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Ivy League Basketball Tournament: Penn and Harvard part of 2019 field

By Pan Karalis

PHILADELPHIA, PA - MARCH 11: The Pennsylvania Quakers men's basketball team hold up the championship trophy after winning the Men's Ivy League Championship Tournament at The Palestra on March 11, 2018 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Penn defeated Harvard 68-65. (Photo by Corey Perrine/Getty Images)
PHILADELPHIA, PA - MARCH 11: The Pennsylvania Quakers men's basketball team hold up the championship trophy after winning the Men's Ivy League Championship Tournament at The Palestra on March 11, 2018 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Penn defeated Harvard 68-65. (Photo by Corey Perrine/Getty Images) /
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MIAMI, FL – DECEMBER 01: Miye Oni #25 of the Yale Bulldogs reacts against the Miami Hurricanes during the HoopHall Miami Invitational at American Airlines Arena on December 1, 2018 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
MIAMI, FL – DECEMBER 01: Miye Oni #25 of the Yale Bulldogs reacts against the Miami Hurricanes during the HoopHall Miami Invitational at American Airlines Arena on December 1, 2018 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images) /

Players to watch

AJ Brodeur – Penn

Brodeur (pronounced BRO-der, not like the goaltender) was again one of the top players in the league in the 2019 season. The recipient of last year’s Ivy Tournament MVP award managed another trip to the event with a perfect final weekend from him and his Quaker teammates, going 2-0 in two must-win games last night.

The 6’8″ forward led the league in games played, field goals made and field goal percentage, and second in total rebounds and assists. I could go on, but you get it; few guys in the league have the impact Brodeur does. I would say Penn needs him to come up big to have a chance this weekend, but he also puts up big numbers as consistently, win or lose for Penn, as anyone in the country. He’ll show up this weekend, and we’ll see if his teammates follow.

Miye Oni – Yale

Miye Oni has begun to be talked about as the kind of player with NBA-level talent. He could very well leave the Bulldogs early for the 2019 draft. The 6’6″ guard scored in double digits for Yale in every game but one this season, the only exception being one of the Bulldogs’ biggest losses of the season, coming to Penn on the final weekend of the regular season. Oni was held to only two points by Penn’s stifling defense, and Yale will want to make sure Oni gets going if they happen to meet Penn in the final on Sunday.

Bryce Aiken – Harvard

After sitting out much of last season and more than half of this one, Bryce Aiken almost triumphantly returned to the court this January, just in time to lead the Crimson to their second-consecutive share of an Ivy title. After losing their first game of the Ivy season to a Dartmouth team that finished last in the league standings this season, Aiken returned for a January non-conference game at Howard.

The Crimson would reel off a five-game winning streak from their, and Aiken averaged over 21 points in the 14 games he appeared in this year. Harvard went 11-3 to finish the year with Aiken on the roster. You can argue all you’d like about who means more to which Ivy squad heading into the weekend, but the numbers back up Aiken’s value to Tommy Amaker’s team.