Burned Ivy: The Brown Bears and a Recovery from Scandal

[jksander]

September 25, 2018
No recruits have committed to us yet, though we have some strong prospects. Our schedule looks fairly average, with notable home games against Rhode Island and Providence looking solid, as well as a road trip to play Virginia. Considering four of our scholarship spots are filled right now by ineligible transfers and that we have two walk-ons and two former redshirts, I don't take any games for granted. They're all going to be tough this year, and getting past the double-digit wins mark will be a challenge. I am hoping to meet that goal and the “no academic ineligibility” goal set by our AD, but finishing in the top three of the conference is the school's ultimate goal – something I think will be out of our reach this year barring a miracle.

2018 Schedule
11/13 – South Dakota
11/16 - @ Grand Canyon
11/19 - @ UL Monroe
11/23 – Northwestern St.
11/26 – @ Abilene Christian
11/30 – Rhode Island
12/3 - @ IUPUI
12/7 – Navy
12/10 - @ Virginia
12/13 – Providence
12/17 – Northeastern
12/21 - @ Incarnate Word
12/24 - @ San Diego State
1/4 - @ Harvard
1/7 – Columbia
1/11 - @ Princeton
1/14 – Pennsylvania
1/18 - @ Dartmouth
1/21 - @ Yale
1/25 – Cornell
1/28 – Harvard
2/1 - @ Columbia
2/4 – Princeton
2/8 - @ Pennsylvania
2/11 – Dartmouth
2/15 – Yale
2/18 - @ Cornell

[jksander]

October 2, 2018
Andrae Block, one of our top in-state recruits, decided today to announce his verbal commitment to Rhode Island. That stings, but doesn't come as completely unexpected. Practice begins today, and I made my final round of coach personal visits – beyond that we've just got to stay the course and keep a positive outlook.

October 9, 2018
We got our first verbal commitment today, this one from Kevin Jenkins, a 6'0” point guard from North Knightstown High right here in North Knightstown, Rhode Island! Though he's bounced around a lot in the national rankings, Providence, Boston College and Pittsburgh eventually backed off him and he chose us – I'm quite happy with his athleticism, passing and handling skills. He's got quick hands, averaging three steals per game so far in high school, and I think I can mold him into a strong defender at the college level. Not much of a scorer though.

October 16, 2018
We lost another recruit, this time to St. Joseph's. We only have two key players left on our watchlist who have not committed, and I'm not liking our odds on at least one of them at this point. I'll need to redraw my plans if we aim to fill our remaining scholarships during the spring signing season.

November 6, 2018
We're going to redshirt freshman forward Gray Hemhill, who was a last-second signing at the end of April last spring. He has legitimate potential, but I feel he can benefit from the fifth year with our program if he's willing to stick it out and learn my system. He seems to be okay with it. He will be our only redshirt player this year, as we'll need all our remaining possible depth.

- - - - -

2018-19 Bears Roster
PG – David Linderman (6'5” 200 lbs Sr) Montpelier VT (U-32 HS) 4.0 GPA – 6.1 ppg 2.0 rpg 2.0 apg 0.6 spg 0.1 bpg
SG – Deon Curtis (6'3” 216 lbs Fr) Pawtucket RI (Tolman HS) 3.8 GPA
SF – Kenyan Walker (6'9” 216 lbs Sr) Portsmouth RI (Portsmouth HS) 3.2 GPA – 5.1 ppg 4.3 rpg 1.7 apg 1.2 spg 0.7 bpg
PF – Greg Bolton (6'6” 214 lbs Fr) Milton MA (Milton HS) 3.6 GPA
C – Dylan Claxton (6'10” 256 lbs Sr) Westerly RI (Westerly HS) 3.3 GPA – 14.1 ppg 5.5 rpg 1.1 apg 1.0 spg 0.6 bpg

6 – Terence Hamilton (6'5” 195 lbs Fr RS) Harrisville RI (Burrillville HS) 3.4 GPA
7 – Troy Mance (6'2” 200 lbs So) Warwick RI (Bishop Hendricken HS) 3.9 GPA – walk-on
8 – Mohamed Jones (6'6” 239 lbs Fr RS) North Smithfield RI (North Smithfield HS) 3.6 GPA
9 – Ron Sharpe (6'8” 245 lbs Sr) Cranston RI (Cranston East HS) 3.4 GPA – 7.8 ppg 4.2 rpg 1.0 apg 0.9 spg 0.6 bpg
10 – Bill Trotman (6'10” 242 lbs Jr) Wakefield RI (South Kingstown HS) 3.9 GPA – walk-on

