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Tuesday, November 7
Ivy League Breakdown

ESPN.com

HOW THEY'LL STACK UP

PENN: Losing their MJ won't hurt nearly as much as it did in Chicago.

YALE: James Jones' demands will be met in Year Two.

HARVARD: Crimson gets past Princeton, but that's as high as we go.

PRINCETON: Too many losses, both on and off the court.

COLUMBIA: Versitale Craig Austin leads the way after 14.2 ppg. as a soph.

BROWN: The "Maniacs" may have to wait another year for a winner.

DARTMOUTH: Last year was suppose to be better; this year won't be.

CORNELL: Finished No. 288 in RPI last year; Will be at least 287 this year.

Tuesday, Nov. 7
The normally tranquil Ivy League was rocked in the offseason with the news that Cornell coach Scott Thompson had to resign to battle cancer and the massive defections at Princeton.

The Tigers saw potential Ivy player of the year Chris Young choose baseball over basketball, starting guard Spencer Gloger transfer to UCLA and the departure of coach Bill Carmody to Northwestern. Assistant John Thompson III should keep the tradition going but he'll take a hit in Year One with a likely finish outside of the top two.

Meanwhile, the title has been all but handed to Penn. The Quakers will lean heavily on an inside game with the departure of Michael Jordan and Matt Langel. Ugonna Onyekwe can be a dominant scorer in the low post but he's still adjusting to being a go-to player.

The Quakers will have a hard time running the table. While Princeton won't be up to challenge Penn for the title, the Ivy could be as balanced as it has been from one to eight. The bottom three teams could finish as high as fourth. The balance means one thing -- one bid to the postseason. The Ivy will have a hard time having a second team worthy of an NIT bid after the NCAA automatic berth.

ESPN.com All-Ivy Team

Guard: Onaje Woodbine
Junior, 6-2, Yale

Guard: Elliott Prasse-Freeman
Sophomore, 6-4, Harvard

Forward: Ugonna Onyekwe
Sophomore, 6-9, Penn

Forward: Dan Clemente
Senior, 6-7, Harvard

Center: Geoff Owens
Sophomore, 6-11, Penn

Player of Year ...
Ugonna Onyekwe, Penn
Last year's Rookie of the Year doesn't play like an Ivy Leaguer. In other words, he plays above the rim and likes to be noticed doing so. Scored 17 points in the Quakers' NCAA Tournament loss to Illinois last year. Averaged 11.7 points and six rebounds a game as a freshman.

Introducing ...
Konrad Wysocki, F, Princeston
A 6-7 bruiser by way of Germany has only been in the states for a couple years, but attracted attention from schools like SMU and Siena before choosing the Tigers. Led his private high school team in Greensboro to the North Carolina state championship last season.

Best backcourt ...
Dartmouth: Flinder Boyd passes, while Greg Buth shoots -- and both are very good at each. Boyd was 11th in the nation in assists last season, setting a Dartmouth team record with 15 against Holy Cross. Buth averaged 16.9 points a game (fourth in the Ivy League), despite sub-par shooting by his standards.

Best frontcourt ...
Penn: Very easily could have been Princeton had Chris Young not left for the baseball diamond. But now 6-11 Geoff Owens will tower over the rest of the Ivy centers, and Ugonna Onyekwe should just get better after his rookie of the year season. With "MJ" gone and the offense going down low, Owens should average a double-double. Points from Koko Archibong (6-7) will just be a bonus.

Team on way up ...
Yale: Five of its seven wins last year came in league play. The Bulldogs could challenge the "Big Two" for the title, and can certainly knock one of them off during the season.

Team on way down ...
Princeton: Yes, we've got the Tigers fourth. Hey, the losses over the summer kept piling up: Spencer Gloger and Chris Young on the floor and Carmody on the sidelines.

Tournament tough ...
NCAA: Penn.

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