With wins in four of its last six games, Columbia takes a great deal of momentum into the 2004-2005 season. Freshman center Ben Nwachukwu has Morningside Heights buzzing and forwards Matt Preston and Dragutin Kravic present a formidable challenge in the frontcourt. But the key to the Lions’ success lies in the backcourt—more specifically, three-point shooting. Columbia finished second in the league with a 38.2 conversion percentage from behind the arc, and third in the league in three-point defense, holding opponents to a 32.7 percentage. The Lions still don’t have the talent to challenge the big three of Princeton, Penn and Yale, but they should find themselves in the thick of the race for the fourth spot.
No. 7 BROWN
Last Year’s Record : 14-13 (10-4)
How can a 10-4 team, which has the reigning Ivy League Player of the Year, possibly fall from second to seventh in the league standings in just one season? Brown coach Glen Miller might have found an answer to this question by suspending that star player—senior point guard Jason Forte—indefinitely for “conduct detrimental to the team.” The term “indefinitely” has thrown a lot of Ivy predictions into disarray, as the Bears’ Ivy finish depends on Forte’s presence on the floor. It will be very interesting to see how long Forte spends on the sidelines, because if that hiatus extends into the Ivy season, look for Brown to sink to the bottom of the standings.
No. 8 DARTMOUTH
Last Year’s Record : 3-25 (1-13)
An 18-game losing streak to end a season is enough to put any coach’s job in jeopardy. Dave Faucher knew that he’d be fired at season’s end, so he went ahead and resigned with six games left to go in Dartmouth’s 2003-2004 campaign. After an exhaustive search, the Big Green brought in Terry Dunn, who left his position as an assistant at Colorado to take the reins at Dartmouth. Dunn could be in a lot of trouble right off the bat, as star guard Leon Pattman will miss the start of the season with a groin injury that might sideline him for the whole season. Even with Pattman, it would be tough for this Big Green squad to climb out of the Ivy cellar, but without him, things could get ugly.