Whats the take? The +2 for Harvard looks good to me as I feel like Harvard has a relatively good team this year. But Harvard hasn't won at Yale in 7 years and that's turning me off a little. Also the 14 day break seems a little iffy with me. Anyone with Ivy expertise care to chime in?
Harvard v Yale
- Thread starter zebbers
- Start date
was leaning the same way, but as you pointed out, the +2 looks too good. I look forward to some analysis.
yale has had harvards number lately, 7-1 in the past 3 years and 3-0 at home, yale is a pretty damn good ivy team, its gonna be yale and take the points, thank me in the morning i put 6 units on it
Rivalry game also an elimination game for Yale
27 January, 2006
by Jake Wilson
Tonight?s Harvard-Yale tilt will feature the only two teams that have shown themselves to have any realistic hopes of challenging Penn in the league this season. But after Yale?s disastrous loss at Brown last weekend, the Bulldogs can?t afford to drop another early Ivy contest, particularly at home against a fellow contender. Meanwhile, outside of the series with Penn, this is likely the only league game in which Harvard won?t be favored.
Harvard-Yale a good showcase for Ivy basketball
Those who tune in to watch tonight?s game on the YES Network will see a very different style basketball from the old stereotype of slow-paced, Princeton-esque Ivy League hoops. The ancient rivals are the top two teams in the league when it comes to the tempo at which they play the game, with Harvard ranking 21st nationally in possessions per game, and Yale not far behind at 48th. Both teams have had turnover problems this year, which could lead to a lot of fast break and transition points in this one. Harvard will look to continue taking advantage of frequent trips to the free throw line, as the Crimson ranks 22nd in the nation in free throw rate and 34th in free throw shooting at 74.1 percent. Yale will need another strong performance on the defensive glass, as while the Bulldogs are ninth in Division I in defensive rebounding at 73.3 percent, Harvard is grabbing a very healthy 34.4 percent of its own misses. Yale is a two-point favorite, and the home team has won the last four meetings in this series.
Brown turnaround?
After starting out 2-8, Brown has won three of its last five, including its first home win of the season last weekend. Dartmouth enters the contest with a 2-13 mark and the only win in its last 13 games came at woeful Army. The Bear offense has been awful this season, but Dartmouth?s defense has been nearly as poor. The Big Green is among the worst in the nation at putting the opponent on the free throw line, and getting to the line happens to be the only thing Brown does well offensively. Dartmouth swept the home-and-home last season, ending Brown?s eight-game winning streak in the series. The Bears are favored by six tonight at home.
27 January, 2006
by Jake Wilson
Tonight?s Harvard-Yale tilt will feature the only two teams that have shown themselves to have any realistic hopes of challenging Penn in the league this season. But after Yale?s disastrous loss at Brown last weekend, the Bulldogs can?t afford to drop another early Ivy contest, particularly at home against a fellow contender. Meanwhile, outside of the series with Penn, this is likely the only league game in which Harvard won?t be favored.
Harvard-Yale a good showcase for Ivy basketball
Those who tune in to watch tonight?s game on the YES Network will see a very different style basketball from the old stereotype of slow-paced, Princeton-esque Ivy League hoops. The ancient rivals are the top two teams in the league when it comes to the tempo at which they play the game, with Harvard ranking 21st nationally in possessions per game, and Yale not far behind at 48th. Both teams have had turnover problems this year, which could lead to a lot of fast break and transition points in this one. Harvard will look to continue taking advantage of frequent trips to the free throw line, as the Crimson ranks 22nd in the nation in free throw rate and 34th in free throw shooting at 74.1 percent. Yale will need another strong performance on the defensive glass, as while the Bulldogs are ninth in Division I in defensive rebounding at 73.3 percent, Harvard is grabbing a very healthy 34.4 percent of its own misses. Yale is a two-point favorite, and the home team has won the last four meetings in this series.
Brown turnaround?
After starting out 2-8, Brown has won three of its last five, including its first home win of the season last weekend. Dartmouth enters the contest with a 2-13 mark and the only win in its last 13 games came at woeful Army. The Bear offense has been awful this season, but Dartmouth?s defense has been nearly as poor. The Big Green is among the worst in the nation at putting the opponent on the free throw line, and getting to the line happens to be the only thing Brown does well offensively. Dartmouth swept the home-and-home last season, ending Brown?s eight-game winning streak in the series. The Bears are favored by six tonight at home.
M. bball to face Cantabs
The men's basketball team will get a taste of the best and the worst the Ivy League has to offer this weekend.
