Tag: Ivy League Basketball

Yale Men’s Basketball Picked To Capture Ivy League Crown

Yale Bulldogs

By NoontimeSports.com 

Yale University received a special honor on Wednesday as the Bulldogs were picked to capture the Ivy League crown, according to the league’s preseason media poll.

The Bulldogs earned the top spot in an extremely close vote – it is the first time Yale was pegged to finish atop the Ancient Eight since the preseason media poll began 31 years ago.

Yale garnered five first-place votes, earning 117 points, while Columbia University (six first-place votes) and Princeton University (six first-place votes) were picked to finish second and third, respectively.

Harvard University collected 96 points, which was good enough for fourth place, while Brown University was picked fifth, Dartmouth College sixth, University of Pennsylvania seventh and Cornell University eighth.

Last season, the Bulldogs were picked to finish second, but wound up sharing the Ivy League title with Harvard, which defeated Yale in a one-game playoff by two points (53-51). The Crimson then went onto compete in the NCAA Tournament, but fell in the second round to University of North Carolina.

“The vote was really close so the league is wide open,” Yale head coach James Jones said in a press release. “I feel good about where our team is [in the preseason], and it is nice to be recognized.”

Yale begins its season on Friday, November 13 when they take on Fairfield University in the Connecticut Six Classic with tipoff scheduled for 3:00 p.m. The Bulldogs will face Harvard twice this coming season with the initial meeting scheduled to occur on Saturday, February 13 in Cambridge at 7:00 p.m.

Mass. College Hoops: Siyani Chambers’ Jumper Lifts Harvard Past Columbia (VIDEO)

By Matt Noonan 

With the score knotted at 68-68, Harvard’s Siyani Chambers pushed the Crimson ahead for good by sinking the go-ahead jumper with 2.9 seconds remaining that sealed a 72-68 win over Columbia on Friday evening in Cambridge.

Columbia evened the score at 68-68 with a trifecta from Jeff Coby, but Harvard responded roughly six seconds later when Chambers dribbled down court and pulled up inside the arc from the far side.

Wesley Saunders, who was fouled following a Columbia turnover on the ensuing possesion, sank back-to-back free throws to secure Harvard’s 16th win of the season and sixth in the Ancient Eight.

Below is Chambers’ jumper, courtesy of the Harvard University Athletic Department’s YouTube Channel:

For a recap of the game – HOP HERE

Mass. College Hoops: Friday Evening Roundup

Temi Fagbenle registered a double-double with 14 points and 12 rebounds against Columbia! (Photo Credit: The Harvard Crimson)
Temi Fagbenle registered a double-double with 14 points and 12 rebounds against Columbia! (Photo Credit: The Harvard Crimson)

By Matt Noonan 

Another evening of college basketball is in the books and below are the local game summaries.

Men’s Basketball: 

Harvard 56, Columbia 51 – Siyani Chambers tallied a game-best 16 points, Wesley Saunders netted 15 points as the Crimson defeated the Lions and improved to 18-9 overall and 10-3 in the Ivy League. Harvard is now one-half game behind Princeton University in the Ancient Eight standings.

Women’s Basketball: 

Harvard 61, Columbia 44 – Temi Fagbenle finished with 14 points and 12 rebounds, Victoria Lippert recorded a team-best 15 points as the Crimson topped the Lions and improved to 18-8 overall and 9-3 in Ivy League play.

Amherst College 47, Tufts University 42 – Hayley Kanner‘s game-best 12 points wasn’t enough to help the Jumbos as the Lord Jeffs defeated their NESCAC rival in third round of the NCAA Division III tournament and earned a spot in tomorrow’s quarterfinals against Widener. Bridget Crowley led Amherst with 10 points, while Marcia Voigt filled the stat sheet with 10 boards, seven assists, four steals and four points. Amherst led Tufts at the break, 25-17.

