Who needs a conference tournament?

That was the question put forth-rather smugly, in retrospect-on the Princeton athletics web site two weeks ago. At the time, the Ivy League men's basketball season was entering its final full weekend with four teams still mathematically in contention for the league title.

As it turned out, though, the Ivy championship once again came down to Penn and Princeton's final meeting of the year, which is perennially scheduled ever-so-pompously for the Tuesday after every other Ivy school wraps up its season. The Tigers ended up beating the Quakers, 68-52, earning them the Ivy's automatic bid to this year's NCAA Tournament.

Princeton will now face the No. 5 team in the country, the North Carolina Tar Heels, in the opening round of the Big Dance. Barring an upset of titanic proportions, the Tigers will likely be easily dismissed, much like Penn the past two years.

And that early exit will conclude yet another frustrating year in Ivy men's hoops, where-unless your school begins with a 'P'-the battle is always for third place.

Does anyone else see something wrong with this picture?

Right now, Ivy League basketball is staler than former Princeton star Bill Bradley on the campaign trail. It's true that the league was more competitive this year than in the past, but it was once again Princeton and Penn finishing atop the standings. Both teams were the most vulnerable they've been in recent years and both of them still finished above the rest.

Nonetheless, some people will point to this year's apparent league parity as justification for not having a tournament. But even if this year's regular season title was highly-contested, so what? Regular seasons are supposed to be competitive. It's only because the Ivy League has been so starved for parity for so many years that this season seemed something special.