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IVY LEAGUE MEDIA DAY PRESEASON POLL:
- Princeton
- Yale
- Brown
- Cornell
- Colombia
- Harvard
- Penn
- Dartmouth
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COMMENTS FROM DAVID:
-After 22 wins a year ago, Princeton is the unanimous favorite to repeat as the 1st-place finisher this year, and I think the Tigers may be good enough to land inside the bubble. Caden Pierce/Xaivian Lee are high caliber players: not just by Ivy League standards, but by national standards. Lee averaged over 17ppg as a freshman last year, and Pierce nearly averaged a double-double. Princeton does lose two starters, and some guys will have to step into bigger roles this year, but they have the makings of a very strong team.
-Yale made the NCAA Tournament a year ago and got a big win against Auburn in the Round of 64. Just two starters are back, and while Bez Mbeng/John Poulakidas are both solid players, they will need guys to step into bigger roles if they want to be able to keep pace with Princeton and repeat the success they had a year ago.
-For most of last season, Brown had a rather unspectacular year, but they caught fire at the right time and won seven straight, which allowed them to qualify for the Ivy League Tournament, and then they nearly won it had it not been for a crazy finish in the championship game against Yale. This year three starters are back, including Nana Owusu-Anane (NOTE: Owusu-Anane is out indefinitely after left shoulder surgery) and Kino Lilly, who were both very solid players a year ago and form a strong nucleus for Brown this year. Considering how well they were playing down the stretch, I think they can make quite a bit of noise this year.
-In the past Cornell was always a fun team to watch because their fast-paced style was such a contrast to the rest of the league. Jon Jaques takes over as head coach, so you have to wonder if their style of play will change some. The Big Red had a great season last year finishing just one game out of 1st place and making the NIT, but a lot of their scoring is gone. That being said, they do return some guys who saw quality minutes and made key contributions of the bench, so it is not entirely hopeless. They are definitely going through a transition, but they could still have a big year.
There seems to be a pretty big drop off between the top-4 and the bottom-4:
-Columbia does have three starters back, and that experience should help them. Their 13 wins last year was the most they have had in a while so there are signs that they are getting better. Geronimo Rubio De La Rosa is a standout player who is fun to watch, so they do have some things going for them. I just do not think they are quite as good as the teams in the top-half of the league.
-It feels strange seeing Harvard picked as low as 6th, but it has been a while since the Crimson have had a solid team. They were a modest 5-9 in league play a year ago, they have just two starters back, and it looks like they are going to struggle again this year.
-Penn is a program with a rich basketball history…but a very poor basketball present. They won just 11 total games a year ago and finished 7th in the conference, which is where they have been picked to finish again this year. Steve Donahue is a very proven coach, but he just has not been able to get it going in recent years.
-Dartmouth won just six games a year ago, finished dead last in the conference, and from all accounts may be heading back to yet another last-place finish.