Williams College 64, Ithaca College 60 (OT) – Jennie Harding scored five of her 19 points in overtime, while Claire Baecher finished with 19 points and 10 rebounds as the Ephs defeated the Bombers in the third round of the tournament. Ithaca College received game-high 22 points from Kathryn Campbell, but that wasn’t enough to beat Williams. The Ephs will return to the hardwood tomorrow when they host Whitman in the quarterfinals.   

Mass. College Hoops: Five Games To Watch This Weekend (Feb. 15-17)

By NoontimeSports.com 

It’s Friday, which means it is officially time to unveil our five college basketball games to watch this weekend. And as noted on this week’s hockey game post, make sure to check back throughout the weekend for recaps and roundups.

Also, make sure to follow us on Twitter (@NoontimeSports or @NoonSportsBlog) and Facebook (Facebook.com/NoonSports).

Men’s Basketball:

Princeton at Harvard (Saturday, 7:00 p.m.) – After last week’s shocker against Columbia, Harvard now has one blemish on their conference mark. However, they can certainly turn the page with back-to-back wins against Penn on Friday and Princeton on Saturday.

Princeton remains a half game behind Harvard for first in the Ivy League, and enters the weekend having won one of their last three games.

Harvard ranks 11th in the country in field goal percentage (.487%) and 94th in assists per game (14.2). Wesley Saunders has tallied 10 points or more in every game this season, as well as registered a season-high 27 points against Columbia.

WPI at Clark University (Saturday, 3:00 p.m.) – After earning two back-to-back losses to MIT and Springfield College, the Engineers will look to conclude their regular season with a victory against the Cougars, a squad that’s dropped two straight.

WPI was ranked second in the country last week, but their loss to Springfield dropped them three spots. The Engineers, though, are most likely not worried about their spot in the recent D3Hoops.com rankings, but instead, capping their successful campaign with a win.

Keep your eyes on Clark’s Brian Vayda (16.9 points per game) and WPI’s Marco Coppola (15.8), as both players will be the players to watch in tomorrow’s contest.

Mount Ida College at Anna Maria College (Saturday, 3:00 p.m.) The AMCATs enter the final weekend of the regular season with a 14 game winning streak. Coach Shawn Conrad told Noontime Sports that their game against Mount Ida College earlier this season was a turning point. And ever since their 72-62 victory against the Mustangs in Newton, the AMCATs have been unstoppable.

Anna Maria’s Anthony Clink ranks second in the GNAC (Great Northeast Athletic Conference) in points per game (19.5), while Mount Ida’s Kenny Jean ranks fourth in field goal percentage (55.4%).

Women’s Basketball:

Harvard at Princeton (Saturday, 6:00 p.m.) – Similar to the men’s game, this particular clash is very important too.

Harvard’s won three straight, while Princeton is on a seven-game winning streak. The Crimson’s only blemish in Ivy League play came against Dartmouth College on January 26.

Princeton ranks first in scoring, while Harvard ranks second with 68.6 points per game. The Tigers are first in scoring defense and have limited their opponents to roughly 54 points per game.

Excluding team statistics, this game will feature the league’s two best scorers – Princeton’s Niveen Rasheed (321 points) and Harvard’s Christine Clark (316 points).

Adelphi at Assumption College (Saturday, 1:30 p.m.) – This particular tilt is an important one for the Hounds, who’re currently tied for third place in the Northeast-10 Conference with UMass Lowell.

Last time Adelphi and Assumption met; the Panthers defeated the Hounds, 66-58. Assumption finished the contest 23 of 65 from the field, while Adelphia managed to connect on 23 of 52 shots.

Assumption will certainly lean on Gabrielle Gibson, who is third in the conference in points per game (16.8). Adelphi will counter with Jessica Kitrys, whose second in the conference in points per game (17.8). 

Mass. College Hoops: Harvard Tops Yale, Improves To 3-0 In Ivy League (VIDEO)

By Matt Noonan

The Harvard University men’s basketball team earned its third win in the Ivy League on Friday evening, as the Crimson defeated the visiting Yale Bulldogs, 67-64. Wesley Saunders recorded his first collegiate double-double in the win with 15 points and a career-high 11 assists, while Laurent Rivard netted 15 points.

