Maryland 70 Cornell 62

[Al DeFlorio]

If there's a bias it simply is the media wanting Harvard to fill the roll as the this year's Cornell-like cinderella story to hype up the March Madness excitement.

I prefer my Kaiser filled with pastrami.;-)

[Josh '99]

What's the tiebreaker if they both finish 12-2?  A single game playoff?

They share the Ivy title and play one game (probably at Levein or Lee) for the NCAA autobid.

At least one analyst has said that he thinks if that happens, and Penn wins, the Ivies will be a two-bid conference. He also thought that if Harvard drops one to Cornell or Columbia, they'd still be right around the tournament bubble.

Further evidence that the world will come to an end in 2012.

Bid inflation!

As much as I want the Ivy's to get more respect, Harvard isn't good enough for an at large bid. They lost to FORDHAM. If a Cornell team played the same schedule and had the same record it wouldn't come close to being nationally ranked,

I disagree. If Cornell had the exact same season Harvard has had this year we would be ranked the same as Harvard (which I think is not good enough to make the tournament as an at-large bid, considering the losses to Fordam, Penn, and Princeton). It's not like there is a pro-Harvard bias in college basketball circles that gives them an advantage, nor is there an anti-Cornell bias (there might an anti-Ivy bias though). Now Duke on the other hand...

I really think the media wants Harvard to get in because it makes for a sexy story. Remember that  Harvard was the favorite heading into the game in Ithaca despite being a clearly inferior team (evidenced by their 32 point loss). Anyone whod watched a basketball game involving both teams could have told you that Cornell team was the FAR superior team. There may not be a pro-Harvard bias, but there's definitely for a bias for a good story and lets face it what's the better story, Cornell dominant Ivy League power who can play with the best in the country, or replacing that with Harvard. The media loved the Cornell story, but Harvard making that same run is the media's wet dream.

I'm confused; are we talking about this Cornell-Harvard game from 2009-10?  I could see how one would confuse it for something that had just happened recently, given that Jeremy Lin had 8 turnovers.

[jtn27]

I really think the media wants Harvard to get in because it makes for a sexy story. Remember that  Harvard was the favorite heading into the game in Ithaca despite being a clearly inferior team (evidenced by their 32 point loss). Anyone whod watched a basketball game involving both teams could have told you that Cornell team was the FAR superior team. There may not be a pro-Harvard bias, but there's definitely for a bias for a good story and lets face it what's the better story, Cornell dominant Ivy League power who can play with the best in the country, or replacing that with Harvard. The media loved the Cornell story, but Harvard making that same run is the media's wet dream.

The media (which basically means ESPN) may want Harvard to get in, but ESPN is not the selection committee and they are are they responsible for the polls. You can spout conspiracy theories all you want, but I don't buy it. If Harvard makes the tournament as an at large bid it will have nothing to do with the media.

[RichH]

I really think the media wants Harvard to get in because it makes for a sexy story. Remember that  Harvard was the favorite heading into the game in Ithaca despite being a clearly inferior team (evidenced by their 32 point loss). Anyone whod watched a basketball game involving both teams could have told you that Cornell team was the FAR superior team. There may not be a pro-Harvard bias, but there's definitely for a bias for a good story and lets face it what's the better story, Cornell dominant Ivy League power who can play with the best in the country, or replacing that with Harvard. The media loved the Cornell story, but Harvard making that same run is the media's wet dream.

The media (which basically means ESPN) may want Harvard to get in, but ESPN is not the selection committee and they are are they responsible for the polls. You can spout conspiracy theories all you want, but I don't buy it. If Harvard makes the tournament as an at large bid it will have nothing to do with the media.

But then how are they going to get any exposure for the NCAA Tournament?  Nobody's going to pay attention without ESPN pulling strings in the selection process. **]

[nyc94]

Bracketologists have Harvard as an 9/10 because they performed well against a tough schedule.

How tough was it?  Seriously, I have no idea from looking at it.  How does it compare with Cornell's 2010 schedule?

[Ben]

The smack is being talked. Stay humble, Harvard.

[css228]

I really think the media wants Harvard to get in because it makes for a sexy story. Remember that  Harvard was the favorite heading into the game in Ithaca despite being a clearly inferior team (evidenced by their 32 point loss). Anyone whod watched a basketball game involving both teams could have told you that Cornell team was the FAR superior team. There may not be a pro-Harvard bias, but there's definitely for a bias for a good story and lets face it what's the better story, Cornell dominant Ivy League power who can play with the best in the country, or replacing that with Harvard. The media loved the Cornell story, but Harvard making that same run is the media's wet dream.

