Philadelphia, PA (Sports Network) -
OUTLOOK: Last season, the Ivy League was split into two distinct tiers, with
four teams winning 19 or more games and four teams winning 15 or fewer, but
with some of the league's best players from 2011-12 graduated, the balance of
power could be up for grabs.
Harvard had a spectacular season, spending part of the year ranked in the
Top-25 en route to earning it's first-ever outright Ivy League title, and
although it experienced a large turnover in the offseason, it expects to be in
the championship hunt once again. Penn finished just one game behind the
Crimson for the league crown, but the Quakers too may have lost too many
pieces to earn a berth in the 2013 NCAA Tournament. Of the top teams from a
year ago, Princeton (20-12) appears to be in the best shape as the Tigers
return four starters, including arguably the league's best player in Ian
Hummer.
The middle of the pack consists of a pair of overachievers from last season in
Yale (19-10) and Columbia (15-15), and an underachiever in Cornell (12-16).
The Bulldogs rode 6-10 forward Greg Mangano to their best season in a decade,
but with him now gone it's hard to imagine an improved campaign. Columbia
seems likely to take the leap into the elite as the Lions return all five
starters from a year ago.
Dartmouth was very young last season, and finished with only five wins. With a
year of schooling under their belts, the youngsters for the Big Green could be
poised for noticeable improvement.
Brown has some playmaking potential at the guard position, but it did not help
much last year as the team posted just eight wins. If the promise of
Dartmouth's young players prevail, the Bears could be bringing up the rear of
the league standings.
CONFERENCE CHAMPION: Princeton
PREDICTED ORDER OF FINISH: 1. Princeton, 2. Harvard, 3. Penn, 4. Columbia, 5.
Dartmouth, 6. Yale, 7. Cornell, 8 Brown
TEAM BY TEAM ANALYSIS:
PRINCETON: Although at 10-4 in league play the Tigers finished two games
behind first-place Harvard, they still had a successful season in 2011-12,
winning 20 games for the third consecutive year. Mitch Henderson's squad seems
poised to accomplish that feat once again thanks to the return of one of the
league's most dynamic players in Ian Hummer. The 6-7 senior filled up the stat
sheet last year, ranking in the top-10 in the league in scoring (16.1 ppg),
rebounding (7.3 rpg), field goal percentage (.467), assists (3.2 apg), steals
(1.4 spg) and blocks (1.2 bpg). Playing alongside Hummer would make any player
better, and the fact that Princeton returns three other starters will mean a
lot in terms of on-court chemistry. The offense will once again run through
point guard T.J. Bray (7.2 ppg, 3.7 apg), while Mack Darrow (7.0 ppg) and
Brendan Connolly (5.7 ppg, 3.6 rpg) bring valuable experience to the front
court. The team only has three freshmen on the roster, but 7-1 center Edo
Lawrence has the potential to make an impact right away.
HARVARD: The Crimson are coming off their best season in program history with
26 wins and its first outright Ivy League title, earning it a spot in the NCAA
Tournament for the first time since 1946. Repeating their spectacular run may
prove difficult however, as they return just one starter from that
championship squad. Laurent Rivard (10.1 ppg) has 127 three-pointers in his
career, which ranks seventh in program history, and his 40.3 percent shooting
from beyond the arc is fourth-best. Steve Moundou-Missi (4.9 ppg) and
Christian Webster (4.5 ppg) are the only other returning players that logged
significant minutes a season ago. Wesley Saunders (6-5) and Jonah Travis (6-6)
will likely be thrust into the starting lineup, and Harvard hopes to have at
least a few immediate contributors among its five incoming freshmen.
PENN: The Quakers put together a great season in 2011-12, winning 20 games for
the first time in Jerome Allen's three-year tenure as head coach. But at 11-3
in conference they lost out to Harvard for the chance to represent the Ivy
League in the NCAA Tournament. Penn did accept a bid to the CBI Tournament,
where it won its first-round matchup with Quinnipiac, 74-63. There will be
major shakeups in the lineup this season as the Quakers will be without three
starters from a year ago, including unanimous Ivy League Player of the Year in
Zach Rosen (18.2 ppg, 3.2 rpg, 5.2 apg). The top returning performer is Miles
Cartwright, who scored 10.8 ppg and ripped down 2.9 rpg in a supporting role
last year, and those numbers are expected to rise as he ascends to the team's
go-to guy. As a freshman last season, 6-8 forward Henry Brooks saw regular
playing time and averaged 4.6 ppg and 2.5 rpg. Fran Dougherty (4.5 ppg, 4.0
rpg) will join the starting lineup this season, and 6-11 Darien Nelson-Henry
is one of four talented freshmen.
COLUMBIA: The Lions enjoyed a strong start to last season, and even won 11 of
12 games from late-November to early-January, but they faltered down the
stretch to finish 15-15 (4-10 Ivy League). It was still a relatively strong
season for second-year head coach Kyle Smith, who returns all five starters.
