Ivy League Favorites Meet Weekend Expectations

In a highly anticipated weekend, Harvard men’s basketball did exactly what it needed to do, riding to victories over Columbia and Cornell by an average margin of 16 points. In doing so, the Crimson has run it winning streak to eight games and remains atop the Ivy League standings with a 4-0 conference record.

But the Crimson wasn’t the only squad that made a splash over the weekend. In fact, each of the Ancient Eight's clubs played on both Friday and Saturday. And after the dust settled, three teams are undefeated in league play: Harvard and perennial Ivy League powerhouses Penn (8-8, 2-0 Ivy) and Princeton (14-4, 2-0).

In its league opener Friday night, the Quakers faced off against Yale (9-9, 2-2) at home. After scoring 24 of the game’s first 30 points, Penn was in command and never relinquished the lead, holding on to beat the Bulldogs 66-58. The following night, the Quakers met up with a weak Brown squad (7-11, 0-4). Not able to finish the job in regulation, Penn squeaked out a win in OT, 80-78.

Princeton also played host to Brown and Yale in its league-opening games. The Tigers started the weekend on a strong foot, coasting to an easy 78-60 win over the Bears.  Princeton continued its solid play in the early going the next day against Yale, at one time up by 13 points. But the Bulldogs made it interesting, narrowing the difference to one point with only 90 seconds left before the Tigers regained the upper hand, eventually taking it 67-63.

For all three teams, the real tests begin next weekend, as Princeton and Penn host Harvard on Friday and Saturday nights, respectively. By this time next week, we’ll have at least one fewer undefeated team and a better idea of who will take the Ivy League crown.