"Cornell and Columbia, what we commonly refer to as hell weekend."
Co-Captain Sea Lonergan '97 couldn't have put it any better when he described this weekend's road trip. The Big Green has a chance to return to Hanover either near the top of the standings in Ivy League heaven or having seen their title hopes dance above them as they are quickly whisked away to the Ivy League underworld with a loss at either school.
For the Big Green, their is no settling for a split in this weekend's contests, a thought which makes this nightmare road trip of extensive traveling all that much more daunting. Heading into this weekend, Dartmouth sits all alone in second place in the Ancient Eight with a 6-2 record, two games behind undefeated Princeton. A loss to either the Lions or the Big Red would virtually eliminate the Big Green from the title hunt. Conversely, with a sweep of the Empire State schools, Dartmouth would set up a heavyweight clash when Penn and Princeton invade Leede Arena.
However, Dartmouth can't get caught looking ahead towards next week's showdown as this weekend's games are just as key as next weekend, and the Big Green knows this all too well. Last year, after upsetting Penn and taking the lead in the Ivy League, the Big Green was surprised by Cornell in Ithaca, sending the team in a downward spiral for the rest of the year.
"We've definitely talked about not looking past these two games because if we do, both of these teams will beat us," Lonergan said. "When you go on the road in the Ivy League, you can't take any team for granted in their own gym. We are just going to play 80 minutes of basketball and take it one game at a time this weekend. I'm not even thinking about next weekend."
The toughest task the Big Green will face tonight when they tip-off against Columbia is Lions point guard C.J. Thompkins, the league's leading scorer, averaging just over 20 points per game.
Cornell is just one game behind the Big Green in the standings with a 5-3 record while Columbia is tied with Yale for the cellar with a 1-7 league mark.
