Ivy League NCAA Basketball Tourney: Penn vs Princeton
by Charles Jay
The final game of the Ivy League season tips off on Tuesday night, as the Penn Quakers travel to the state of New Jersey to take on the Princeton Tigers.
Penn Quakers @ Princeton Tigers
Tuesday, March 9th – 8:05 PM ET
Jadwin Gym, Princeton, NJ
College Basketball Betting Spread: Princeton -13
The Week That Was: Penn
Coach Jerome Allen’s club is a far cry from the great Penn teams of recent years. The Quakers did win once in the past week, but that victory came against the doormat of the Ivy League. When pitted against an upper-tier team in the conference, Penn let a very big fish get away.
The week began for Penn on Friday, March 5, as Allen’s athletes hosted Harvard. Penn owned a 66-62 lead with 2:05 left, but then faltered down the stretch. Penn went scoreless in the final two minutes, while Harvard scored five points, the final two coming on a pair of Kyle Casey free throws with 12 seconds left. The Crimson took a 67-66 lead, and when the Quakers’ Mike Howlett missed a jumper at the final horn, Penn absorbed yet another stomach-punch loss.
The next night, on Saturday, March 6, Pennsylvania righted the ship by turning back a woeful Dartmouth team, 78-68. The Big Green have only one win in the Ivy League this season, and Penn made sure that total didn’t grow. Forward Jack Eggleston scored 25 points and pulled down 11 boards for the Quakers, who hit 52 percent of their shots.
The Week That Was: Princeton
The Tigers are in position to claim second place for themselves in the Ivy League, and very likely nail down an NIT bid along with the Harvard team they pushed to third place.
On Friday, March 5, the Tigers got in a nice little scrimmage, as they dumped Dartmouth, 71-43. Princeton rolled to a 39-20 halftime advantage and built a 61-29 bulge before coasting to the finish line. A total of 12 different Tiger players scored, as coach Sydney Johnson’s team hit 50 percent of its field goal attempts.
On Saturday, March 6, the Tigers took care of second place by edging Harvard, 54-51. The Crimson took a 51-50 lead with 1:15 to go in regulation, but Marcus Schroeder hit two foul shots to give Princeton a 52-51 lead. Harvard star Jeremy Lin had two chances to give the Crimson the lead, but when he missed a layup at the 16-second mark of regulation, the Tigers were able to get the rebound. Schroeder hit two more free throws with 12 seconds remaining, and Princeton held on.
Outlook & Pick:
Penn is 6-21 on the season, while Princeton stands at 19-8. The game is being played at Princeton. The Tigers are very much aware of the fact that they can nail down undisputed possession of second place in the ultra-competitive Ivy League. Moreover, Cornell – the champion of the Ivies in 2010 – barely escaped Jadwin Gym with a victory. The Tigers should spank the Quakers in rather comprehensive fashion.
