PRINCETON, N.J. – A contest between two 6-0 teams in league play highlights this Saturday’s Ivy League men’s basketball slate, with Cornell traveling to Yale for 2 p.m. ET showdown.
This marks just the fifth time in Ivy League men’s basketball history that two 6-0 or better teams will square off. The most recent occurrence was on Feb. 15, 2003 when Penn (6-0) and Brown (7-0) clashed at The Palestra. Penn won that contest 73-66.
ALL-TIME MATCHUPS FEATURING 6-0 OR BETTER TEAMS
| DATE |
GAME |
RESULT |
| Feb. 21, 1959 |
Princeton (10-0) vs. Dartmouth (10-0) |
Dartmouth won 71-59 |
| Feb. 7, 1969 |
Princeton (6-0) vs. Columbia (6-0) |
Princeton won 68-49 |
| Feb. 9, 1999 |
Princeton (6-0) vs. Penn (6-0) |
Princeton won 50-49 |
| Feb. 14, 2003 |
Penn (6-0) vs. Brown (7-0) |
Penn won 73-66 |
Cornell head coach
Brian Earl, was a senior on the Princeton team that beat Penn 50-49 in one of the most historic games in the storied Penn-Princeton rivalry. Earl and then freshman center
Chris Young, now the general manager of the Texas Rangers, led Princeton back from 40-13 second half deficit.
Saturday's matchup pits the top scoring offense in league against the second best scoring defense. Cornell is averaging 84 points, while Yale is holding its opponents to 66.3 points per game.
With this weekend signifying the midway point of league play, the push for Ivy Madness is set to amplify. The top four teams will earn a spot to the tournament. Behind Yale and Cornell is Princeton at 4-2. Brown, Columbia and Harvard are currently 2-4 in league play, while Penn and Dartmouth are a game behind.
Ivy Madness, which combines the men’s and women’s league tournaments, is set to take place from March 15-17 at Levien Gymnasium in New York. Both all-session tickets and single-game tickets are now on sale and may be purchased at
IvyMadness.com.
FAST BREAK
- The Ivy League is one of 12 Division I men's basketball conferences with three or more teams in the top 100 of the NCAA NET rankings: Princeton (52), Cornell (81) and Yale (84).
- The Ivy League ranks 12th overall in both conference NET according to WarrenNolan.com and in the KenPom conference rankings. The league has enjoyed wins over the following conferences: American, A-10, Big East, Big Ten and WCC.
- Princeton (12-1), Cornell (11-3), Columbia (9-4), Harvard (9-4), Yale (9-6) and Penn (8-7) are 58-25 (.699) in non-conference play, with each team owning a winning percentage of .533 or better. Additionally, each of the six teams has a win over a team from last season’s NCAA Tournament field.
- Four Ivies from three different schools were named to Lou Henson Award Midseason Watch List: Princeton sophomore guard Xaivian Lee, Harvard freshman guard Malik Mack, Princeton sophomore forward Caden Pierce and Yale sophomore forward Danny Wolf. The award is presented annually to the top mid-major player in division I college men’s basketball. The league’s four honorees was the second most of any conference. Princeton and James Madison were the only schools with two players named to the list.
- Several Ivies rank in the top 20 of KenPom stats categories:
| TOP 20 IN KENPOM |
| Brown G Kino Lilly Jr. |
Percentage of Minutes Played (6th, 93.1) |
| Columbia G Geronimo Rubio De La Rosa |
Fouls Committed per 40 Minutes (5th, 1.06) |
| Cornell G Isaiah Gray |
Two-point percentage (16th, 70.7) |
| Cornell G Chris Manon |
Steal Percentage (3rd, 5.95) |
| Cornell F AK Okereke |
Two-Point Percentage (5th, 74.0) |
| Dartmouth G Dusan Neskovic |
Percentage of Shots Taken (5th, 35.5)
Percentage of Possessions Used (11th, 32.6) |
| Penn F Andrew Laczkowski |
Two-point percentage (9th, 73.1) |
| Princeton G Matt Allocco |
Percentage of Minutes Played (19th, 90.0) |
| Princeton G Xaivian Lee |
Offensive Rating (3rd, 119.7) |
| Princeton F Caden Pierce |
Defensive Rebounding Percentage (7th, 28.6) |
| Yale F Danny Wolf |
Defensive Rebounding Percentage (16th, 27.9) |