Overview:

New York City will be home to the Ivy Madness this year with a four team tournament starting Saturday. The #1 seed Princeton Tigers will face off against the #4 Brown Bears while the #2 Yale Bulldogs battle the #3 Cornell Big Red in a tournament that Princeton and Yale have tussled over the past two seasons. Princeton won the 2023 Ivy League tournament over Yale after falling to the same Bulldogs team the year before. Both of these teams are the favorites to face off in the championship again this year in a game that will decide who gets to the Big Dance next week.

Princeton: 

The Tigers are coming off of a regular season Ivy League Championship after finishing 12-2 in conference and 23-3 overall. This squad is led by sophomore standout Caden Pierce, who was named the Ivy League Player of the Year. Pierce nearly averaged a double-double, finishing the regular season averaging 16.4 points and 9.3 rebounds per game. Princeton took home the win against Brown both times they played this year in battles that came down to the wire. The Tigers come into the tournament riding a nine game win streak. 

Yale: 

The Bulldogs find themselves advancing to the tournament after a loss to Brown in their final regular season game to finish the season at 20-9 (11-3). Bez Mbeng won Ivy League Defensive Player of the Year with 2 steals a game along with 11.8 points and 4.2 assists a game. After losing three of the last six games, Yale looks to survive one more weekend to find a way to receive their automatic bid come Sunday. The Bulldogs split two games against Cornell this season, losing their most recent matchup by three points.

Cornell:
The Big Red fell to the Bulldogs last year in the first round of Ivy Madness and seek revenge this weekend with a chance to advance to the title game on Sunday. Cornell comes in with the same 11-3 conference record as Yale and have won 12 of their last 15 games. This squad is led by senior Chris Manon who leads the team in points and steals, 12.6 and 2.2 respectively. Cornell has arguably the best offense in this conference and when they get hot, it is hard to stop their outside shooters. However, they will have to step up their defense come this weekend if they want a chance at causing some upsets.

Brown:

The Bears travel to New York with the worst odds of coming out victorious at a record of 12-17 overall and 8-6 in conference. Despite their up and down year, they have won six straight games to clinch their spot as a four seed, including wins over Yale and Cornell. Kino Lilly Jr. leads the pack with 18.4 points and 3.4 assists a game. The junior is coming off a 26 point performance in an overtime win over Yale. The last time Brown lost was on February 16th as they fell to Princeton, who they will need to overcome in order to advance to the championship. Brown has lost both games to Princeton this season, but hopes to ride their recent success into New York.

My pick:

For the second straight year, I believe top seed Princeton will be able to dance into March Madness by winning the Ivy League Tournament over Cornell. The Tigers made a Cinderella run into the Sweet 16 last year as a 15 seed and with their offensive talent, they may have the opportunity to go dancing this year with the probability of being a slightly higher seed. Cornell matches up really well against a struggling Yale team and after splitting the series with them this season, I believe they can get the win over the Bulldogs in a back and forth game. The Ivy League is a conference that rarely gets at-large bids, meaning that if you want to dance as one of the best 64 teams in the nation, you will have to win the conference tournament. All four teams will be fighting for their postseason lives in New York this weekend, one with a Cinderella opportunity to shock the nation.