RS – Gray Hemhill (6'6” 215 lbs Fr) Montvale NJ (Pascack Hills HS) 4.0 GPA

TR – Vegas Boston (6'3” 216 lbs So) Yuba City CA (Yuba City HS) 3.3 GPA
TR – John Thompson (6'4” 171 lbs So) Manchester NH (Manchester Central HS) 3.5 GPA
TR – Dennis Werner (6'8” 234 lbs So) Omaha TX (Paul H. Pewitt HS) 2.8 GPA
TR – Brian Sanders (6'7” 201 lbs So) Tucson AZ (Flowing Wells HS) 4.0 GPA

[jksander]

The Season

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DATE / TEAM                      SCORE            W/L RECORD       Team Leaders
11/13 – South Dakota             W 64-57          1-0              D. Claxton (15 pts 8 reb 1 ast 1 stl); D. Curtis (15 pts 2 reb 3 ast 1 stl 1 blk)
11/16 - @ Grand Canyon           L 68-73          1-1              D. Claxton (20 pts 6 reb 3 ast 2 blk); G. Bolton (11 pts 4 reb 3 ast 2 stl)
11/19 - @ UL Monroe              L 50-61          1-2              D. Claxton (12 pts 7 reb 2 blk); M. Jones (8 pts 3 reb 2 ast)
11/23 – Northwestern St.         W 81-68          2-2              D. Curtis (18 pts 3 reb 2 ast 2 blk); D. Claxton (15 pts 7 reb 1 ast 1 blk)
11/26 – @ Abilene Christian      W 76-69          3-2              D. Curtis (17 pts 5 reb 3 ast 2 stl 1 blk); K. Walker (15 pts 7 reb 5 ast 4 stl)
11/30 – Rhode Island             W 62-51          4-2              D. Curtis (19 pts 3 reb 2 ast 1 stl 1 blk); D. Claxton (13 pts 13 reb)
12/3 - @ IUPUI                   L 43-64          4-3              K. Walker (11 pts 4 reb 2 ast 1 stl 2 blk); D. Linderman (9 pts 4 reb 3 ast 1 stl 2 blk)
12/7 – Navy                      W 66-64          5-3              D. Curtis (16 pts 4 reb 3 ast 1 stl 1 blk); D. Claxton (15 pts 6 reb 2 ast 1 stl 1 blk)
12/10 - @ Virginia               L 65-73          5-4              K. Walker (19 pts 5 reb 1 ast 1 blk); D. Curtis (13 pts 2 reb 1 blk)
12/13 – Providence               L 54-67          5-5              K. Walker (10 pts 11 reb 4 ast 1 blk); D. Curtis (13 pts 3 reb)
12/17 – Northeastern             W 76-54          6-5              D. Curtis (17 pts 3 reb 4 ast 2 stl); R. Sharpe (10 pts 5 reb 2 ast 2 stl 1 blk)
12/21 - @ Incarnate Word         W 80-74          7-5              D. Curtis (25 pts 5 reb 2 ast); D. Claxton (14 pts 8 reb 1 stl)
12/24 - @ San Diego State        W 56-45          8-5              D. Curtis (21 pts 4 reb 1 ast 2 stl); M. Jones (11 pts 4 reb)

Last season we opened the season with a 2-1 start and then lost our next dozen games in a row, setting the tone for the year right at the start. This year we turned the corner with a huge 76-69 win at Abilene Christian, our first non-conference road win, a game where for the first time three of our starters each scored 15+ points in the same game – a level of consistency we could only have dreamed of last year. And we followed that up with our third home win in a row against in-state Rhode Island, a dominating defensive performance that put us at 4-2 at the end of November.

We played some tough teams in December, losing a brutal defensive slugfest against 4-1 IUPUI on the road, and we fought back valiantly against Virginia on the road but lost a tough one by eight against the most hostile crowd I've coached against. And the first game we played against Providence turned into a heartbreaker as we lost our first home game of the year. But we stunned Incarnate Word on the road with our strongest offensive performance of the year, 80-74, and we crushed the Aztecs of SD State defensively (also on the road) 56-45, cementing a stunning 8-5 start to the season as we headed into the conference season.

