Does Cinderella wear Green and White? This weekend's men's basketball action will determine the answer.
Two weekends ago, the Dartmouth Big Green, picked to finish near the bottom of the Ivy League before the season but somehow standing atop it, visited the other two schools with unbeaten records in the league in what were billed as the biggest games of the season. On Friday, Feb. 5, the University of Pennsylvania downed the Green 79-67. The following evening, Princeton demolished Dartmouth 76-48.
But due to circumstances within and out of their control, Dartmouth has gained a reprieve. When the Green (12-10, 8-2) hosts Princeton (17-5, 8-1) this Friday at 7:30 and Penn (16-4, 8-1) the next evening at the same time, they have the opportunity to bypass the Ivy leaders and position themselves for their first Ivy Championship since 1959.
"I know we have the team to win the league this year," shooting guard Greg Buth '01 said. "It would be a dream come true to play in the NCAA tournament."
The Green has been the beneficiary of some wild doings in Ivy competition over the past two weeks. Two days after the Green's second consecutive defeat, its conquerors faced off against each other in Philadelphia.
After Penn ran off 29 straight points for a 29-3 lead and went into the locker room up 33-9, a victory by the home team seemed imminent. But suddenly Princeton decided to make the game interesting, and came all the way back to take the game 50-49. The win continued the Tigers' 35-game win streak in Ivy League play.
Last weekend, Penn rebounded from its defeat with 16 and 21 point victories over Brown and Yale. But Princeton suffered an unimaginable letdown, losing to the Bulldogs -- ranked last in the nation among Division I Colleges in RPI rating -- in double overtime 60-58. A 22-point win over Brown the following night did not make up for the faltering that made waves throughout the Ivy League and gave renewed hope to the Big Green.
Dartmouth wins over Penn and Princeton would put the teams on equal footing within the league, with the other teams still yet to face each other for a second time. In other words, if the Green win both contests next weekend and take out cellar-dwelling Brown and Yale on the road the next weekend, they are guaranteed a second place finish and maybe more.
But wins next weekend constitute a big 'if.'
"These games are definitely going to be tough," Buth said. "Penn and Princeton are both very good teams and when you have to play them back to back it's only that much harder."
Princeton challenges the Green with strong play inside and outside, a slowdown offensive system developed successfully over four decades and the confidence of three straight Ivy Championships. In addition to knocking off Penn, Princeton has notched victories against national powers Florida State and Texas this season.
The Tigers' inside game is anchored by freshman center Chris Young. The leading candidate for Ivy Freshman of the Year, Young has averaged 11 points and five rebounds a game as the focal point of Princeton's offense. Standing at 6'11", Young has also blocked 38 shots this year.
But as Dartmouth found out the hard way, Princeton has a secret weapon inside as well. Power forward Mason Rocca came from almost nowhere to drop 25 points on the Green in their first meeting this year, most of them coming in the second half. Two nights later against Penn, Rocca went for another 13 to go with six rebounds.
Princeton's perimeter game, featuring a first- and second-team All-Ivy selection from a year ago, is arguably the best in the league. Guard Gabe Lewullis and forward Brian Earl collectively average 30 points and six assists per game. Earl's field goal percentage has hovered near 50 percent all year, and he shoots 41 percent from three-point range.
The Big Green managed to hold Lewullis to nine points last time, but Earl scored 18. Very seldom do Princeton's top two players have bad games on the same night.
Princeton's well-oiled offense hit nearly 54 percent of its shots against Dartmouth, while its D held the Green to 34 percent from the floor.
"Against Princeton we're going to focus on stopping Earl, Lewillus, and Young especially," Buth said. "They score the majority of the team's points, and the team as a whole plays much better when they are the ones who are scoring."
Penn poses an equally formidable test the following night. All-Ivy shooting guard and team captain Michael Jordan leads the top-ranked scoring team in the league and the number two scoring defense (Princeton's is the best). One of the only men properly termed 'the next Michael Jordan,' Penn's number 23 averages 14.4 points, 4.9 assists and 10s on all of his dunks.
Fellow guard Matt Langel, whose 43 percent three-point-shooting puts him near the top of the league, averages 11 points per game.
In the frontcourt, Penn has a second team All-Ivy forward in Paul Romanczuk, a shot blocker who averages over two a game in center Geoff Owens and an 11-point scorer in Jed Ryan. Against Dartmouth earlier this year, the three scored 46 points and pulled down 19 rebounds.
In the first matchup, Penn hit 52 percent of its shots against the Green and outrebounded Dartmouth by eight. Penn also forced the Green into 17 turnovers.
"I think the shooting will take care of itself being back at home," Buth said. "I thought [point guard] Flinder [Boyd '02] did a great job on Jordan there and I think he will do the same type of job here."
The Green has the advantage of being the underdog at home and the inspiration of playing for a title they haven't won in 40 years.
Head coach Dave Faucher said "the weekend is as big a weekend as I've been involved with in Dartmouth basketball."
We will find out tonight if the Green can meet the challenge.
