AROUND THE IVIES: Stressful Season Comes to a Close

Stress is an all-too-familiar phenomenon around Cambridge, Mass., this time of year. Stray more than 10 steps into the Science Center, and you’re bound to hear someone wailing about a midterm, a paper, or an extra five minutes of section. Wah, wah, wah.

In last week’s Around the Ivies, I offered a salute to the Ivy fans that come out to support their teams and hurl abuse at their more athletic peers. This week, I’d like to give it up for the players, struggling through the end of a physically and emotionally taxing basketball season while still hurdling the same general academic obstacles that the rest of us face.

I came to the realization the other day that, given my current lifestyle, there’s almost no chance I sustain a serious injury. I walk everywhere—no risk of car or bike crash—and loaf my way through games of pickup hoops at the MAC. The biggest danger I face on a regular basis is that I tilt back too audaciously in my desk chair and concuss myself on my laundry basket.

If I played Division I basketball, I would have to deal with the inevitable wear and tear on my body, in addition to the palpable risk of landing on my ankle and mangling a ligament into spaghetti. And God forbid something serious should happen. I’d probably drop out if I broke my arm. How am I supposed to stabilize and butter my Brain Break bagel with one good wing? It’s too much to contemplate.

So here’s to the ones who face down that danger every week and still take their midterms, even when they have to hobble to get there. Let’s finish out the year in prime bagel-buttering shape.

COLUMBIA at HARVARD

The last time these two teams met, in the aftermath of Nemo, Columbia stunned the Crimson by a comfortable 15 points in New York, largely due to the hot-shooting hand of junior guard Steve Frankoski, who finished with 27 points and hit five of his seven three-point attempts. But Harvard will be fully aware that it can’t afford another loss and vigilant in its three-point defense. I’m anticipating an easy victory and a bounce-back performance from Crimson point guard Siyani Chambers.

Pick: Harvard

PRINCETON at YALE

On Feb. 9, the Bulldogs outlasted Princeton, 69-65, at Jadwin Gymnasium in what was perhaps the most impressive road win of the Ivy season. Now the Tigers travel to New Haven, where Yale has played much better basketball—the Bulldogs shoot 50.8 percent from the field at home, compared to 37.8 percent on the road, and score 16.1 more points per game. This game represents the beginning of Princeton’s three-game road gauntlet to claim the Ivy title, and it might end up being the toughest test of the bunch.

Pick: Yale

CORNELL at DARTMOUTH

If a basketball game is played in the forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?

Pick: Dartmouth

PENN at BROWN

In strategy and execution, Penn outplayed Harvard on Saturday night. The Quakers threw a variety of defenders at Crimson point guard Siyani Chambers, consistently applying pressure in the backcourt and accepting the series of borderline fouls that came as a result. Harvard also failed to contain Penn’s pick and roll offense; freshman forward Darien Nelson-Henry and his soft hands punished the Crimson, as he drove to the basket over and over on his way to 18 points and 11 rebounds. The young Quakers don’t have a single senior on their roster, like Harvard two seasons ago, and could be an early Ivy darkhorse in the fall of 2013.

Pick: Penn

PRINCETON at BROWN

I remember softly chuckling to myself during the press conference that followed Harvard’s 65-47 drubbing of Brown on Feb. 22. First-year Bears coach Mike Martin was close to rending his garments in frustration. “We will not accept that type of performance,” Martin growled at the assembled reporters. Come on, Mikey, I thought, it’s time to grow up. You guys have been doormats for a while, and that’s not going to change overnight. Fast forward a week and a half, and Brown is now on a three-game winning streak, including a road sweep of Columbia and Cornell that boosted it to a tie for third place in the conference standings. Crimson fans can hope Martin throws a couple chairs and gets his boys to make a serious run at the Tigers on Saturday.

Pick: Princeton

PENN at YALE

Did you know that “Penn Quakers” is an anagram for “Prank Queens”? I’m not sure what the implications are here, but they must be significant. Similarly, we can rearrange “Yale Bulldogs” to get “Balls-ugly Ode,” which is as apt a description of “Boola Boola” as I have ever heard.

Pick: Yale

COLUMBIA at DARTMOUTH

Get the shotgun out of the shed, Pa, it’s the mercy game: the final time the league’s two cellar-dwelling teams will set foot on the court this season. It’s hard to get a good read on Columbia. Despite their 4-8 Ivy record, the Lions have only been outscored by 1.0 point per game in conference play—but I don’t mean to suggest that they’re consistent. The final margin in five of Columbia’s eight Ivy losses was four points or less, and the other three came by an average of 16.7 points. On the other side, it’s pretty clear what Dartmouth is all about: losing early and often. Expect the Big Green to out-awful the Lions in this one.

Pick: Columbia

CORNELL at HARVARD

The Crimson’s Ivy season comes to a close when the Big Red comes to town Saturday night (*tear*). Assuming both Harvard and Princeton take care of business this weekend, the conference championship will be determined for the second year in a row by a Tuesday-night matchup between the Tigers and Penn. Last season, it was Princeton that derailed the Quakers’ hopes of forcing a one-game playoff with Harvard with an emphatic 10-point home victory. Next week, the Tigers will travel to the Palestra with a good chance of wrapping the Ivy title up outright. If the Crimson’s March dreams are to stay alive, it may well require the script to be flipped.

Pick: Harvard

PRINCETON at PENN

Bonus game! I’ll let Gary Wright take this one. What a beautiful hymn:

I have just closed my eyes again/Climbed aboard the Dream Weaver train/Driver, take away my worries of today/And leave tomorrow behind.

Dream Weaver/I believe [Penn] can get [Harvard to the NCAA Tournament]

Dream Weaver/I believe [Princeton] can [fall apart on the road at the Palestra].

—Staff writer Andrew R. Mooney can be reached at mooney@college.harvard.edu. Follow him on Twitter @mooneyar.