The Elis (9-8, 1-1 Ivy) will look to boost their league record back above .500 this weekend when they host Harvard (10-5, 2-0) and Dartmouth (2-13, 0-2). The two visiting teams are opposites in more ways than one. Harvard, as yet unbeaten in conference play, dominates opponents with an exceptionally strong post presence. Dartmouth, which has won just one game since November, boasts a solid group of perimeter players averaging 36 percent from behind the arc. But despite the differences between the two teams, the Bulldogs will need to be wary when each team visits this weekend.
"We can beat anyone in the Ivy League," captain Josh Greenberg '06 said. "The bad thing is that we can also lose to anyone. I don't think there are going to be any easy games for us this season."
The Bulldogs open their weekend against Harvard Friday night, welcoming not only the Crimson's winningest coach in Frank Sullivan, but also two pre-season first team All-Ivy players in center Brian Cusworth and power forward Matt Stehle. And as if two of the league's top post players were not threatening enough, the Cantabs also have the second-highest scorer in the conference in junior guard Jim Goffredo (14.9 points per game). There seems to be no weak position for this season's squad.
"It starts with their big men, then they have a guard with a very good outside shot," forward Jason Abromaitis '07 said. "They play hard, they pressure the ball, they do a little bit of everything very well."
If Harvard's game starts with their post players, then that will be where the focus of Yale's tenacious man-to-man defense will fall. Center Dominick Martin '06 and forward Sam Kaplan '07 are the Elis' two leading scorers, and the Bulldogs will look to them to contain the seven-foot Cusworth and versatile Stehle. Martin on Cusworth and Kaplan on Stehle were both called "great matchups" by Yale head coach James Jones, but the Elis will not have one line of defense against the Crimson's post players. When the starters get winded, center Matt Kyle '08 and forward Ross Morin '09 will sub in for the Bulldogs and pressure the post.
"The thing you also have to understand is that our strength is the depth of our team," Jones said. "When you have Matt Kyle and Ross Morin come off the bench in those spots, that just adds to our potential to be successful down low."
But if the Elis thought containing the post would be the only key to stifling Harvard's explosive offense, they would be very wrong. Goffredo joins senior point guard Michael Beal and freshman guard Drew Housman on the perimeter to complete the Crimson's starting lineup. Beal leads the team with a .472 shooting percentage and averages six rebounds per game, the most of any Crimson guard. Housman and Goffredo both shoot over 30 percent from three-point range and Goffredo leads the league in free throw percentage (.921).
"We have to be upbeat and intense," Greenberg said. "We have to defend very well in the half-court, keep up the ball pressure, and make sure we help each other out on defense."
After playing Harvard, the Bulldogs might be able to find some breathing room against Dartmouth on Saturday night. But the Big Green's outside shooters may pose some difficulty to the Elis if they do not pressure the ball on the perimeter. All of Dartmouth's starters shoot over 30 percent from beyond the arc, and two shoot 40 percent or better. But the Big Green may not be able to match up against Martin and Kaplan on the inside. Neither of Dartmouth's post players, forward Calvin Arnold and center Paul Bode, average more than six points per game, and the Big Green are out-rebounded by an average of four rebounds per game.
"I think that they shoot the ball very well from outside," Jones said. "Their biggest problem is they lost their center and they haven't replaced him with someone scoring under the basket and running the team on the offensive end. If you don't come to play and defend them, they're able to make shots."
The men's basketball team will get a taste of the best and the worst the Ivy League has to offer this weekend.
The Elis (9-8, 1-1 Ivy) will look to boost their league record back above .500 this weekend when they host Harvard (10-5, 2-0) and Dartmouth (2-13, 0-2). The two visiting teams are opposites in more ways than one. Harvard, as yet unbeaten in conference play, dominates opponents with an exceptionally strong post presence. Dartmouth, which has won just one game since November, boasts a solid group of perimeter players averaging 36 percent from behind the arc. But despite the differences between the two teams, the Bulldogs will need to be wary when each team visits this weekend.
"We can beat anyone in the Ivy League," captain Josh Greenberg '06 said. "The bad thing is that we can also lose to anyone. I don't think there are going to be any easy games for us this season."
The Bulldogs open their weekend against Harvard Friday night, welcoming not only the Crimson's winningest coach in Frank Sullivan, but also two pre-season first team All-Ivy players in center Brian Cusworth and power forward Matt Stehle. And as if two of the league's top post players were not threatening enough, the Cantabs also have the second-highest scorer in the conference in junior guard Jim Goffredo (14.9 points per game). There seems to be no weak position for this season's squad.
