PRINCETON, N.J. – The future is bright for the Ivy League, which returns 12 of its top-15 scorers from a season ago, including the entire 2018 All-Ivy first team and six out of the seven members of the second team are back as the 2018-19 season tips off with 15 games throughout the opening week. Seven home games will be featured on ESPN+, as part of the Ivy League’s groundbreaking partnership with ESPN.

The League is filled with veterans as 34 of 40 starters return to the hardwood as the season begins with a challenging non-conference slate that features 18 games against 2018 NCAA Tournament team participants. Harvard was picked to repeat its Ivy League title in the 2018 Ivy League Men's Basketball Preseason Media Poll. The Crimson is in search of back-to-back titles since winning at least a share of five straight from 2011-2015. 
 
The 2019 Ivy League Men’s and Women’s Basketball Tournament will be held on the campus of Yale University at the John J. Lee Amphitheater at Payne Whitney Gymnasium March 16 and 17. The League’s unique tournament format has enhanced the importance of the regular season as seven of the eight squads had an opportunity to earn a berth into the four-team tournament heading into the final week of the 2017-18 regular season. 
 
Brown
2017-18 Record: 11-16, 4-10
Season Opener: at LIU Brooklyn, November 9, 7:30 p.m.
 
Brown appears primed to ascend into the top half of the League standings for the first time since the 2012-13 season. The Bears return 93.5 percent of its scoring, which ranks fifth nationally. Brandon Anderson and Desmond Cambridge tied for third in the league with 17.3-point averages, with Cambridge named the League’s Rookie of the Year. Despite its 4-10 mark in League play, eight of Brown’s 10 losses were by single-digits while two of its four wins came in overtime.
 
Columbia
2017-18 Record: 8-19, 5-9
Season Opener: at Marist, November 10, 7 p.m.
 
A chance to the make the conference tournament is there for the taking if the Lions came play better during the second turn through the League. Junior guard Mike Smith, a second-team All-Ivy selection, will point the way against after finishing first in the league in assists (4.1) and second in scoring (17.6). Backcourt mate Quinton Adlesh is one of the league’s top perimeter threats, having nailed 72 3-points.
 
Cornell
2017-18 Record: 12-16, 6-8
Season Opener: at Binghamton, November 6, 7 p.m.
 
Cornell, who qualified for the 2018 Ivy League Basketball Tournament as the fourth-seed, was dealt a setback in the off season when second-team All-Ivy Selection Stone Gettings announced his decision to transfer. The Big Red return senior Matt Morgan who has led the league in scoring three times, including a 22.5-point average on an incredibly efficient 49 percent field goal shooting last season and enters his final campaign with 51 straight games in double figures. Cornell will look to senior guard Troy Whiteside to pick up some scoring slack as he returns from injury and Josh Warren and Steven Julian to step up and help control the paint.
 
Dartmouth
2017-18 Record: 7-20, 3-11
Season Opener: vs. Newbury College, November 6, 7 p.m.
 
Dartmouth, the only Ivy League team to graduate its top scorers in Miles Wright and Taylor Johnson, will look to finish above .500 in Ivy play for the first time since 1998-99 season. Despite losing Wright and Johnson who combined for 24.2 points per game, the Big Green will look to Guilien Smith, Brendan Barry and Chris Knight this season. Smith, who was sidelined for most of last season due to an injury, is expected to return to the lineup. Barry shot 44 percent from three, while Chris Knight averaged 10.1 points per game and led the Big Green with 27 blocks while hauling in 4.1 rebounds.
 
Harvard
2017-18 Record: 18-14, 12-2
Season Opener: vs. MIT, November 6, 7 p.m.
 
Harvard, the preseason favorite, returns 99.4 percent of its scoring from a year ago, which is the second-most nationally. The Crimson are led by an extremely talented junior class that includes the defending Ivy League Player of the Year Seth Towns, first-teamer Chris Lewis, dynamic point guard Bryce Aiken and All-Ivy League honorable mention Justin Bassey. The Crimson were one of the better defensive teams in the country last year, finishing No. 55 in Kenpom’s defensive metrics, and held Ivy League opponents to the lowest scoring average. Aiken played only 14 games last season due to injury, but should be back at full strength to start the 2018-19 campaign.
 
Penn
2017-18 Record: 24-9, 12-2
Season Opener: at George Mason, November 6, 7 p.m.
 
Penn’s biggest question heading into the season is how it will replace gritty lead guard Darnell Foreman and sixth man Caleb Wood, both double-figure scorers. The Quakers return an outstanding core group from Penn’s first NCAA Tournament entrant since 2007. Two juniors, first-team All-Ivy selection AJ Brodeur and second-teamer Ryan Betley, anchor the team as an inside-outside combo. Senior guard Antonio Woods is an experienced leader and the team’s best defender. The Quakers have some intriguing new additions coming in as well, including three-start recruit Michael Wang, a 6’10” power foward who can step out to the perimeter and sink the 3-pointer. 
 
Princeton
2017-18 Record: 13-16, 5-9
Season Opener: vs. DeSales, November 9, 7 p.m.
 
Princeton will look to climb back into contender status after losing nine more conference games than the season before and finishing tied for fifth. To get back on track, Princeton will lean on All-Ivy selections Devin Cannady and Myles Stephens. The duo averaged 16.7 points per game and 15.3 points per game, respectively. Joining the pair is one of the league’s most exciting incoming freshman – Jaelin Llewellyn. Llewellyn is considered the highest-rated recruit in program history and should have an immediate impact on the team as both a facilitator and a scorer.
 
Yale
2017-18 Record: 16-15, 9-5
Season Opener: vs. California, in PAC-12 China Game, November 9, 11 p.m.
 
Yale has finished in the top three in the league in each of the past six seasons and that may not change with an experienced lineup ready to make an Ivy League title run for head coach James Jones’ 20^th season. First-Team All-Ivy selection Miye Oni leads the way after averaging 15.1 points and six rebounds per game as a sophomore. Guards Alex Copeland and Trey Phills and forwards Blake Reynolds and Paul Atkinson averaged at least nine points per game, giving the Bulldogs balance. In addition to the five starters from 2017-18, power forward Jordan Bruner is expected to return to the lineup after missing last season due to injury.