Busting Brackets
Fansided

Ivy League Basketball: Preseason rankings for 2018-19

By Tristan Freeman

PHILADELPHIA, PA - MARCH 12: The Princeton Tigers hoist the championship trophy after the win against the Yale Bulldogs in the Ivy League tournament final at The Palestra on March 12, 2017 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Princeton won 71-59. (Photo by Corey Perrine/Getty Images)
PHILADELPHIA, PA - MARCH 12: The Princeton Tigers hoist the championship trophy after the win against the Yale Bulldogs in the Ivy League tournament final at The Palestra on March 12, 2017 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Princeton won 71-59. (Photo by Corey Perrine/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
9 of 9
Next
PHILADELPHIA, PA – MARCH 11: The Harvard Crimson huddles during the first half of the Men’s Ivy League Championship Tournament at The Palestra on March 11, 2018 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Corey Perrine/Getty Images)
PHILADELPHIA, PA – MARCH 11: The Harvard Crimson huddles during the first half of the Men’s Ivy League Championship Tournament at The Palestra on March 11, 2018 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Corey Perrine/Getty Images) /

1. Harvard Crimson

2017-18 season record: 18-14 (12-2)

Even though Penn is the defending champs and both they and Yale bring back a ton of production, it’s Harvard that’s the clear-cut favorite to win the Ivy League. They managed to win 12 games despite not having their second-best player Bryce Aiken for half the year while having an all-underclassmen roster last season.

Aiken, who still managed to average 14.1 ppg last season, will be paired with the reigning Ivy League Player of the Year in Seth Towns. The 6’7 forward averaged 16.0 ppg and 5.7 rpg on 44% shooting from deep and 81% from the free throw line.

Like the season prior, the Crimson was the best overall defensive team in the Ivy League, ranking 1st in most of the individual categories. It was so good that it helped uplift an offense that was near the bottom in the conference.

Not only does everyone returns for Harvard but the top six scorers will all be experienced upperclassmen. Then there’s another great recruiting class, including four-star point guard recruit Spencer Freedman. He’ll certainly get playing time as a freshman but he may ultimately end up being the starter for the team. One potential weakness for them is the lack of a true distributor, with no one averaging 3.0 apg last season. Aiken is more of a natural shooting guard, so watch out for Freedman to possibly sneak his way in if head coach Tommy Amaker isn’t satisfied at that position.

Next. 30 best arena atmospheres in college hoops. dark

The Ivy League will be a very competitive conference from top to bottom, with a bunch of teams potentially causing headaches for the power conference programs in the non-conference schedule. Harvard looks to be the leader of the pack but don’t be surprised if a team makes a run to the top of the Ivy ladder, similar to how Penn did previously.