In New York state, Columbia (7-7, 1-0) and Cornell (6-7, 0-1) have played just one Ivy contest thus far--against each other. The Lions prevailed easily, defeating the Big Red 75-58 in Ithica.

Sophomore forward Craig Austin leads the team with a 15.0 ppg average, and he paced Columbia to the win over Cornell with 21 points and four assists. Sophomore forward/center Mike McBrien--who stands in at 6'7--adds 5.3 rpg. The Lions' lack of depth and experience make them a work in progress.

Junior forward Ray Mercedes provides superb athleticism to the Big Red with 15.2 ppg. The dynamic 5'9 sophomore point guard Wallace Prather contributes 13.1 ppg and 3.7 apg. Prather scored a career-high 25 points in the loss to Columbia.

Despite strong play from Mercedes and Prather, though, Cornell is a longshot at best to contend for the Ivy League, as the rout by Columbia demonstrates.

Left out of the equation so far, however, are the perennial powers of the Ivy League--Penn and Princeton. Neither team has begun its league schedule, and both sport mediocre records. The numbers are somewhat deceiving, however, as both the Quakers and the Tigers have faced off against quality Division I competition.

The young Princeton team is led by 6'10 sophomore center Chris Young and 6'6 freshman swingman Spencer Gloger. Young--last year's Ivy League Rookie of the Year--is averaging 13.5 ppg, while Gloger is netting 13.1. Forward Mason Rocca--the team's only senior--contributes 13.0 ppg to add to the balanced Princeton attack.

The Tigers stand at just .500 on the year, but have fallen to strong teams such as Syracuse, UNLV and Xavier. Princeton does boast wins over Rutgers and College of Charles ton and looks to once again be a solid contender for the league crown.

Defending league champion Penn, meanwhile, is currently under .500, but enters the Ivy schedule as the odds-on favorite to repeat.