The Ivy League race got quite a bit more interesting on Friday night, a fact obscured by how one of the top teams got its result. Harvard’s 98-96 win over Columbia will be talked about for a while.
As you might imagine, this game was not lacking for drama, as regulation and the first overtime each had buzzer-beaters. Columbia sophomore Gabe Stefanini hit a three-pointer from the top of the arc at the end of regulation to get this all going, and down three in the final seconds of the first overtime, Bryce Aiken his a circus three-pointer to send the game to a second extra session. The second overtime did have a game-tying three-pointer with 16.7 seconds left, but Aiken missed a potential game-winner in the final seconds.
Aiken was the star of the night, as often happens when he is healthy. He missed a significant chunk of last season and has only played in five games this season, but when healthy he is one of the best players in the league. He was certainly that on Friday night with a career-high 44 points, which included going 16-18 at the free throw line. And if he stays healthy, the Crimson are very much contenders in the Ivy League, even without Seth Towns. They still have guys like Chris Lewis, Justin Bassey (who made a big play late), Christian Juzang and more, and they have 11 players who average at least 12 minutes a game that Tommy Amaker can call on.
That depth will certainly come in handy on Saturday night against Cornell, who edged Dartmouth on Friday night. Cornell is just a game back at 3-2 and has a big star in Matt Morgan, who had 41 points on Friday night. The quick turnaround will certainly test their depth.
It’s an especially tough loss for Columbia, who has now lost three overtime games this season, two of them on the road and the one at home being a double overtime affair. Three of their four Ivy League losses have been by one possession, so they aren’t far from being 4-1 (their only win was by three points as well).
The win puts Harvard at 4-1 in Ivy League play and leads to a three-way tie atop the Ivy League. That’s because in New Haven, Yale used a strong first half and a career night of 35 points and 12 rebounds from Miye Oni for a 74-60 win over Princeton, which puts both teams at 4-1 as well. Every weekend takes on a lot of significance in the Ivy League, and this one is already no different.
Side Dishes
Saint Joseph’s blew out Saint Louis 91-61 in Philadelphia, which is the Billikens’ fifth loss in six games after starting Atlantic 10 play at 5-0. The Hawks pulled away in the second half by allowing just 27 points after intermission, a season low for Saint Louis.
UL Monroe has now jumped into contention in the Sun Belt, as they swept the Georgia schools this week after beating Georgia Southern 88-79 on Friday night. They are now 6-5 in Sun Belt play, right there with the Eagles, and they won’t be more than two games out when the weekend is over. Interestingly, Georgia State lost again on Friday night, this time at Louisiana 76-72, dropping them to 7-4 and possibly out of first place before the weekend is out.
Things are also quite interesting in the MAAC after Friday night’s action, as an unexpected leader has emerged with four teams just a half game back while even in the loss column. Idle Monmouth leads at 8-4, but four teams that played on Friday night are 7-4 after Quinnipiac edged Iona 66-65 in New Rochelle and Canisius, a team that’s been up and down, went to Rider and knocked off the Broncs 81-80 on a late three-pointer to put both teams at 7-4. Also with that record is Siena, who went to Manhattan and edged the Jaspers 51-49.
UConn may have lost star guard Jalen Adams for the rest of the regular season due to a knee injury he suffered in Wednesday’s loss at Temple. The senior guard has a sprained MCL in his left knee and is likely to miss four to six weeks, which means the earliest return is around the time of their final two regular season games. Adams leads the team in scoring and is second in assists while shooting nearly 50 percent from the field. It’s a big loss for a UConn team that is 4-6 in American Athletic Conference play.
Tonight’s Menu
A big day of action is ahead with several showdowns on the slate.
- In ACC play, Clemson needs to start piling up wins, and they have a good opportunity as Virginia Tech visits (noon), then Florida State hosts Louisville a little later (4 p.m.) The big game is Virginia hosting Duke (6 p.m.)
- A key game in the Atlantic 10 is VCU going on the road to visit surging St. Bonaventure (2 p.m.), while another one later is Dayton visiting Rhode Island (4 p.m.)
- The Big 12 slate opens up with Kansas trying to get back on track as they host Oklahoma State (noon), then TCU goes on the road in need of another win at Iowa State (2 p.m.) and Oklahoma hosts Texas Tech (4 p.m.) for afternoon games. The evening begins with first place on the line as Baylor hosts Kansas State (6 p.m.) and closes with West Virginia hosting Texas (8 p.m.)
- Big East action begins with Providence at St. John’s and Butler at Georgetown both tipping at noon, then the big showdown comes as Villanova visits Marquette (2:30 p.m.) In the evening, Seton Hall hosts Creighton in a key matchup and Xavier hosts DePaul, both tipping at 8 p.m.
- The day starts with one of the big showdowns in the Big Ten as Michigan hosts a Wisconsin team that is just a game back of them (noon), then Minnesota visits Michigan State (2 p.m.) and later on Purdue hosts Nebraska (8:30 p.m.)
- The Ivy League slate features one especially important matchup as Harvard hosts a Cornell team that is just a game behind them (7 p.m.)
- In the Mountain West, UNLV hosts Fresno State (5 p.m.), then Nevada hosts the New Mexico team that knocked them off earlier in conference play (6 p.m.)
- The key game in the Pac-12 is late as Arizona State hosts Washington (10 p.m.)
- In the SEC, Mississippi State hosts Kentucky (1 p.m.), then Auburn heads to LSU (2 p.m.), South Carolina hosts Arkansas (3:30 p.m.), Florida gets a big quality win opportunity at Tennessee (4 p.m.)
- A good one in the Southern Conference is Furman hosting East Tennessee State (4 p.m.)
- There’s also a big one on tap in the Southland Conference as Sam Houston State puts their 10-0 mark on the line at Abilene Christian (7 p.m.)
- First place is on the line in the WAC as Grand Canyon hosts a New Mexico State team that just beat CSU Bakersfield (9 p.m.)
- The West Coast Conference slate is highlighted by Saint Mary’s visiting Gonzaga (10 p.m.)