Defensively our team is unstoppable, holding opponents to 63.1 ppg (37th), 12.1 apg (2nd), 23.8 rpg (6th) and 2.9 bpg (43rd) despite offensively giving up 17.6 turnovers per game due to our inexperience (287th). Deon Curtis has emerged as a potential Conference Freshman of the Year and Player of the Year candidate in the Ivy, and our seniors are providing the leadership I needed to see this year so our young core can grow and develop.

Pre-Conference Standings
01 Yale (8-5) – RPI: 124
02 Columbia (8-5) – RPI: 127
03 Princeton (8-5) – RPI: 206
04 Brown (8-5) – RPI: 208
05 Dartmouth (8-6) – RPI: 161
06 Pennsylvania (6-7) – RPI: 99
07 Cornell (6-7) – RPI: 267
08 Harvard (1-12) – RPI: 335

[jksander]

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DATE / TEAM                      SCORE            W/L RECORD       Team Leaders
1/4 - @ Harvard                  L 45-52          8-6 (0-1)        D. Curtis (19 pts 2 reb 4 ast 1 stl 1 blk); D. Linderman (10 pts 4 reb 4 ast 1 stl 1 blk)
1/7 – Columbia                   W 71-65          9-6 (1-1)        D. Curtis (15 pts 4 reb 3 ast); D. Claxton (12 pts 4 reb 5 ast 2 stl 1 blk)
1/11 - @ Princeton               L 61-65          9-7 (1-2)        D. Claxton (13 pts 4 reb 1 ast 1 blk); D. Curtis (13 pts 2 reb 4 ast 1 stl)
1/14 – Pennsylvania              L 71-79          9-8 (1-3)        D. Curtis (14 pts 1 reb 3 ast); D. Linderman (13 pts 2 reb 3 ast 4 stl)
1/18 - @ Dartmouth               L 55-64          9-9 (1-4)        D. Curtis (17 pts 1 reb 1 blk); T. Hamilton (10 pts 1 reb)
1/21 - @ Yale                    L 49-88          9-10 (1-5)       M. Jones (12 pts 1 reb 1 ast); D. Claxton (8 pts 4 reb 2 ast)

After a 1-5 conference start we lose ourselves Kenyon Walker for the remainder of the season to a broken arm during our worst loss of the year, against Yale on the road. This season, at this point, seems on a downward spiral. We moved Sharpe into the power forward position and bumped Greg Bolton up to small forward for the remainder of the season.

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1/25 – Cornell                   W 54-49          10-10 (2-5)      D. Curtis (14 pts 7 reb 2 ast 1 stl 2 blk); D. Claxton (12 pts 5 reb 1 ast 2 blk)
1/28 – Harvard                   W 60-35          11-10 (3-5)      D. Curtis (32 pts 9 reb); R. Sharpe (8 pts 5 reb 4 stl)
2/1 - @ Columbia                 L 60-74          11-11 (3-6)      D. Curtis (14 pts 4 reb 1 ast); D. Claxton (11 pts 4 reb 2 ast)
2/4 – Princeton                  W 82-70          12-11 (4-6)      D. Curtis (28 pts 1 reb); R. Sharpe (10 pts 7 reb 2 ast 3 stl 2 blk)
2/8 - @ Pennsylvania             L 52-58          12-12 (4-7)      D. Curtis (14 pts 6 reb 1 ast); D. Linderman (9 pts 3 reb 5 ast 1 stl 1 blk)
2/11 – Dartmouth                 W 65-53          13-12 (5-7)      D. Curtis (23 pts 2 reb 4 ast 2 stl); D. Claxton (10 pts 9 reb 1 ast)
2/15 – Yale                      W 72-61          14-12 (6-7)      R. Sharpe (23 pts 10 reb 3 ast 2 stl 1 blk); D. Claxton (16 pts 7 reb 2 ast 1 blk)
2/18 - @ Cornell                 W 66-55          15-12 (7-7)      D. Claxton (22 pts 5 reb 3 ast 1 stl 1 blk); D. Curtis (18 pts 5 reb 3 ast 3 stl 1 blk)

We recovered surprisingly well, finishing the season on a 3-game winning streak, closing the conference out with a 6-2 record during the stretch after we lost Walker for the year. It was a sign of our remarkable growth season-to-season that we finished with a 15-12 record despite only going 4-10 on the road. We would finish the conference in a tie for 4th place with the Princeton Tigers. So we'll have met two of the three goals set for us by the administration, and I suspect I'll be getting a decent contract extension in the postseason. I have high hopes for next year that we should be in contention for a conference title even with some top notch players graduating.

