Judging by preseason predictions and early-season results, the Cornell men’s basketball team seems to be the likely favorite to win the Ivy League.
The Big Red started the season off with a strong nonconference campaign. It was led by senior forward Ryan Wittman, who earned Co-Ivy League Player of the Week honors for the week of Nov. 30 and broke the Ivy League record for career 3-pointers with 288. Wittman has averaged 17.1 points, 3.1 rebounds, and 2.6 assists per game through the first seven contests. After losing to Syracuse, ranked eighth in the country as of Nov. 30, 88-73, Cornell has won three consecutive matchups. The senior-laden squad defeated Toledo 78-60, Vermont 67-59, and Drexel 61-54.
Harvard began the season in similar fashion, jumping out to a 5-1 record. Senior guard Jeremy Lin has led the Crimson in points with 16.3 per game and in assists with five per game. After losing in a close contest at Army 56-53, the Crimson beat up New Hampshire 78-60, and defeated crosstown rival Boston University 78-70. Against the Terriers, the Crimson was down for most of the second half until it rallied and pulled away with 1:27 left in the second half thanks to Lin, who scored a game-high 19 points.
Brown fared well this past week, picking up wins in two of three contests and improving to 4-4 on the year. Sophomore guard Garrett Leffelman performed some late game heroics against Bryant University when he hit a layup with one second left on the clock to win the game 70-68. The Bears have relied on the play of junior forward Matt Mullery, who has averaged 16.8 points, 2.6 assists and 5.8 rebounds per game. Brown cruised by the University of the Sciences with a 69-48 win but lost this past Saturday to the Siena Saints 99-79. Against the balanced Siena squad, which has gone to the NCAA tournament the past two years, Mullery scored 23 points.
Princeton has lost three straight road games to Army 56-52, George Washington University 65-50 and California 81-60. The Tigers have been led by junior guard Dan Mavraides and sophomore guard Douglas Davis who have averaged 11.2 and 9.8 points per game, respectively. Princeton’s record is now 2-3.
Yale went 1-2 to fall to a 2-5 overall record. The Bulldogs lost to Charlotte 88-74 as senior forward Jordan Gibson scored a career-high 25 points. Yale came back to defeat Elon 69-65 thanks to the help of junior guard Porter Braswell who sank four free throws and made a critical steal in the final 13 seconds. However, Army continued to beat up on the Ancient Eight by defeating Yale 64-48.
Dartmouth has had a rough start to the year as it has lost two out of its last three games. After being down by only one with 11:33 left in the second half, the Big Green was only able to score three points the rest of the game as they fell to Loyola (Md.) 58-41. The Big Green responded by beating Hartford 68-56 with a strong contribution by senior guard Robby Pride who scored 19 points. Dartmouth then lost to Vermont at home 63-58 in a close contest. No dominant scorer has emerged for the Big Green, which currently has a record of 1-5.
Penn is still looking for its first win after losing its first four games. The Quakers have lost to Penn State 70-55, No. 3 Villanova, 103-65, Delaware 97-94 (2 OT) and most recently Delaware 58-49. In the double-overtime thriller versus the Fighting Blue Hens, the Quakers were led by sophomore guard Zack Rosen who scored 25 points. Penn will face Navy on Friday.
Columbia’s own sophomore guard Noruwa Agho was named Ivy League Co-Player of the Week for the second straight week. Agho’s tremendous scoring ability, 19.6 points per game, has been on display throughout the first five games of the season. Despite his performance, Columbia has fallen to 2-3. Agho, who is currently the nation’s leader in 3-point field goal percentage, went seven for eight from behind the arc in a 73-59 win against Bucknell and four for seven in a 85-60 loss to Syracuse.
On Thursday, Princeton will remain in-state as they travel to Rutgers, and Columbia will face Lehigh at home.
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