PRINCETON, N.J. – Harvard has been picked to defend its Ivy League crown in the 2019-20 Ivy League Men’s Basketball Preseason Media Poll.
The Crimson, which is coming off a share of its second consecutive title and seventh all-time, received 15-of-17 first-place votes and accumulated 134 points. Harvard got the nod over Penn, which earned the No. 4 seed to the 2019 Ivy League tournament and fell in the semifinals to No. 1 Harvard, 66-58.
Yale is predicted third after claiming a share of last season’s title – its third Ivy title in the previous five seasons – and the automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament with a win over Harvard in the title game of the 2019 Ivy League Basketball Tournament.
Princeton is predicted in the fourth spot rounded out by Brown, Columbia, Cornell and Dartmouth.
The Ivy League enters the
2019-20 campaign ranked the 10th-best Division I men’s basketball with a challenging non-conference slate that features 18 non-conference games against 2019 NCAA Tournament team participants set to begin on Tuesday, Nov. 5.
The 2020 Ivy League Men’s and Women’s Basketball Tournaments will be held on the campus of Harvard University at Lavietes Pavilion March 13-15. The League’s unique tournament format has enhanced the importance of the regular season as a trio of teams had an opportunity to earn the final berth into the four-team tournament heading into the last week of the regular season.
Harvard will be in search of its third consecutive title and first trip to the NCAA Tournament since 2015. The Crimson returns its top nine scorers from last year’s squad headlined by unanimous first-team All-Ivy pick
Bryce Aiken, All-Ivy selection
Chris Lewis and 2018 Ivy League Player of the Year
Seth Towns. Aiken, is one of four-mid major players named to the
Bob Cousy Award Watch List, after averaging 22.2 points per game a season ago, while Seth Towns - set to return to action after missing last season with a knee injury - was named to the
Julius Erving Award Watch List. The depth of the Crimson will be showcased early on as the trio of seniors will be supported by 2019 Rookie of the Year
Noah Kirkwood,
Justin Bassey,
Christian Juzang,
Danilo Djuricic and
Robert Baker.
Penn returns four of its top five scorers from a season ago, headlined by two-time unanimous first-team All-Ivy pick
AJ Brodeur. Brodeur, who contributed 28 double-figure scoring performances last season, led the Quakers in scoring with 17.6 points per game. Brodeur is joined by seniors Devon Goodman and Ryan Betley. Goodman was a second-team All-Ivy honoree a season ago, Betley missed all of his junior campaign due to injury. The trio of seniors will be aided by young talent coming through the pipeline in sophomores
Bryce Washington and
Michael Wang as well as rookie
Jordan Dingle.
Yale, which has finished in the top half of the league standings in each of head coach
James Jones’ 20 seasons at the helm, will look to replace some key pieces that helped the Bulldogs to an Ivy League title and a near upset in the NCAA tournament. Despite losing 2019 Ivy League Player of the Year
Miye Oni to the NBA, Yale returns senior
Jordan Bruner and junior
Paul Atkinson, two of the most dominant interior forces in the league as well as
Azar Swain, who shot 40 percent from deep last season.
Princeton returns nearly two-thirds of its scoring from a season ago, led by All-Ivy honoree
Richmond Aririguzoh,
Jaelin Llewellyn,
Ryan Schwieger and
Jerome Desrosiers. The group looks to return the Tigers to Ivy Madness after claiming the No. 4 spot last season.
Brown – which engineered a 9-game improvement from the year prior – will look to a trio of standouts returning in Brandon Anderson,
Tamenang Choh and Josh Howard. Columbia senior guard and All-Ivy selection Mike Smith is set to return for his senior year after only playing in eight games a season again before suffering a season-ending injury. Smith, who averaged 15.8 points per game in the first eight games a season ago, will be joined by All-Ivy senior forward
Patrick Tape. Cornell – looking to fill the void of all-time leading scorer
Matt Morgan – will turn to the front court of
Josh Warren and
Jimmy Boeheim to lead the charge. Dartmouth will rely on junior forward and All-Ivy selection
Chris Knight and sophomore guard
James Foye to lead the Big Green squad heading into the fourth year under head coach
David McLaughlin.
2019-20 IVY LEAGUE MEN’S BASKETBALL PRESEASON POLL
Predicted Order of Finish
| 1. |
Harvard (15) |
134 |
| 2. |
Penn (2) |
117 |
| 3. |
Yale |
94 |
| 4. |
Princeton |
88 |
| 5. |
Brown |
62 |
| 6. |
Columbia |
51 |
| T7. |
Cornell |
33 |
| T7. |
Dartmouth |
33 |