Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Ivy League Preview

FOR A COMPLETE PREVIEW OF THE 2009-2010 SEASON, CLICK HERE

The Ivy League did not feature much of a conference race last season, as Cornell won the regular-season title -- and therefore the automatic bid -- by a full three games over both Princeton and Yale. Princeton started 4-0 before losing its next three and effectively dropping out of the conference race, while Yale was too inconsistent throughout the league season to be a serious threat. On the other hand, Cornell jumped out to a 7-1 start in the Ivy, and coasted the rest of the way to a league title. Columbia and Dartmouth both finished 7-7 in the league, but neither posed much of a legitimate threat to the Big Red. Cornell fell to Missouri in the first-round of the NCAA Tournament last season, but the Big Red return the necessary pieces to easily repeat and be a factor in the first-round this year. 

1. Cornell: The Big Red have three of the league's five best players, and have a chance to go through the conference undefeated.
2. Princeton: The Tigers have a lot of work to do to get back on top of the League; Douglas Davis and Dan Mavraides are a good place to start.
3. Penn: The Quakers were a disappointment last season, but Tyler Bernardini is one of the league's best players and will carry them.
4. Harvard: Expect Tommy Amaker and co. to get some publicity this season, thanks to outstanding all-around performer Jeremy Lin.
5. Columbia: The Lions could be the sleeper this season, behind La Salle transfer Brian Grimes and several quality returnees from a year ago.
6. Yale: Can the Bulldogs finish .500 for the tenth straight season? If they do, it will be as a result of guard Alex Zampier, an all-conference player.
7. Brown: The Bears finished in last a year ago by a full three games, but Matt Mullery and Peter Sullivan form a dynamite forward tandem.
8. Dartmouth: The Big Green lose Player of the Year Alex Barnett, and could struggle to repeat their 7-7 mark of a season ago.

Player of the Year: Ryan Wittman, F, Cornell

All-Conference Team:
G- Louis Dale, Cornell
G- Jeremy Lin, Harvard
F- Matt Mullery, Brown
F- Ryan Wittman, Cornell
C- Jeff Foote, Cornell 

Second Team:
G- Tyler Bernardini, Penn
G- Alex Zampier, Yale
G- Zack Rosen, Penn
F- Douglas Davis, Princeton
F- Peter Sullivan, Brown

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