The men's squad (4-18, 0-8 Ivy), which currently sits in last place in conference standings, has lost seven straight games and is winless this season against Ancient Eight rivals.
The Big Green's elusive Ivy victory will be the program's 300th all-time conference win.
Dartmouth's last victory came a month ago on Jan. 18 in a dramatic, one point victory over St. Francis University.
The regular season results have been less than promising, as the Big Green is currently last in the League in offensive points scored, defensive rebounds, three point shooting percentage and free throw shooting percentage.
A stagnant offense without a single Big Green player averaging double-digits in scoring is compounded by a struggling zone defense that has allowed Ivy opponents to shoot an average of 44.8 percent from the field this season.
Maintaining a high level of play throughout the game will be crucial this weekend, David Rufful '12 said.
"We get a little complacent and are kind of self-conscious with the ball [in the second half]," he said. "I think we come out pretty strong every game, and 40 minutes is definitely something we're focused on."
Dartmouth, however, has shown flashes of brilliance in the wake of former head coach Terry Dunn's midseason departure, grabbing 40 total rebounds in a hard-fought 13 point loss to Yale University last Saturday, for example.
Ronnie Dixon '11 and Rufful each posted 15 points in the defeat, while Clive Weeden '11 tallied a season-high 13 rebounds, the most by an Ivy player in a single game this year.
The men's squad will resume Ivy play this weekend with a doubleheader homestand against Columbia University (9-13, 3-5 Ivy) and Cornell University (24-4, 7-1 Ivy), hoping to avenge their crippling losses to both teams earlier in the season.
The Big Red, previously ranked as high as 22nd in the nation, will look to reassert its Ivy League dominance with a series sweep of the Big Green on Saturday.
Brown University defeated Cornell last weekend, giving Dartmouth added hope for a victory this weekend over the Big Red, Dixon said.
"We've always had confidence that we could come out and pull out a win against Cornell," he said. "They're not unbeatable and we're going to go out and play with confidence. It would be a big confidence booster to get this one."
The women's squad (9-12, 4-3 Ivy) heads into the second half of the season on the heels of a dramatic double-overtime loss to Yale last Saturday.
Currently sitting in fifth place in League standings and facing the Princeton squad that is undefeated in conference play, the Big Green will be challenged to repeat being Ivy League champions this year.
"We've improved on our defense," Brittney Smith '11 said. "I also think we are more aggressive and we are hustling more now than we did in the beginning of the season. We need to work on getting our offense more fluid and playing better together."
Smith, who became the 15th player in the Dartmouth women's basketball program to reach 1,000 points last Saturday, is currently second in the League in rebounding.
First up for the Big Green on Friday is Columbia (14-8, 5-3 Ivy), which powered past Dartmouth behind an impressive 26-point performance from former Pac-10 player Judie Lomax.
"Usually we do a pretty good job of keeping top scorers in check until recently," Smith said. "Good players are usually going to get their numbers, but we should focus on getting them less shot attempts."
With a maturing transition offense and its trademark defensive prowess, the Big Green looks to split the season series against the Lions in New York City, N.Y., on Friday and sweep the season series against Cornell (6-15, 1-7 Ivy) in Ithaca, N.Y., on Saturday.