Brian Barbour was one of the top scorers in the league a season ago (15.5
ppg), and while he was nearly automatic from the free-throw line (.901), an
improvement upon his .394 field goal percentage would help the team greatly.
Barbour also ranked fifth in assists with 4.4 apg. Meiko Lyles (10.6 ppg) is a
trusty running mate for Barbour at guard as he drained 43.9 percent of his
three-pointers last year, and Mark Cisco (10 ppg, 7.2 rpg) and Alex Rosenberg
(7.2 ppg, 4.2 rpg) provide a steady presence at the forward position. After
averaging just 11 minutes per game as a freshman, Cory Osetkowski (6-11) will
hope to make a larger impact this year for a team in need of a shot-blocker.
DARTMOUTH: It's been a couple of years of turmoil for Paul Cormier's bunch, as
the Big Green have won just 10 games overall in the past two seasons and
finished last in the Ivy League in 2011-12 with a 1-13 record. Things are
looking up for Dartmouth however, as three of its top four scorers from a year
ago were freshmen. Jvonte Brooks (9.4 ppg, 6.6 rpg) and Gabas Maldunas (9.1
ppg, 7.2 rpg, 1.3 bpg) saw playing time from day one last year, and as
sophomores they appear to be part of one of the best frontcourts in the
league. John Golden (7.3 ppg, 3.4 rpg) only expects to get better in his
second season as well. While they seem set at the forward position, the Big
Green appear to be thin at guard once again and will need junior Tyler
Melville and sophomore Mack McKearney to step up their game. We know that
Cormier has no problem playing talented rookies, meaning we could see a
breakout year from Tommy Carpenter (6-7), Connor Boehm (6-7), Kevin Crescenzi
(6-3), Matt Rennie (6-8), or Brandon McDonnell (6-8).
YALE: The Bulldogs put together an impressive season in 2011-12, finishing
19-10 and 9-5 in the league, which resulted in an invite to the
CollegeInsider.com Tournament. It was their first postseason appearance since
qualifying for the NIT back in 2002. Repeating last year's numbers will prove
difficult however, as Yale will be without its top two performers, including
Greg Mangano (18.2 ppg, 9.7 rpg, 2.2 bpg), the most physically imposing force
in the league last season. It appears that the Bulldogs will shift from being
forward heavy to guard heavy, with senior Austin Morgan (11.8 ppg) emerging as
the new top threat in the offense. With an increased role, Morgan's volume of
three pointers (61 treys, .386) is expected to rise. Jeremiah Kreisberg (7.7
ppg) and Michael Grace (5.4 ppg) return to the starting lineup, and sophomores
Isaiah Salafia (3.4 ppg) and Jesse Pritchard (2.2 ppg) also have experience
starting games.
CORNELL: Just a few years ago the Big Red were a perennial power in the Ivy
League, but in Bill Courtney's first two seasons as head coach they have not
lived up to the standard they set by winning the league title in 2008, 2009
and 2010. Cornell went just 12-16 last year (7-7 Ivy League) and Courtney is
now 22-34 since taking the reins. It figures to be another difficult season in
Ithaca as the team will be without it's two top performers from last season in
Chris Wroblewski (11.5 ppg, 5.3 apg, 4.7 rpg) and Drew Ferry (11.3 ppg). In
their absence, sophomore forward Shonn Miller (8.9 ppg) appears to be the new
go-to guy on offense. Miller is also a force in the paint as he led the team
in both rebounding (6.1 rpg) and blocks (1.6 bpg) last season. Johnathan Gray
(8.8 ppg) and Galal Cancer (6.1 ppg) will be the starting guards, but neither
shot better than 38.1 percent from the field in 2011-12.
BROWN: The Bears did not experience much success last season, going just 8-22
overall and 2-12 in league play, placing above only Dartmouth in the
standings. This season marks the start of a new era for the program as former
Penn assistant coach and Brown player Mike Martin was named the 31st head
coach in school history. While the overall philosophy may be different, the
Bears' catalyst will still be Sean McGonagill, who returns for his junior
season. McGonagill was one of the league's best playmakers last year, ranking
sixth in scoring (13.5 ppg), ninth in three-pointers made (56), 10th in steals
per game (1.2), and first in assists per game (5.4). The team also welcomes
back top performers in guards Stephen Albrecht (10.2 ppg, 60 3-pointers) and
Matt Sullivan (9.8 ppg, 56 3-pointers). While the Bears figure to have depth
out on the perimeter, they may struggle in the paint as the departed Andrew
McCarthy was one of the strongest post presences in the league with 7.3 rpg
and more than a block per game. Senior Tyler Ponticelli (6-8) will likely take
McCarthy's starting forward spot.
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