Dartmouth men's basketball has struggled early in the season, finding themselves with a record of 2-9, 0-2 in the Ivy League, with league play about to start across the board.
Having been picked to finish fifth in the Ivy League in the preseason media poll, the Green have not had as much success as expected. Fortunately, most of the members of the Ancient Eight have struggled early on.
Here's the rundown of a few of the preseason favorites in the league.
Penn
The Penn Quakers were the preseason pick to win the Ivy League. They also boasted one of the most difficult non-league schedules in the league.
No one thought that this team would be winless after New Year's Day. The defending Ivy League champions opened up with a 0-4 record, which included a loss at North Carolina State.
In the first game during break, the Quakers took on Lafayette. They played valiantly yet fell 61-59.
Penn then hosted No. 17 Maryland and found themselves down by twenty-two at the half. The Quakers then staged a remarkable comeback, and fought to within six, but could get no closer, bowing 87-81.
The team then traveled to the Meadowlands to take on No. 9 Seton Hall. Penn hung with the Pirates all night, but missed its last two scoring chances and dropped their seventh straight 80-78.
Penn next took on Big Five opponent Temple in their final game of 2000. The Quakers trailed the entire game, and succumbed 74-60, bringing their record to 0-8.
Thankfully for Penn fans, the team opened up the New Year with a solid victory over floundering Florida International 69-59.
With six non-league games left on their schedule, Penn will need to overcome their inability to win close games if they wish to return to the NCAA tournament.
Princeton
The once-daunting Tigers took a hit this year, losing four starters and their coach, and yet were still picked to finish second in the Ivy League.
The Black and Orange came into the break with back-to-back victories and a 2-2 record. They proceeded to fall 80-73 to Lafayette.
Back at home for the first time all season, the Tigers played one of their best games and trumped Xavier 58-52. In their game against state rival Rutgers, Princeton lost a nail-biter 46-44, dropping their record to 3-4.
The Tigers then took on the TCU Horned Frogs. The Frogs trounced the visitors 76-45, the Tigers' worst loss of the season.
Coming back to the east coast, Princeton edged Holy Cross 47-46 in a classic low-scoring affair. Princeton then headed to New York City for the ECAC Holiday Festival.
The Tigers suffered two double-digit losses, 65-52 to Penn State and 53-39 to Rutgers. With a 4-7 record, the Tigers have only one more non-league game, hosting the College of New Jersey.
Harvard
Harvard, picked to finish third in the league, has had one of the most successful non-league schedules among the Ancient Eight.
With a 2-2 record, the Crimson hosted cross-river rival Boston University, and thrashed the Terriers 76-60. A visit to the frozen North provided Harvard with an 88-79 defeat at the hands of Colgate.
The Crimson then came home for the Ivy opener against Dartmouth. Five points in the final 10 seconds propelled Harvard to victory.
Hosting Vermont, the Crimson downed the Catamounts 89-71. Following this, Harvard suffered a 31-point bashing, 90-59 at Georgia Tech.
The Crimson's up-and-down season continued with a 14-point thumping of Mercer 65-51. The New Year began for Harvard with a 93-60 debacle at the hands of Navy.
Consecutive victories at Dartmouth and in Cambridge against New Hampshire leave the Crimson with a record of 7-5, 2-0 in Ivy play.
