This was supposed to be Harvard’s year. With seniors Kyle Casey and Brandyn Curry back to help bridge the gap between the old guard and a very talented group of youngsters, the Crimson were on track to be one of the nation’s most dangerous mid-majors. But then Casey and Curry got themselves entangled in a cheating scandal that involved 125 or so students and were suspended for the year.
Harvard will still contend for the Ivy League title. Laurent Rivard has been a doubled-digit scorer since he set foot on campus, Christian Webster averaged 13.0 points as a sophomore two years ago and the likes of Steve Moundou-Missi, Wesley Saunders, Jonah Travis and Kenyatta Smith are promising, but with freshman point guard Siyani Chambers handling all of the ballhandling duties, there will likely be a learning curve. Replacing four senior starters is never an easy thing.
That opens the door for Princeton, who will be right there with Harvard all season long. The Tigers will be led by Ian Hummer, a forward that is one of the nation’s best-kept secrets. He averaged 16.1 points, 7.3 rebounds and 3.2 assists in league play last season, but for Princeton to overtake the Crimson atop the conference standings, someone is going to need to emerge in the back court as Douglas Davis graduated.
Two teams to keep an eye on are Columbia and Brown. The Lions bring back all five starters, including the league’s best inside-outside duo in guard Brian Barbour and big fella Mark Cisco. Brown only won eight games a year ago, but they get four starters back and Tucker Halpern, who averaged 12.6 points two years ago, is healthy again this year. For Penn to be competitive, they’ll need Miles Cartwright to fill the void left by the graduation of Zack Rosen. Cornell brings back reigning freshman of the year Shonn Miller to join Errick Peck.
All-Conference Team (*denotes Player of the Year)
G: Miles Cartwright, Penn
G: Sean McGonagil, Brown
G: Brian Barbour, Columbia
G: Laurent Rivard, Harvard
F: Ian Hummer, Princeton*
Predicted Standings
1. Harvard
2. Princeton
3. Columbia
4. Cornell
5. Penn
6. Brown
7. Yale
8. Dartmouth
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