Final Conference Standings
01 Pennsylvania (17-10, 11-3) – RPI: 40
02 Dartmouth (18-10, 10-4) – RPI: 64
03 Columbia (16-11, 8-6) – RPI: 71
04 Brown (15-12, 7-7) – RPI: 184
05 Princeton (15-12, 7-7) – RPI: 197
06 Yale (14-13, 6-8) – RPI: 179
07 Harvard (5-22, 4-10) – RPI: 320
08 Cornell (9-18, 3-11) – RPI: 333

[jksander]

Both Dartmouth and Columbia put up resumes that may get them into the NIT (or at least the CBI). That's a solid showing for the Ivy this year ... I'll update you guys tomorrow But Pennsylvania will be our standard-bearer heading into the NCAA Tournament for certain. Had Dartmouth not lost to us late in the year, they may have won the NCAA spot, which would have been REALLY interesting, as Penn's resume (40th RPI) might have snuck them in as an at-large, though they would likely have wound up NIT bound regardless.

[jksander]

April 3, 2019
Dartmouth wound up making the NIT and losing in the first round to Eastern Michigan, 47-65. Columbia, meanwhile, got into the CBI and capitalized by crushing the UL Lafayette Ragin' Cajuns 84-70 in the first round. Penn wasn't so lucky, getting stomped by North Carolina in the NCAA Tournament in a 55-73 blowout, failing to be the trendy 13-over-4 upset pick we'd all hoped they'd be. (UNC didn't even make it worthy, losing in the second round to (12) UCLA, for what that's worth.) Columbia would go on to lose in the CBI's second round to Weber State by a 75-69 margin.

Top seed Michigan (34-4) was #1 all year and did what was expected of them as they destroyed (2) Louisville in the National Championship game 81-62. 4th seeded Pittsburgh pummeled (3) Kansas State to win an NIT title with a 85-54 beat-down. The CBI was also decided with a lopsided score, as (4) St. Josephs upended (3) Washington State 78-60. One of the biggest stories was Duke, losing to Washington State in the second round of the CBI 65-66. The Blue Devils has opened the year with an 10-1 record only to implode during the ACC season, finishing 7-11 in conference. They finished 12th in the conference and rarely has a 19-14 season been more deceiving. Only a season sweep of North Carolina will likely keep the current coach in his job.

We, meanwhile, finished 15-12 (7-7), improving on our overall record by more than double while winning two more game in-conference than last year (despite a brutal start to the conference season which saw us lose our most talented overall defender for the season.) So I'm quite happy with the direction of our program after two seasons. Next fall we bring all our transfers into the fold, so I see maintaining and improving on this growth should not be unexpected.

Graduating Seniors
PG – David Linderman (4.0 GPA) 6.1 ppg 2.0 rpg 3.1 apg 0.9 spg 0.3 bpg (54 starts)
SF – Kenyan Walker (3.2 GPA) 5.4 ppg 3.8 rpg 1.6 apg 1.1 spg 0.7 bpg (52 games, 46 starts)
PF – Ron Sharpe (3.5 GPA) 6.9 ppg 4.3 rpg 1.0 apg 1.0 spg 0.7 bpg (45 games, 35 starts)
C – Dylan Claxton (3.4 GPA) 12.4 ppg 5.4 rpg 1.4 apg 0.8 spg 0.7 bpg (54 starts)

Team Leaders
Scoring: Deon Curtis (16.4 ppg) Dylan Claxton (10.6 ppg) Mohamed Jones (6.2 ppg)
Rebounds: Dylan Claxton (5.3 rpg) Ron Sharpe (4.5 rpg) Kenyan Walker (3.4 rpg)
Assists: David Linderman (4.2 apg) Deon Curtis (1.8 apg) Dylan Claxton (1.6 apg)
Steals: David Linderman (1.2 spg) Kenyan Walker (1.0 spg) Ron Sharpe (1.0 spg)
Blocks: Dylan Claxton (0.9 bpg) Kenyan Walker (0.8 bpg) Ron Sharpe (0.7 bpg)

Awards
Ivy League Freshman of the Year: Deon Curtis
1st Team All Ivy League: Deon Curtis
2nd Team All Ivy League: Dylan Claxton

I was given a four year contract extension, giving me a 5 year deal worth $123,000 per year, a 5.6% raise.
Mercer, SE Louisiana and SC Upstate offered me jobs. None were even remotely considered.

