Penn aims to upset 14-0 Princeton in Ivy League basketball tournament
Steve Donahue knows how it feels, and what it means, to go 14-0 in Ivy League competition. He did it as Cornell's head coach in 2008, and he was an assistant under Fran Dunphy when Penn did it four times in the 1990s.
So Donahue knows how big a deal it is for Princeton to have run the table in conference play this season.
And he knows how big a deal it would be for his Quakers to make the Tigers' feat meaningless.
"For Princeton to go 14-0 is an incredible feat," Donahue said. "The reward - I know people say that this is part of getting to the NCAA tournament now - [but] they won the Ivy League. And we're here because the setup was, if we could win this tournament, we can represent our league in the NCAA tournament."
Here they are indeed. So what if their conference record is 6-8. So what if their hopes of making the tournament were almost written off not just at 0-6 but after losing at Columbia on Feb. 25 and at home to Dartmouth last weekend.
They're still alive, and that's all that matters.
"For the first time in this league's history, we could push a reset button, and we took advantage of that," Donahue said. "These kids took advantage of the excitement of thinking that this could still happen when you're 0-6 [to start conference play]. If there's ever a reason to have this tournament, that's it right there."
Star Quakers freshman AJ Brodeur believes the momentum from Penn's surge down the stretch will carry into this weekend.
"I really don't think there's any team that these other three teams [in the tournament] want to play less than us right now because of the run we've been on," he said. "We really have nothing to lose being here. We're more than happy to just be here in this tournament in our own building."
The building will be theirs in name only, though. The Penn logo at center court has been covered by the Ivy League's. Brodeur and his teammates will dress in one of the visitors' locker rooms because they're the lower seed, while Princeton will dress in one of the home locker rooms as the higher seed.
And while much of the Ivy League expects a pro-Penn crowd to fill the stands, Donahue isn't so sure.
"I think we all are curious to see if it is a home-court advantage," he said. "I was here when the A-10 had the tournament here. St. Joe's, La Salle and Temple all played here a lot then, and I didn't sense it was a home-court advantage then."
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What to watch: Princeton's roster has six seniors, including the Ivy League player of the year, forward Spencer Weisz. He averaged 10.6 points, 5.6 rebounds and 4.1 assists per game. . . . Weisz is one of four Tigers who averaged more than 10 points per game. The others are senior forward Steven Cook (13.8) and sophomore guards Devin Cannady (13.7) and Myles Stephens (11.9). . . . Freshman big man AJ Brodeur was Penn's top scorer this season with an average of 13.9 points per game. He and senior swingman Matt Howard led the team in rebounds with an average of 6.8 per game. . . . Freshman shooting guard Ryan Betley, a Downingtown West product, was the team's top scorer in Ivy play with 21.1 points per game. . . . This is the fourth time the teams have met three times in a season. The previous three were one-game playoffs for NCAA berths. Penn won in 1980. Princeton won in 1981 and 1996.
Steve Donahue knows how it feels, and what it means, to go 14-0 in Ivy League competition. He did it as Cornell's head coach in 2008, and he was an assistant under Fran Dunphy when Penn did it four times in the 1990s.
So Donahue knows how big a deal it is for Princeton to have run the table in conference play this season.
And he knows how big a deal it would be for his Quakers to make the Tigers' feat meaningless.
"For Princeton to go 14-0 is an incredible feat," Donahue said. "The reward - I know people say that this is part of getting to the NCAA tournament now - [but] they won the Ivy League. And we're here because the setup was, if we could win this tournament, we can represent our league in the NCAA tournament."
Here they are indeed. So what if their conference record is 6-8. So what if their hopes of making the tournament were almost written off not just at 0-6 but after losing at Columbia on Feb. 25 and at home to Dartmouth last weekend.
They're still alive, and that's all that matters.
"For the first time in this league's history, we could push a reset button, and we took advantage of that," Donahue said. "These kids took advantage of the excitement of thinking that this could still happen when you're 0-6 [to start conference play]. If there's ever a reason to have this tournament, that's it right there."
Star Quakers freshman AJ Brodeur believes the momentum from Penn's surge down the stretch will carry into this weekend.
"I really don't think there's any team that these other three teams [in the tournament] want to play less than us right now because of the run we've been on," he said. "We really have nothing to lose being here. We're more than happy to just be here in this tournament in our own building."
The building will be theirs in name only, though. The Penn logo at center court has been covered by the Ivy League's. Brodeur and his teammates will dress in one of the visitors' locker rooms because they're the lower seed, while Princeton will dress in one of the home locker rooms as the higher seed.
And while much of the Ivy League expects a pro-Penn crowd to fill the stands, Donahue isn't so sure.
"I think we all are curious to see if it is a home-court advantage," he said. "I was here when the A-10 had the tournament here. St. Joe's, La Salle and Temple all played here a lot then, and I didn't sense it was a home-court advantage then."
________________________________________
What to watch: Princeton's roster has six seniors, including the Ivy League player of the year, forward Spencer Weisz. He averaged 10.6 points, 5.6 rebounds and 4.1 assists per game. . . . Weisz is one of four Tigers who averaged more than 10 points per game. The others are senior forward Steven Cook (13.8) and sophomore guards Devin Cannady (13.7) and Myles Stephens (11.9). . . . Freshman big man AJ Brodeur was Penn's top scorer this season with an average of 13.9 points per game. He and senior swingman Matt Howard led the team in rebounds with an average of 6.8 per game. . . . Freshman shooting guard Ryan Betley, a Downingtown West product, was the team's top scorer in Ivy play with 21.1 points per game. . . . This is the fourth time the teams have met three times in a season. The previous three were one-game playoffs for NCAA berths. Penn won in 1980. Princeton won in 1981 and 1996.