"It starts with their big men, then they have a guard with a very good outside shot," forward Jason Abromaitis '07 said. "They play hard, they pressure the ball, they do a little bit of everything very well."
If Harvard's game starts with their post players, then that will be where the focus of Yale's tenacious man-to-man defense will fall. Center Dominick Martin '06 and forward Sam Kaplan '07 are the Elis' two leading scorers, and the Bulldogs will look to them to contain the seven-foot Cusworth and versatile Stehle. Martin on Cusworth and Kaplan on Stehle were both called "great matchups" by Yale head coach James Jones, but the Elis will not have one line of defense against the Crimson's post players. When the starters get winded, center Matt Kyle '08 and forward Ross Morin '09 will sub in for the Bulldogs and pressure the post.
"The thing you also have to understand is that our strength is the depth of our team," Jones said. "When you have Matt Kyle and Ross Morin come off the bench in those spots, that just adds to our potential to be successful down low."
But if the Elis thought containing the post would be the only key to stifling Harvard's explosive offense, they would be very wrong. Goffredo joins senior point guard Michael Beal and freshman guard Drew Housman on the perimeter to complete the Crimson's starting lineup. Beal leads the team with a .472 shooting percentage and averages six rebounds per game, the most of any Crimson guard. Housman and Goffredo both shoot over 30 percent from three-point range and Goffredo leads the league in free throw percentage (.921).
"We have to be upbeat and intense," Greenberg said. "We have to defend very well in the half-court, keep up the ball pressure, and make sure we help each other out on defense."
After playing Harvard, the Bulldogs might be able to find some breathing room against Dartmouth on Saturday night. But the Big Green's outside shooters may pose some difficulty to the Elis if they do not pressure the ball on the perimeter. All of Dartmouth's starters shoot over 30 percent from beyond the arc, and two shoot 40 percent or better. But the Big Green may not be able to match up against Martin and Kaplan on the inside. Neither of Dartmouth's post players, forward Calvin Arnold and center Paul Bode, average more than six points per game, and the Big Green are out-rebounded by an average of four rebounds per game.
"I think that they shoot the ball very well from outside," Jones said. "Their biggest problem is they lost their center and they haven't replaced him with someone scoring under the basket and running the team on the offensive end. If you don't come to play and defend them, they're able to make shots."
Men's basketball stumbles into the heart of the Ivy season
The men's basketball team currently has a record of 2-13. So what? Opponents have outscored the Big Green by almost 10 points per game. Who cares? They've got several freshmen trying to learn a new system while paying some serious minutes. Doesn't phase me.
So by now you're probably saying to yourself that this guy is crazy. But while very few people might think the Big Green can turn its season around, even fewer probably witnessed North Dakota State's upset of No. 15 Wisconsin, which snapped a 27-game home non-conference winning streak.
My point? Anything is possible. Especially since Ivy League play has just begun and with 12 league games left, believe it or not, there is still a chance for respectability -- and dare I say an NCAA birth.
Okay, maybe I'm painting a picture that looks a little brighter than it really is, because at 0-2 in Ivy play so far, the Big Green has a huge hill to climb.
So what's been the problem with the team this year?
"We're not putting an entire game together," said co-captain Mike Lang '06. "If you look at some of our recent games we'll play the first half real well and then we'll have lapses in the second half. Maybe defensively or we won't score for a while, or we'll score and then we won't stop anybody."
Stopping people has been a major issue, and you don't have to look any further than the paint.
In Dartmouth's last game, a 71-59 loss to the University of New Hampshire, 6'8" Blagoj Janev led all scorers with 22 points and seven rebounds, and had three of Dartmouth's men on the bench with two fouls apiece in the first ten minutes of the game.
In the previous game against Harvard -- a 65-53 loss -- 7'0" Brian Cusworth led all scorers with 12 points and 13 rebounds and disrupted almost every shot that came his way.
"The absence of an inside presence is probably a sore spot," admitted head coach Terry Dunn. "But I also think that we knew that we had to develop that position when we lost David Gardner ['05] last year, and if you remember, it took Gardner four years to develop into a dominant player. So we knew that wasn't going to happen overnight. As a result we have to live with our growing pains."
Certainly 2-13 can't be pinned on the backs of the big men alone. Co-captain Calvin Arnold '06 leads the Ivy League in blocked shots (37), and Paul Bode '07 has really stepped his game up this year and is second on the team in rebounds per game (4.0).
Another facet of the team that has to be looked at is its youth. Mike Giovacchini '08 is the starting point guard, and he's only a sophomore. The backup to him is rookie DeVon Mosley '09. And who's his backup? There isn't one.