April 23, 2019
We got our second signee of the season this week, as Bart Howard, a 6'5” shooting guard from Rockville, Maryland's Col. Zadok Magruder HS chose to spend a few years with us here in Providence. With a 3.9 GPA and strong athleticism, he brings a deft shooting touch to our program that we can definitely use. A bit raw from a defensive standpoint, I think he's the perfect blank slate for my system. His stock has seen a rise over the last few months, and he'd considered walking on at North Carolina, but we talked him into joining our program and will be glad to see him suiting up in our school colors next fall.

I'm taking a final crack at a couple remaining prospects, but seem unlikely to gain any further commitments on our last two scholarship offers. Would love to hear good news from Donnell Thornton, a top-300 prospect from Emporium, Pennsylvania's Cameron County High School … he's a strong passer and rebounder who also has solid athleticism suited for my rough and tumble defensive system. But He's set on Boston College and may choose to walk-on, though he's been receptive to my calls lately. We'll see.

April 30, 2019
Donnell Thornton signed a deal with James Madison, and we're left with two unfilled scholarships heading into the offseason.

[jksander]

Coach Information
Name: Rex Danninger (55)
Contract: $123,000 / year (5 years)
Experience: 22-32 (.407)
Offense: 52/100 (+4)
Defense: 66/100 (+6)
Recruiting: 26/100 (+9)
Scouting: 38/100 (+2)
Development: 59/100 (+5)
Reputation: 22/100 (+2)
Job Security: Secure

School Information
School: Brown Bears
Location: Providence, RI
Arena: Pizzatola Sports Center (2,800)
Facilities: C+
Academics: A (1,000 SAT Minimum)
Conference: Ivy League
Conf. Prestige: 23/100 (--)
Team Prestige: 15/100 (+1)
All-Time Team Record: 1,015-1,496 (.0404)
Ivy League Championships: 2
NCAA Appearances: 2
NIT Appearances: 1
CBI Appearances: 1

Our goals remain the same, the key one being to finish in the top three of the conference. We were so close this year I could taste it.

June 12, 2019
We signed a transfer student again this year! 6'0” shooting guard Chris Anyan has chosen to transfer from Lafayette after a single season. He has a 4.0 GPA and seems suited for the Ivy League beyond his athletic skills. But his athletic skills are plenty, however, and he averaged 17.7 ppg 2.8 rpg 1.5 apg 1.4 spg and 0.3 bpg during his 31 games with Lafayette (28 of them “starts”). He'll sit out a year and learn our system, but we're proud to call him a Bear!

We'll have three walk-on players this fall and just one senior. We will only have one scholarship to fill this year.

[jksander]

2019-20 SCHEDULE
11/15 - @ Butler
11/18 – Navy
11/22 – Northeastern
11/25 – Quinnipiac
11/29 – Incarnate Word
12/2 - @ Army
12/6 - @ IPFW
12/9 – Cal St. Bakersfield
12/13 - @ Providence
12/16 - @ Evansville
12/20 - @ Grand Canyon
12/23 - @ Utah Valley
12/27 - @ Mercer
1/3 - @ Harvard
1/6 – Pennsylvania
1/10 – Princeton
1/13 - @ Dartmouth
1/17 – Yale
1/20 - @ Cornell
1/24 – Columbia
1/27 – Harvard
1/31 - @ Pennsylvania
2/3 - @ Princeton
2/7 – Dartmouth
2/10 - @ Yale
2/14 – Cornell
2/17 - @ Columbia

October 9, 2019
We are able to announce our one signing for the season, a solid local Center, 6'9” senior from North Providence High Garvin Daniels! Though he's only ranked in the mid 600s nationally, he's got solid defensive ability and overall athleticism, he can score and shoot well inside and he's got good upside overall. I'm happy with his prospects and think he'll fit in very well with our system. And we kept him away from Providence, which is always good.

