Yes, Dartmouth, I know Brown’s not a Division III team. But it plays like one! You can pretend!
This is your time. Every inspiring song and speech ever written was written for your moment, right now. This is "Eye of the Tiger," Al Pacino’s speech in "Any Given Sunday," and the 2008 Obama campaign all wrapped into one.
It’s right there in front of you, Dartmouth. Go out and seize the moment.
I believe in you, even though nobody else will.
Pick: Dartmouth 65, Brown 62
CORNELL AT PRINCETON
There have been a lot of great players to come out of these two programs recently, and many of them have found success playing ball elsewhere. Because while not all Ivy Leaguers are lucky enough to be the talk of the country and the biggest story of the NBA season (you don’t know that’s who I’m referring to!) it is certainly possible to continue one’s playing career around the world.
For example, Kareem Maddox is playing in Holland. Dan Mavraides is playing in Greece. Louis Dale is playing in Germany. Jeff Foote is playing in the NBADL. Ryan Wittman is playing in Poland.
What’s that? Wittman’s still at Morgan Stanley? Well, never mind then.
Pick: Princeton 65, Cornell 61
COLUMBIA AT PENN
I visited the Palestra for the first time last weekend, and it truly is all it’s made out to be. For one, it actually feels like a college basketball arena, rather than a high school gym (*cough* Lavietes *cough*). Second, you can just feel the history emanating from that place. And third, it’s built to allow noise to travel incredibly well. At times last Friday, even though there were only 7,500 people there, it sounded like there were 75,000. Just an awesome experience.
Also, it was fun to watch Rosen try to score in every way humanly possible, throwing up shot after shot after shot. Unfortunately for him, he finished just 6-for-21.
To be fair, not everyone can come up big in the most important game of his life. We can’t all be Jeremy Lin.
There. I’m done. 1,500 words and only 4.5 additional mentions of Linsanity. That’s way under the national average of 1,478 per 1,500. I’m very proud of myself.
Pick: Penn 70, Columbia 64
LAST WEEK: 6-2
SEASON: 19-3
—Staff writer Scott A. Sherman can be reached at ssherman13@college.harvard.edu.