"There are younger guys that have been thrown into the fire so to speak," said coach Dunn. "A guy like DeVon Mosley has come a long way because he has had to perform because of the shortage of guards at his position. Alex Barnett ['09] is coming. Obviously he has got to get stronger, but his instincts are taking over and he is understanding how hard he has to play and how important it is to defend his position."
The good news for the Big Green is that, despite all of the obstacles, the team has not packed it in yet.
"If we thought that we wouldn't be practicing hard, we wouldn't have had a two-a-day yesterday, or wouldn't be waking up at five in the morning to go practice at six," said Lang. "The season isn't over because the Ivy League season pretty much is our season."
"We're completely optimistic," said Mosley. "For a long time it seemed like in practice we really weren't enjoying the game; we weren't enjoying each other. But I would say the last week or two we have really come together as a team. We have worked hard, we have beat each other up in practice and we actually have a smile on our faces when we do something good."
Mosley and the rest of the team will certainly have those smiles on their faces if they can come back from this weekend's Ivy road trip with a pair of W's. The team takes on Brown at 7 p.m. Friday night, before heading to New Haven, Conn. for a matchup with Yale at 7 p.m. Saturday
The men's basketball team currently has a record of 2-13. So what? Opponents have outscored the Big Green by almost 10 points per game. Who cares? They've got several freshmen trying to learn a new system while paying some serious minutes. Doesn't phase me.
So by now you're probably saying to yourself that this guy is crazy. But while very few people might think the Big Green can turn its season around, even fewer probably witnessed North Dakota State's upset of No. 15 Wisconsin, which snapped a 27-game home non-conference winning streak.
My point? Anything is possible. Especially since Ivy League play has just begun and with 12 league games left, believe it or not, there is still a chance for respectability -- and dare I say an NCAA birth.
Okay, maybe I'm painting a picture that looks a little brighter than it really is, because at 0-2 in Ivy play so far, the Big Green has a huge hill to climb.
So what's been the problem with the team this year?
"We're not putting an entire game together," said co-captain Mike Lang '06. "If you look at some of our recent games we'll play the first half real well and then we'll have lapses in the second half. Maybe defensively or we won't score for a while, or we'll score and then we won't stop anybody."
Stopping people has been a major issue, and you don't have to look any further than the paint.
In Dartmouth's last game, a 71-59 loss to the University of New Hampshire, 6'8" Blagoj Janev led all scorers with 22 points and seven rebounds, and had three of Dartmouth's men on the bench with two fouls apiece in the first ten minutes of the game.
In the previous game against Harvard -- a 65-53 loss -- 7'0" Brian Cusworth led all scorers with 12 points and 13 rebounds and disrupted almost every shot that came his way.
"The absence of an inside presence is probably a sore spot," admitted head coach Terry Dunn. "But I also think that we knew that we had to develop that position when we lost David Gardner ['05] last year, and if you remember, it took Gardner four years to develop into a dominant player. So we knew that wasn't going to happen overnight. As a result we have to live with our growing pains."
Certainly 2-13 can't be pinned on the backs of the big men alone. Co-captain Calvin Arnold '06 leads the Ivy League in blocked shots (37), and Paul Bode '07 has really stepped his game up this year and is second on the team in rebounds per game (4.0).
Another facet of the team that has to be looked at is its youth. Mike Giovacchini '08 is the starting point guard, and he's only a sophomore. The backup to him is rookie DeVon Mosley '09. And who's his backup? There isn't one.
"There are younger guys that have been thrown into the fire so to speak," said coach Dunn. "A guy like DeVon Mosley has come a long way because he has had to perform because of the shortage of guards at his position. Alex Barnett ['09] is coming. Obviously he has got to get stronger, but his instincts are taking over and he is understanding how hard he has to play and how important it is to defend his position."
The good news for the Big Green is that, despite all of the obstacles, the team has not packed it in yet.
"If we thought that we wouldn't be practicing hard, we wouldn't have had a two-a-day yesterday, or wouldn't be waking up at five in the morning to go practice at six," said Lang. "The season isn't over because the Ivy League season pretty much is our season."
"We're completely optimistic," said Mosley. "For a long time it seemed like in practice we really weren't enjoying the game; we weren't enjoying each other. But I would say the last week or two we have really come together as a team. We have worked hard, we have beat each other up in practice and we actually have a smile on our faces when we do something good."
Mosley and the rest of the team will certainly have those smiles on their faces if they can come back from this weekend's Ivy road trip with a pair of W's. The team takes on Brown at 7 p.m. Friday night, before heading to New Haven, Conn. for a matchup with Yale at 7 p.m. Saturday