Harvard led Yale at the break, 40-27, but the Bulldogs outscored the Crimson during the second session, 37-27. Armani Cotton paced the Bulldogs with a team-high 14 points, while Austin Morgan tallied nine points.

The Crimson finished the game 23 of 42 from the field, 8 of 13 from beyond the arc, 13 of 22 at the stripe and 24 rebounds. Below is a highlight package from the Harvard’s YouTube channel.

Mass. College Hoops: News And Notes From Saturday’s Slate

By Matt Noonan 

There were some interesting outcomes on Saturday in the college basketball world, and below are a few thoughts on the various games.

* I want to congratulate the Bentley University women’s basketball team for earning their 30th consecutive win against an East Region opponent, as Barbara Stevens guided the Falcons to 75-66 win against New Haven. Courtney Finn registered her second straight double-double, while Tyler Parker Kimball recorded a career-best 15 rebounds in 20 minutes. The Falcons are now 17-0 and 13-0 in Northeast-10 Conference play.

* Against UMBC, Boston University’s men’s team had six players record double figures in the Terriers 11th win of the season. Dom Morris, Malik Thomas, Maurice Watson Jr., John Papale, D.J. Irving and Nathan Dieudonne each tallied 10 points or more. The Terriers hadn’t had six scorers record double figures in a game since 2003.

* Kelly Greenberg picked up her 250th win as a head coach, as the BU women’s basketball team rebounded from their loss to Albany with a win against UMBC. The Terriers are now 17-4 overall and 7-1 in America East play.

* Harvard’s men’s basketball team overcame a seven-point deficit with 1:10 remaining and went onto defeat the visiting Dartmouth Big Green in overtime, 82-77. Tommy Amaker’s squad is now 10-6 overall and 2-0 in the Ivy League.

* Anna Maria’s men’s basketball team has been a rather quiet story this year. However, their most recent win a few days ago against Albertus Magnus certainly created a ripple across the region. Yesterday, they earned their eighth consecutive win by defeating Johnson & Wales, 76-68. Anthony Clink led the AMCATS with 22 points, while also recording eight rebounds, two assists, two blocks and two steals.

* Daniel Wohl upped his status to Big Man On Campus following his go-ahead layup with 31 seconds remaining, as Williams College handed Middlebury College their first setback of the season in Williamstown. The Ephs are now 17-2 overall and 6-0 in the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC).

* Amherst College’s men’s basketball team is on a roll and has now won 11 straight contests. The Lord Jeffs haven’t dropped a game since falling to Babson College on December 6. On Saturday, they defeated Trinity College to earn their sixth conference win, along with their 17th of the season.

* Tufts University’s women’s basketball team earned its 20th consecutive win of the season by defeating Bates College, 55-34. Since the Jumbos started playing basketball in 1972, the Powder Blue and White have tallied 20 wins or more in four seasons. The most wins the Jumbos have recorded were 26, which occurred during the 2007-08 season.

* Amherst’s women’s basketball team picked up its 19th consecutive win of the season, as the Lord Jeffs defeated Trinity College, 67-47. Marcia Voigt and Savannah Holness each tallied a game-high 13 points.  

* The New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) got off to a slow start, but as of recently, it is a two-horse race for the number one spot. Elms College and Newbury College are both 8-1 in the conference and 10-8 overall. Becker College is also 10-8, but 6-3 against conference foes. Newbury defeated Elms earlier this season, but will tangle with them once again on Saturday, February 16.

* Babson College and Smith College each picked up important road wins and remain neck and neck in the New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conference (NEWMAC).

* Framingham State’s women’s basketball team shocked Worcester State yesterday, as the Rams handed the Lancers their first setback in the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC). Kristen Hoffman, Madeleine Park and Kia Minor each tallied 11 points or more in their team’s 11th victory.