2019-20 TEAM ROSTER
PG – Kevin Jenkins (6'0” 199 lbs Fr) North Kingstown RI (North Kingstown HS) 3.8 GPA
SG – Vegas Boston (6'3” 216 lbs So) Yuba City CA (Yuba City HS) 3.3 GPA – transfer player
SF - Deon Curtis (6'3” 216 lbs So) Pawtucket RI (Tolman HS) 4.0 GPA – 16.4 ppg 3.3 rpg 1.8 apg 0.7 spg 0.4 bpg
PF – Mohamed Jones (6'6” 239 lbs So) North Smithfield RI (North Smithfield HS) 2.7 GPA – 6.2 ppg 2.3 rpg 1.4 apg 0.9 spg 0.3 bpg
C – Dennis Werner(6'8” 234 lbs So) Omaha TX (Paul H. Pewitt HS) 2.5 GPA – transfer player

6 – Terence Hamilton (6'5” 195 lbs So) Harrisville RI (Burrilville HS) 3.7 GPA – 3.5 ppg 1.1 rpg 1.4 apg 0.4 apg
7 – John Thompson (6'4” 171 lbs So) Manchester NH (Manchester Central HS) 3.3 GPA – transfer player
8 – Bart Howard (6'5” 205 lbs Fr) Rockville MD (Col Zodok Magruder HS) 3.9 GPA
9 – Brian Sanders (6'7” 201 lbs So) Tucson AZ (Flowing Wells HS) 3.9 GPA – transfer player
10 – Bill Trotman (6'10” 242 lbs Sr) Wakefield RI (South Kingstown HS) 3.3 GPA – 3.6 ppg 2.0 rpg 0.6 apg 0.1 spg 0.3 bpg*

11 – Troy Mance (6'2” 200 lbs Jr) Warwick RI (Bishop Hendricken HS) 3.4 GPA – 1.6 ppg 0.7 rpg 0.3 apg 0.3 spg 0.1 bpg*
12 – Gray Hernhill (6'6” 215 lbs Fr) Montvale NJ (Pascack Hills HS) 4.0 GPA
13 – Greg Bolton (6'6” 214 lbs So) Milton MA (Milton HS) 4.0 GPA – 3.7 ppg 2.5 rpg 1.2 apg 0.7 spg 0.2 bpg
14 – Charles Surpin (6'8” 239 lbs Fr) East Providence RI (East Providence HS) 3.4 GPA*

TR – Chris Anyan (6'0” 192 lbs So) West Suffield CT (Suffield HS) 4.0 GPA
_________
* Walk-On

[jksander]

The Season

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DATE / TEAM                      SCORE            W/L RECORD       Team Leaders
11/15 - @ Butler                 W 70-62          1-0              V. Boston (8 pts 3 reb 3 ast 2 stl 1 blk); D. Curtis (10 pts 1 reb 2 ast 1 stl)
11/18 – Navy                     W 79-76          2-0              D. Curtis (27 pts 3 reb 1 ast 1 blk); M. James (12 pts 1 reb 3 ast 1 stl)
11/22 – Northeastern             W 68-54          3-0              D. Curtis (18 pts 4 reb 1 stl); V. Boston (12 pts 6 reb 2 ast)
11/25 – Quinnipiac               W 65-51          4-0              V. Boston (11 pts 6 reb 3 ast 2 stl); D. Curtis (12 pts 2 reb 2 ast 4 stl 1 blk)
11/29 – Incarnate Word           W 83-43          5-0              D. Curtis (21 pts 4 reb 2 ast 2 blk); J. Thompson (11 pts 1 ast 2 stl)
12/2 - @ Army                    W 74-71          6-0              D. Curtis (20 pts 5 reb 3 ast1 stl 1 blk); D. Werner (15 pts 3 reb 3 ast 1 stl)
12/6 - @ IPFW                    W 60-52          7-0              D. Curtis (10 pts 7 reb 1 ast 3 stl); V. Boston (13 pts 1 reb 1 ast 2 stl 1 blk)

To this point Dartmouth was still undefeated, but they lost to the UNLV Runnin' Rebels 55-60, falling to 6-1, leaving us alone at the top! With Columbia (7-1) also having a surprisingly solid start to their season, it's looking like the Ivy League might get a little more attention later this year!

