YALE AT CORNELL:

The disturbing underside to the Ivy title race has been the furor that erupted this week in New Haven surrounding Montague. The captain left school last week without any disclosure as to why, leaving the Bulldogs’ decisions to honor him during Friday warm-ups with shirts emblazoned with his nickname (“Gucci”) and the word YALE spelled backwards peculiar, to say the least.

Monday morning, the story took a turn. Pictures of the team in the shirts, tagged “stop supporting a rapist” sprung up around campus. Reigning Ivy League Player of the Year Justin Sears fanned the fire, acknowledging the shirts were controversial but refusing to explain any possible symbolism behind them.

Without opining about accusations regarding facts to which I am not privy, it is sufficient to say that Sears’ statement that “no one in the team is aware of what happened” to their teammate is suspicious, especially with ESPN reporting that Montague is active in the team’s group chat. Mum has been the word around New Haven, with the athletic department denying any knowledge of the creation of the shirts.

As Yale chases its first title in half a century, the circumstances are—to say the least—a heavy weight on the team’s back. It’s hard not to feel, however, that this is partially self-imposed.

Pick: Yale

PRINCETON AT HARVARD:

In other years, this might be the game of the season. In this one, it feels like a footnote.

Pick: Princeton

PENN AT DARTMOUTH:

Among the non-Harvard seniors, I’ll miss Penn center Darien Nelson-Henry most of all. The big man, who has been putting up big numbers to lead an offense full of underclassmen, has toiled for four mediocre years in Philadelphia in a program that has only recently found continuity and direction. Nelson-Henry has borne his curse in style, progressively growing out a beard that is among the best in college basketball. His post moves have certainly improved, but a beard that fearsome deserves acknowledgment.

Pick: Penn

BROWN AT COLUMBIA:

A couple weeks ago, the New York Times ran an expose on the art interests of senior Lions point guard Maodo Lo. The mother of the German point guard is a renowned painter, a fact that apparently shocked even Kyle Smith, Lo’s own coach. In his words: “I knew she was an artist, but I’m like, dude”.

Oh Howard, this Ivy league prose ain’t what it once was.