Ivy League postseason hoops tourney at Palestra
THE IVY LEAGUE was the last basketball postseason tournament holdout, calling its regular-season a "14-game tournament.'' Now, after approving a four-team tournament for men and women starting next March at the Palestra with the automatic NCAA Tournament berth on the line, the league has joined the rest of college hoops.
THE IVY LEAGUE was the last basketball postseason tournament holdout, calling its regular-season a "14-game tournament.'' Now, after approving a four-team tournament for men and women starting next March at the Palestra with the automatic NCAA Tournament berth on the line, the league has joined the rest of college hoops.
"I was calling former players both at Cornell and at Penn,'' said Penn men's coach Steve Donahue. "Something that stuck with me was what David Klatsky said, 'That the most exciting game of my life was the Yale playoff game' . . . At Cornell, we won championships and one time we won it at Brown. No one's in the gym, Brown people didn't care. We're not allowed to cut down the nets. We had a game the next day (Saturday) and we went on our way. I just think it should be more of a festive moment for these kids to remember.''
League teams will lose one regular-season game under the new deal and the winner of the regular-season championship will still be called Ivy League champion. But the bigger prize will be on the line in the tournament, which will debut March 11 and 12, 2017, a Saturday and Sunday, with semifinals (1 vs. 4, 2 vs. 3) Saturday and championship games Sunday.
"All the coaches agreed that one of the best things about this is the Palestra,'' Donahue said. "It's an incredible environment for a playoff. I like four teams. We have eight. We eliminate half the league. I think it's important that the regular season means a lot.''
Whatever one thinks of the traditional format, the tournament will give the league some juice and absolutely be a celebration of the game, with four games Saturday and two more Sunday. And, of course, it will commence at the only possible gym. Future venues have not been determined, but, even with Penn's advantage on its court, is there any place better than the Palestra?
@DickJerardi