PRINCETON, N.J. – Harvard has been tabbed as the favorite to win the 2017-18 Ivy League men’s basketball regular-season title, as selected by a panel of media representatives.
 
The Crimson topped the preseason media poll for the first time since the 2014-15 season with 121 points and six first-place votes. This marks the fourth time Harvard enters a season as the favorite since the poll began prior to the 1985-86 season
 
The Crimson got the nod by three points over Ancient Eight rival Yale, which finished second with 118 points and eight first place votes. The Bulldogs edged reigning Ivy League champion Princeton, which accumulated 114 total points including three votes for first place. Penn rounded out the top half of the league with 86 total points.
 
The bottom half of the poll featured Columbia in fifth with 55 points, Cornell in sixth with 48 points, Dartmouth in seventh with 39 points and Brown in eighth with 31 points.
 
The top four teams in the Ivy League standings advance to the Ivy League Tournament, March 10-11 at The Palestra. A variety of ticket offerings—including multi-session passes ranging from $30 - $295 and single-session tickets ranging from $20 - $160—are on sale online at IvyMadness.com/Tickets or by calling the Ivy League Box Office at (215) 703-3231.
 
HARVARD
2016 Record: 18-10, 10-4
Season Opener: vs MIT, November 10, 7 p.m. 
 
Harvard, the 2017-18 preseason favorite, finished second last season with a 10-4 Ancient Eight mark. While the Crimson did lose Siyani Chambers and Zena Edosomwan to graduation, Harvard returns a trio of players – Bryce Aiken, Seth Towns and Chris Lewis – that will help Harvard make some noise. Aiken, the 2016 Rookie of the Year, averaged 14.5 points per game, fifth-best in the league. Towns turned in 12.3 points per game and pulled down 4.4 rebounds per game while Lewis led the conference in field goal percentage, shooting 65 percent from the floor. The Crimson also posted the second-best defense in the league, limiting opponents to just 65.8 points per game.
 
YALE
2016 Record: 18-11, 9-5
Season Opener: at Creighton, November 10, 9 p.m.
 
Yale, which will play a challenging schedule featuring 12 teams that won at least 20 contests in 2016-17, reached the championship game of the inaugural Ivy League tournament and won 18 games a year ago. Makai Mason returns to the floor for the Bulldogs after missing last season with a foot injury and will join a roster that features talent and depth. Mason, the 2016 Ivy League Player of the Year, put up 31 points in Yale’s upset win over Baylor in the 2016 NCAA Tournament. Mason joins a strong core highlighted by rising sophomore Miye Oni, who averaged 12.9 points and 6.3 boards per game. Oni had an outstanding showing at the prestigious Nike Skills Academy in Los Angeles over the summer. Blake Reynolds (9.4 ppg, 5.0 rpg), Jordan Bruner (8.4 ppg., 5.6 rbp), Alex Copeland (12.9 ppg) and Trey Phills (7.1 ppg) will all be consistent contributors for the Bulldogs.
 
PRINCETON
2016 Record: 23-7, 14-0
Season Opener: at Butler, November 12, 6 p.m.
 
Princeton is coming off a dominant 2016-17 season where the Tigers went 14-0 in conference play for the first time since 1998, won the first Ivy League tournament title and pushed fifth-seeded Notre Dame to the final possession in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Though the Tigers lose three starting forwards in Ivy League Player of the Year Spencer Weisz, fellow first-team All-Ivy League selection Steven Cook and Pete Miller, Princeton does return forward Myles Stephens, and guards Devin Cannady and Amir Bell. Stephens (15.4 ppg) and Cannady (14.4 ppg) were Princeton’s two leading scorers during the Ancient Eight slate, while Bell surged in League play to shoot .581 from the field and .559 from 3-point range.
 
 
PENN
2016-17 Record: 13-15, 6-8
Season Opener: at Fairfield, November 11, 1 p.m.
 
After getting off to a slow start in conference play, Penn took six of its last eight games to earn the fourth spot in the inaugural four-team Ivy League tournament. The Quakers nearly staged an upset over top-seeded Princeton in the first semifinal game of Ivy Madness, but fell 72-64 in overtime. Penn, which returns 12 letterwinners—including four of its five starters from last season—will rely on a pair of sophomores in AJ Brodeur and Ryan Betley. Brodeur, a Second-Team All-Ivy selection, turned in multiple 30-point performances and finished his rookie campaign averaging team-bests in points (13.8) and rebounds (6.9). Betley contributed 11.9 points and 4.6 points per game.
 
COLUMBIA
2016-17 Record: 11-16, 5-9
Season Opener: at Villanova, November 10, 8:30 p.m.
 
After finishing just outside the inaugural four-team tournament last season, Columbia will look to improve upon its 5-9 conference record. With leading scorer and rebounder Luke Petrasek now playing for the Charlotte Hornets, Columbia will look to senior Nate Hickman and sophomore Mike Smith to led the way. Hickman averaged 12 points per game, while Smith turned in 13.6 points per game registering double-figures in 19 of his 27 outings.
 
CORNELL
2016-17 Record: 8-21, 4-10
Season Opener: at Syracuse, November 10, 7 p.m.
 
Although Cornell finished in the cellar of the league standings, the Big Red return the leading scorer in the league in junior Matt Morgan, who averaged 18.1 points per game. The 6’2 guard led the Ancient Eight in 3-pointers, hitting a school record of seven treys in a 34-point performance against Northeastern. Morgan will have some help in fellow junior Stone Getting, who registered a team-best 5.8 rebounds per game.
 
DARTMOUTH
2016-17 Record: 7-20, 4-10
Season Opener: at Quinnipiac, November 11, 2 p.m.
 
Returning three of its five starters from a season ago, Dartmouth will look to experience to help the program post its first winning season since 1998-99. Returning for the Big Green is First Team All-Ivy selection Evan Boudreaux who averaged 17.5 points per game and 6.9 rebounds a night. At 6’8, he led the league in rebounding and finished second to Cornell’s Matt Morgan in scoring. Senior guard and 2014-15 Ivy League Rookie of the Year Miles Wright also returns after averaging 9.6 points per night. Junior Guilien Smith will look to become another go-to scorer for the team after turning in 12 points per game a season ago.
 
BROWN
2016-17 Record: 13-17, 4-10
Season Opener: vs. Johnson & Wales (RI), November 11, 3 p.m.
 
Brown will have to replace its primary offensive threats from a season ago that helped the Bears average a league-best 75.8 points per game. With its top scorers – Steven Speith (17.3) and Tavon Blackmon (11.1 ppg.) now playing overseas, rising juniors Travis Fuller and Obi Okolie will look to fill the void. Fuller contributed 7.5 points, 5.7 rebounds per game, while Okolie averaged 9.1 buckets and 4.0 rebounds per night.
 
 
2017-18 IVY LEAGUE MEN’S BASKETBALL PRESEASON MEDIA POLL
PREDICTED ORDER OF FINISH
First-place votes in parentheses
 
Rank    School             Points
1.         Harvard (6)      121
2.         Yale (8)           118
3.         Princeton (3)   114
4.         Penn                86
5.         Columbia         55
6.         Cornell             48
7.         Dartmouth      39
8.         Brown             31