Teams Ready For Ivy Rumble

On Friday, in the biggest men’s basketball game in school history, Harvard will face Cornell. Ever heard of it? (Its most famous alum is Andy Bernard).

Last weekend, Penn did the unthinkable and, with a 3-15 record, soundly defeated the then-No. 22 Big Red, 79-64. The score elicited double takes around the country with some calling it the biggest upset of the college basketball season.

Cornell bounced back the next night against Princeton in a battle for first place in the Ivy League. The Big Red survived a last-second three from Douglas Davis to escape with a gritty 48-45 win.

Meanwhile, the Crimson escaped an upset bid from Yale, rallying from three points down in the final minute. A free throw by sophomore Oliver McNally with 1.4 seconds left forced overtime, where Harvard edged Yale despite having Jeremy Lin on the bench after fouling out.

The following night against Brown, the Crimson pulled away late, winning 81-67, thanks largely to a monster effort from its two healthy big men, co-captain Doug Miller and freshman Kyle Casey.

Where does all this leave the Ivies?

Three teams control their own destiny. Cornell and Princeton will win the league outright if either runs the table, whereas Harvard will clinch at least a share of the title if it manages to win out. For that reason, the playoffs start tonight in Lavietes.

The Big Red is easily the favorite. Three weeks ago, it embarrassed the Crimson in Ithaca with an 86-50 drubbing. Jeff Foote scored at will. Cornell knocked down 12 threes. Lin led Harvard with eight turnovers.

Since then, the Crimson has lost another big man, sophomore Andrew Van Nest—this time to pneumonia (Van Nest and classmate Keith Wright are out of tonight’s game, and senior Pat Magnarelli is questionable with a high ankle sprain).

Yet the outlook is surprisingly bright for tonight’s contest. The Crimson is riding a wave of good karma after its first road sweep in 10 years, due mostly to the freshmen getting over their winter swoon: Casey won Ivy Player of the Week, Brandyn Curry carried Harvard on his back late in the Yale game, and both Christian Webster and Dee Giger found their stroke.

The Big Red, on the other hand, is not playing its best ball, with its shocking loss to Penn (which Harvard beat by 14 previously) and a narrow (albeit impressive) win over the Tigers.

The last outcome, 86-50, looms, but every sports movie has an equivalent. Henry Rowengartner surrendered a homerun, hit a batter, and threw a wild pitch in his first appearance for the Cubs in Rookie of the Year. The Little Giants trailed the Cowboys by 21 points at halftime. The Mighty Ducks lost to the Hawks 17-0 before beating them to win the state championship. The Jamaicans finished last in the first heat of Cool Runnings (maybe a bad example because they ultimately lose, but who isn’t jacked up by these Winter Olympics! No?).

For a real-life example, the Soviets beat team USA 10-3 before the Miracle on Ice.

I don’t know if this Crimson team is destined for Hollywood. All I know is, I…I Believe…I Believe That…I Believe That We…

CORNELL (21-4, 7-1 Ivy) at HARVARD (17-5, 6-2 Ivy)

…I Believe That We Will Play Very Well.

Harvard is certainly capable of taking down Cornell. It has the best player on the court in Lin, the hottest player in the league in Casey, and a raucous home crowd that is finally earning the “Crimson Crazies” moniker.

But Cornell has far more weapons with as many as seven players capable of leading the team in scoring. It can go inside and outside, play on the break or in the half court.

Whether or not Magnarelli can offer meaningful minutes will be critical. In Ithaca, Foote abused every defender the Crimson threw at him, and Harvard is even more shorthanded now. I don’t know that Magnarelli can hold up, and for that reason, the smart money is on Cornell.

Pick: Cornell 74, Harvard 70.

YALE (10-15, 4-4 Ivy) at PRINCETON (15-6, 6-1 Ivy)

The Bulldogs showed a lot of fight against the Crimson last weekend. Ultimately, the team sinks or swims with standout Alex Zampier, who is terrifying to both his opponents and his teammates. He can catch fire and light it up, or he can force it and kill the offense.

Game after game, Princeton proves its worth. The three-point loss to the Big Red was nothing to hang its head over, and it bounced back nicely with a 58-51 win against Penn at the Palestra. I see the Tigers protecting their home court and continuing to roll.

Pick: Princeton 56, Yale 47.

BROWN (8-17, 2-6 Ivy) at PENN (4-17, 3-4 Ivy)

The overall records of these two teams are misleading. The last six games provide a clearer picture: Brown, 1-5, and Penn, 3-3. The Quakers topped the Bears three weeks ago on a contentious tip-in at the buzzer. That game was in Providence. This game is in Philadelphia, the fourth of five straight home games for Penn. Zack Rosen’s reputation continues to grow after engineering the upset over Cornell (“We expected to win,” he deadpanned after the game). I like the resurgent Quakers grabbing another win over struggling Brown.

Pick: Penn 70, Brown 64.

COLUMBIA (9-13, 3-5 Ivy) at DARTMOUTH (4-18, 0-8 Ivy)

Dartmouth is doomed by its inability to score. Only three times this season have the Big Green scored more than 60 points (by comparison Cornell and Harvard have scored less than 60 points a total of four times combined). Dartmouth will only win a game if the other team beats itself. I can’t predict when that will happen. I’ll guess it’s not tonight.

Pick: Columbia 67, Dartmouth 61.

BROWN at PRINCETON

The Bears’ front line of Mullery, Sullivan, Halpern, and McCarthy is its supposed strength, yet it all but disappeared against a very shorthanded Crimson team. Brown is simply incapable of winning without those four. I see Princeton winning this game and setting the stage for another first-place showdown with the Big Red.

Pick: Princeton 55, Brown 50.

YALE at PENN

Yale handled Penn last time the two squared off, 61-48. In that game, the Quakers shot an abysmal 1-for-18 on three-pointers. This Penn team is playing with far more swagger now than in January, when it was 1-14. But Yale has also been playing well for the last month. The Bulldogs’ only bad league loss came at the start of conference play against Brown. The winner of this game will likely claim sole possession of fourth place in the Ivy. I give Yale the slight edge.

Pick: Yale 68, Penn 66.

CORNELL at DARTMOUTH

This could get ugly. The Dartmouth team might have more fun if it goes to see Shutter Island instead.

Pick: Cornell 80, Dartmouth 60.

COLUMBIA at HARVARD

Columbia’s wins have come against some of the worst teams in college basketball: Bryant, Bucknell, Wagner, American, Dartmouth, Brown, and Penn all have an RPI lower than 250. Harvard is banged up and is facing the Lions on the back end of the weekend, but it would be a monumental upset if Columbia prevailed.

Pick: Harvard 70, Columbia 64.

RECORD LAST WEEK: 6-2 (To date: 19-5).

—Staff writer Timothy J. Walsh can be reached at twalsh@fas.harvard.edu.