2024-10-09 06:50:03
PRINCETON, N.J. – Princeton was voted the Ivy League men’s basketball preseason favorite in the 2024-25 Ivy League Men’s Basketball Preseason Poll, voted on by 16 media members that cover the league.
The reigning Ivy champs, Princeton returns both of its first team All-Ivy selections from last season in Caden Pierce and Xaivian Lee. After averaging 16.6 points and 9.2 rebounds per game, Pierce was voted the Ivy League Player of the Year. Princeton received 15 of the 16 possible first place votes.
Yale, which advanced to the NCAA tournament second round after knocking off fourth-seeded Auburn, was picked second in the poll. The Bulldogs bring back a pair of All-Ivy honorees in Bez Mbeng and John Poulakidas. Mbeng is the two-time reigning defensive player of the year.
After advancing to the Ivy Madness final, Brown was voted third in the poll with 92 points and received a first place vote.
Just 16 points separated the next four teams for the important fourth place spot in the standings: Cornell (67), Columbia (58), Harvard (55) and Penn (51). Dartmouth rounded out the poll with 18 points.
The top four teams will earn spots to Ivy Madness. The event, which combines the men’s and women’s tournaments, is set for March 14-16 at the Pizzitola Sports Center on Brown’s campus in Providence, R.I.
Last season marked the second-ever time in Ivy League history that three teams were selected to participate in the top two men’s postseason tournaments: NCAA (Yale) and NIT (Cornell and Princeton). The other occurrence was in 2002.
Since 2010, the league has enjoyed eight wins in the NCAA tournament, including a pair of trips to the Sweet 16: Cornell (2010) and Princeton (2023).
2024-25 Ivy League Men’s Basketball Preseason Poll (First Place Votes)
1. Princeton – 127 (15)
2. Yale – 108
3. Brown – 92 (1)
4. Cornell – 67
5. Columbia – 58
6. Harvard – 55
7. Penn – 51
8. Dartmouth – 18