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12/9 – Cal St. Bakersfield       W 71-61          8-0              D. Curtis (16 pts 4 reb 1 stl); M. Jones (13 pts 7 reb 2 ast 2 stl)
12/13 - @ Providence             W 70-66          9-0              M. Jones (22 pts 4 reb 2 ast 1 stl); J. Thompson (19 pts 1 reb 2 ast 1 blk)
12/16 - @ Evansville             W 73-68          10-0             D. Curtis (19 pts 5 reb 2 ast 1 blk); V. Boston (11 pts 3 reb 1 ast 1 blk)
12/20 - @ Grand Canyon           W 65-64          11-0             D. Curtis (19 pts 1 reb 3 ast 2 blk); K. Jenkins (11 pts 2 reb 1 ast)
12/23 - @ Utah Valley            W 75-74          12-0             M. Jones (20 pts3 reb 2 ast 2 stl); D. Werner (10 pts 1 reb 1 stl 1 blk)
12/27 - @ Mercer                 W 78-69          13-0             D. Curtis (22 pts 2 reb 3 ast 4 stl 1 blk); M. Jones (10 pts 3 reb 2 stl)

We're having the season Ivy League teams dream of even as the upper half of the Ivy League itself has a renaissance year! I'd known we were going to be good this year with all our transfers ready to play plus with Curtis following up his Freshman of the Year debut. But no one expected such a well-balanced offensive attack overall to allow us to keep teams this surprised on the road and at home alike – even if three of the road wins have been by three points or fewer, they're still wins! And when you play eight of your first 13 games on the road and win every single one of them, there's plenty to be excited about heading into the conference season even with Dartmouth and Columbia nipping at our heels.

Pre-Conference Standings
01 Brown (13-0) – RPI: 19
02 Dartmouth (12-1) – RPI: 5
03 Columbia (10-3) – RPI: 62
04 Pennsylvania (8-5) – RPI: 72
05 Yale (4-10) – RPI: 337
06 Princeton (3-10) – RPI: 332
07 Harvard (2-11) – RPI: 339
08 Cornell (2-11) – RPI: 350

[jksander]

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DATE / TEAM                      SCORE            W/L RECORD       Team Leaders
1/3 - @ Harvard                  W 67-61          14-0 (1-0)       D. Curtis (36 pts 1 reb 1 ast 1 stl 1 blk); V. Boston (2 pts 10 reb 4 ast 2 stl)
1/6 – Pennsylvania               W 77-71          15-0 (2-0)       V. Boston (17 pts 6 reb 4 ast 3 stl 1 blk); D. Curtis (16 pts 2 reb 1 ast 2 stl)

We finally got national recognition with a #21 ranking after the decisive win over Penn on our court! It is the first national ranking in the history of the program, and we've gotten here by doing things the right way. Dartmouth, meanwhile, jumped in at #22, giving the Ivy two ranked teams for the first time ever as far as I can recall!

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1/10 – Princeton                 W 65-44          16-0 (3-0)       D. Curtis (13 pts 2 reb 1 ast 3 stl 2 blk); V. Boston (13 pts 6 reb 1 ast 1 blk)
1/13 - @ #22 Dartmouth           L 65-74          16-1 (3-1)       D. Curtis (26 pts 5 reb 2 ast 2 stl); M. Jones (10 pts 6 reb 1 stl 1 blk)
1/17 – Yale                      W 61-48          17-1 (4-1)       D. Curtis (21 pts 2 reb 1 ast 2 stl 1 blk); J. Thompson (9 pts 2 reb 2 stl 1 blk)
1/20 - @ Cornell                 L 54-55          17-2 (4-2)       D. Curtis (16 pts 5 reb 1 ast 1 blk); T. Hamilton (10 pts 1 ast 1 stl)
1/24 – Columbia                  W 64-52          18-2 (5-2)       D. Curtis (19 pts 2 reb 1 ast); M. Jones (10 pts 6 reb 3 ast 3 stl 1 blk)
1/27 – Harvard                   W 85-71          19-2 (6-2)       D. Curtis (15 pts 2 reb 3 ast 1 stl 2 blk); D. Werner (14 pts 6 reb 2 ast 2 stl 1 blk)
1/31 - @ Pennsylvania            L 61-79          19-3 (6-3)       D. Curtis (19 pts 3 reb 2 ast); M. Jones (12 pts 6 reb 2 ast 1 stl)
2/3 - @ Princeton                L 51-69          19-4 (6-4)       V. Boston (10 pts 3 reb 3 ast 1 stl 1 blk); D. Curtis (8 pts 1 reb 1 ast)
2/7 – #12 Dartmouth              L 73-76          19-5 (6-5)       D. Curtis (10 pts 1 reb 2 ast); K. Jenkins (12 pts 1 reb 7 ast)
2/10 - @ Yale                    L 57-73          19-6 (6-6)       D. Curtis (20 pts 1 reb 1 ast); V. Boston (13 pts 5 reb 2 ast 2 stl)

