Before the season began, this Dartmouth men's basketball team was untested, unsure of their team cohesiveness and one great, big unknown. But, almost three months later, they are above .500, 6-0 in Ivy League play and surprising everyone except themselves.
But there is one rite of passage the Green men (10-8, 6-0) have yet to experience: games against perennial Ivy powerhouses Penn and Princeton, on the road, no less. Maybe nobody should tell this young and confident team that Dartmouth has recorded only one win in their last 26 games at Princeton and Penn, an overtime victory two years ago at Penn.
Tonight, the team travels to face fellow Ivy unbeaten Penn (12-3, 4-0) at the Palestra in Philadelphia. The next evening, the venue is Princeton's Jadwin Gymnasium for a matchup against the nationally-recognized Tigers (13-4, 4-0).
"Both teams are ranked in the top 70," head coach Dave Faucher said.
Historically, these two squads have been the teams to beat in the Ancient Eight. One of the two teams has won the Ivy Championship 32 out of the last 34 years.
Before the season, analysts predicted that one of them would walk away with yet another title. Their play this year has not suggested otherwise.
Penn openend the season by losing narrowly to a ranked Kansas team and subsequently toppled then-number six Temple. They have enjoyed success throughout their campaign.
"Penn has won nine in a row," Faucher said. "They're a really good team."
The Quakers' biggest star this season has been none other than Michael Jordan. His Airness, though not the erstwhile Chicago Bulls' sensation, leads the team in points (14.4), assists (4.6) and steals (1.1). A first team All-Ivy selection last year, Jordan and fellow guard Matt Langel (12.1 points) make up the highest-scoring backcourt in the league.
Center Geoff Owens has returned from an injury that forced him to miss all of last season to start all 15 of the Quakers' games. The junior averages 9.1 points and 7.2 rebounds.
Second team All-Ivy forward Paul Romanczuk returns for his senior season, and is scoring just under 10 points a game and hauls down six rebounds. The other forward Jed Ryan averages 11 points.
Faucher said the team plans to guard Jordan with point guard Flinder Boyd '02, which leaves the 6'5" Langel to Greg Buth '01.
"These are the types of games that influenced me to come to the Ivy League," Boyd said.
Faucher said he is somewhat concerned about team captain Shaun Gee '00 getting into foul trouble while guarding Romanczuk, but that he is confident about the way the team matches up against Penn.
"Offensively, we think Shaun's a tough matchup for both teams," Faucher added.
Beyond its starters, Penn has given few of its reserves significant playing time. Those who have stepped on the floor have not produced very well.
Still, Penn poses a formidable threat, and will be favored heavily in their own building. Despite the hype, Dartmouth maintains that it will not prepare differently for the weekend.
"I think we're treating them just like we would any other team," Gee said. "Everything else will take care of itself."
Once the Green has finished in Philly, they will quickly turn around to take on the winners of the last three Ivy Championships, Princeton.
The Tigers return only two starters from last year's Ivy unbeatens, but both of them are stars. First team All-Ivy forward Gabe Lewullis leads the team with 14.8 points and 5.2 rebounds a game. Second team All-Ivy guard Brian Earl is scoring 14.4 points and leads the team with just under three assists per game.
Freshman center Chris Young has already established himself as a force in the paint, scoring 10.4 points and grabbing 5.2 rebounds. After a mediocre first six games, however, Young's production has increased substantially.
Like Penn, they will be big favorites at home. The only time Dartmouth has challenged the Tigers recently at Jadwin was two years ago, when Keith Stanton's jumper with four seconds left rimmed out, allowing Princeton to escape with a 57-55 victory after trailing by six points with three minutes left. In that game, which Dartmouth entered undefeated in league play, the Big Green did not score in the final five minutes of play.
For Dartmouth, the team's starting five and varying backups have taken the team to the top of the Ivy League.
Like last year, Gee leads the Ivy League in scoring and center Ian McGinnis '01 is the nation's top rebounder. Boyd is near the top of the Ivies in assists and Buth is third in the Ivy League in scoring.
Supersub Vedad Osmanovic '02, whom Faucher calls "The Microwave" for his instant offense off the bench, has come into the lineup to replace Buth or Charles Harris '02.
The Green enter the weekend as underdogs, but they are certainly not undermanned.
"We definitely expect a couple good games from them this weekend," Buth said. "[Penn and Princeton] are both still undefeated so we know both games are going to be tough ones. We're just going to play our game, and hopefully we can get a couple of wins."
"I think its too early to talk about winning the Ivy [League]," Boyd said. "We're very young and have to prove we can play against the upper echelon of the Ivy League before we can even think about where we'll [be] at the end of the season."
This weekend should certainly help to clear up the gridlock that now exists at the top of the League.
