppg with freshman guard Tony Hicks coming into his own, averaging 13.8 ppg in conference play sparked by a career-high 29 points at Cornell on Feb. 22.
Mike Martin's Bears also have a chance to finish above .500 in overall and in the League with a strong finish over the final two weekends. Senior guard Matthew Sullivan is in position to top his career in fine fashion and maybe put Brown in consideration for a postseason opportunity. Sullivan enters the weekend just 16 points shy of becoming the school's 26th 1,000-point scorer and just two games away from tying the school record of 115 games played, currently held by Adrian Williams (2007-11).
Brown (10-14, 4-6 Ivy) at Cornell
(13-14, 5-5 Ivy)
Date: Friday, March 1 – 7 p.m.
Location: Newman Arena • Ithaca, N.Y.
Brown-Cornell Series: Cornell leads, 73-45
Last Meeting: Cornell 69, Brown 66 • 2/16/13
• Providence, R.I.
Live Stats | Video
Brown Game Notes | Cornell Game Notes
Dartmouth (6-18, 2-8 Ivy) at Penn (7-19, 4-5
Ivy)
Date: Friday, March 1 – 7 p.m.
Location: The Palestra • Philadelphia
Dartmouth-Penn Series: Penn leads, 148-56
Last Meeting: Penn 67, Dartmouth 57 •
2/16/13 • Hanover, N.H.
Live Stats | Video
Dartmouth Game Notes | Penn Game Notes
Harvard (17-7, 9-1 Ivy) at Princeton (14-9, 7-2 Ivy)
Date: Friday, March 1 – 7 p.m.
Location: Jadwin Gymnasium • Princeton,
N.J.
Television: ESPNU/WatchESPN.com
Harvard-Princeton Series: Princeton leads,
128-41
Last Meeting: Harvard 69, Princeton 57 •
2/16/13 • Cambridge, Mass.
Live Stats | Video
Harvard Game Notes | Princeton Game Notes
Yale (11-16, 5-5 Ivy) at Columbia (11-13,
3-7 Ivy)
Date: Friday, March 1 – 7 p.m.
Location: Levien Gymnasium • New York
Yale-Columbia Series: Columbia leads, 122-101
Last Meeting: Yale 75, Columbia 56 • 2/16/13
• New Haven, Conn.
Live Stats | Video
Yale Game Notes | Columbia Game Notes
Dartmouth at Princeton
Date: Saturday, March 2 – 6 p.m.
Location: Jadwin Gymnasium • Princeton,
N.J.
Dartmouth-Princeton Series: Princeton leads,
143-61
Last Meeting: Princeton 73, Dartmouth 55 •
2/15/13 • Hanover, N.H.
Live Stats | Video
Dartmouth Game Notes | Princeton Game Notes
Harvard at Penn
Date: Saturday, March 2 – 6
p.m.
Location: The Palestra • Philadelphia
Television: NBC Sports
Network
Harvard-Penn Series: Penn leads,
128-35
Last Meeting: Harvard 73, Penn 54 • 2/15/13
• Cambridge, Mass.
Live Stats | Audio
Harvard Game Notes | Penn Game Notes
Brown at Columbia
Date: Saturday, March 2 – 7 p.m.
Location: Levien Gymnasium • New York
Brown-Columbia Series: Columbia leads, 68-62
Last Meeting: Brown 58, Columbia 55 •
2/15/13 • Providence, R.I.
Live Stats | Video
Brown Game Notes | Columbia Game Notes
Yale at Cornell
Date: Saturday, March 2 – 7 p.m.
Location: Newman Arena • Ithaca, N.Y.
Yale-Cornell Series: Cornell leads, 110-103
Last Meeting: Cornell 68, Yale 61 • 2/15/13
• New Haven, Conn.
Live Stats | Video
Yale Game Notes | Cornell Game Notes