A brutal four game losing streak (and six of our last 10) finally dropped us out of the top 25 – and out of the top 30 RPI. If we don't beat Cornell and Columbia next week we have zero shot at getting an at-large bid into the NCAA tournament, as I don't see a middle-of-the-pack finish in the Ivy being good enough.

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2/14 – Cornell                   W 79-57          20-6 (7-6)        K. Jenkins (19 pts 2 reb 5 ast); D. Curtis (18 pts 3 reb 1 ast 4 stl)
2/17 - @ Columbia                W 80-75          21-6 (8-6)        D. Curtis (25 pts 6 reb 2 ast 1 stl 2 blk); K. Jenkins (11 pts 2 reb 2 ast 1 stl 1 blk)

We wound up in a tie for third in the Ivy, with Penn's Quakers winning the tiebreakers. Based on the surprising strengh of the Ivy this year we may have done enough to get a rare at-large bid due to our strength-of-schedule, but it's hard to know, as our stock can drop as all the other conferences play their tournaments and we sit here for a month.

IVY STANDINGS
01 #10 Dartmouth (14-0, 26-1) – RPI: 4
02 Columbia (9-5, 19-8) – RPI: 83
03 Pennsylvania (8-6, 16-11) – RPI: 71)
04 Brown (8-6, 21-6) – RPI: 23)
05 Yale (5-9, 9-19) – RPI: 321
06 Princeton (5-9, 8-19) – RPI: 322
07 Cornell (4-10, 6-21) – RPI: 334
08 Harvard (3-11, 5-22) – RPI: 339

March 12, 2020
SELECTION SUNDAY

Dartmouth drew the 3rd seed in the San Jose Regional, where they'll face (14) Jacksonville in the first round.
We stunned EVERYONE by being seeded 9th in the same regional, where we'll face Georgia in the first round!

Columbia made the NIT while Pennsylvania wound up in the CBI.
Columbia lost their opener to Auburn 54-76 but Penn won against Western Kentucky 80-67.

NCAA TOURNAMENT

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DATE / TEAM                      SCORE            W/L RECORD       Team Leaders
3/17 – (n) (8) Georgia           W 80-75          22-6             D. Curtis (42 pts 7 reb 1 stl); J. Thompson (12 pts 4 reb)
3/19 – (n) (1) Miami (FL)        L 74-78          22-7             D. Curtis (22 pts 4 reb 1 ast 1 blk); V. Boston (17 pts 7 reb)

In the opening round both Ivy teams survived, something that has never happened – obviously, as no Ivy team has ever made it as an at large team into the tournament before, but still, seeing our conference go 2-0 on the second day of the tournament was pretty wild. As was seeing Deon Curtis put on such a show in prime time … take that, SEC! We then took Miami all the way to the wire before narrowly missing out on a Sweet Sixteen, but Dartmouth kept dancing after knocking off (11) Xavier by a 76-67 margin!

Penn lost in the second round of the CBI 70-86 to Santa Clara's Broncos.
Dartmouth lost in the Regional Semifinals to (2) Louisville 60-76, bringing our Ivy League NCAA record to 3-2 for this tournament.

NCAA TOURNAMENT: (2) Michigan beat (3) Georgia Tech 80-67 to win their second straight title in their third visit in a row to the championship game.
NIT TOURNAMENT: (4) Kansas pounded (7) Kansas State 79-60.
CBI TOURNAMENT: (5) Oklahoma stomped on (7) Santa Clara 79-67.