The media (which basically means ESPN) may want Harvard to get in, but ESPN is not the selection committee and they are are they responsible for the polls. You can spout conspiracy theories all you want, but I don't buy it. If Harvard makes the tournament as an at large bid it will have nothing to do with the media.

Like the NCAA doesnt care about ratings? Which is why you get a crappy major team over a deserving mid major all the time,

[jtn27]

I really think the media wants Harvard to get in because it makes for a sexy story. Remember that  Harvard was the favorite heading into the game in Ithaca despite being a clearly inferior team (evidenced by their 32 point loss). Anyone whod watched a basketball game involving both teams could have told you that Cornell team was the FAR superior team. There may not be a pro-Harvard bias, but there's definitely for a bias for a good story and lets face it what's the better story, Cornell dominant Ivy League power who can play with the best in the country, or replacing that with Harvard. The media loved the Cornell story, but Harvard making that same run is the media's wet dream.

The media (which basically means ESPN) may want Harvard to get in, but ESPN is not the selection committee and they are are they responsible for the polls. You can spout conspiracy theories all you want, but I don't buy it. If Harvard makes the tournament as an at large bid it will have nothing to do with the media.

Like the NCAA doesnt care about ratings? Which is why you get a crappy major team over a deserving mid major all the time,

Harvard is neither a major nor mid-major team. They might make a good Cinderella story but they have a non-existant fan base. The NCAA will get better ratings by inviting a team with a large fan base.

[jtn27]

The smack is being talked. Stay humble, Harvard.

Ooohhh.... That's bulletin board material. Coach Courtney will be sure to let the team know about this (that is if Coach Courtney knows how to use Twitter).

[css228]

I really think the media wants Harvard to get in because it makes for a sexy story. Remember that  Harvard was the favorite heading into the game in Ithaca despite being a clearly inferior team (evidenced by their 32 point loss). Anyone whod watched a basketball game involving both teams could have told you that Cornell team was the FAR superior team. There may not be a pro-Harvard bias, but there's definitely for a bias for a good story and lets face it what's the better story, Cornell dominant Ivy League power who can play with the best in the country, or replacing that with Harvard. The media loved the Cornell story, but Harvard making that same run is the media's wet dream.

The media (which basically means ESPN) may want Harvard to get in, but ESPN is not the selection committee and they are are they responsible for the polls. You can spout conspiracy theories all you want, but I don't buy it. If Harvard makes the tournament as an at large bid it will have nothing to do with the media.

Like the NCAA doesnt care about ratings? Which is why you get a crappy major team over a deserving mid major all the time,

Harvard is neither a major nor mid-major team. They might make a good Cinderella story but they have a non-existant fan base. The NCAA will get better ratings by inviting a team with a large fan base.

They are an appealing name for a neutral fan to get behind though. They'll definitely get neutrals to watch.

[Jordan 04]

The smack is being talked. Stay humble, Harvard.

Ooohhh.... That's bulletin board material. Coach Courtney will be sure to let the team know about this (that is if Coach Courtney knows how to use Twitter).

Whatever it was, it's been taken down.

Edit: never mind, page wasn't loading.

[kingpin248]

Bracketologists have Harvard as an 9/10 because they performed well against a tough schedule.

How tough was it?  Seriously, I have no idea from looking at it.  How does it compare with Cornell's 2010 schedule?

According to the Bradley-Terry:
Harvard 2012, through February 29: SOS 148.95, ranked 127th
Cornell 2010, through March 14 (Selection Sunday): SOS 247.20, ranked 101st

[ugarte]

Bracketologists have Harvard as an 9/10 because they performed well against a tough schedule.

How tough was it?  Seriously, I have no idea from looking at it.  How does it compare with Cornell's 2010 schedule?

According to the Bradley-Terry:
Harvard 2012, through February 29: SOS 148.95, ranked 127th
Cornell 2010, through March 14 (Selection Sunday): SOS 247.20, ranked 101st

And Cornell was 39 and Harvard is sitting at 47 in the overall B-T rankings.  Interestingly, that means that Harvard should be the 12 seed and we should have been a 9. I'd rather be a 12.

[French Rage]

I really think the media wants Harvard to get in because it makes for a sexy story. Remember that  Harvard was the favorite heading into the game in Ithaca despite being a clearly inferior team (evidenced by their 32 point loss). Anyone whod watched a basketball game involving both teams could have told you that Cornell team was the FAR superior team. There may not be a pro-Harvard bias, but there's definitely for a bias for a good story and lets face it what's the better story, Cornell dominant Ivy League power who can play with the best in the country, or replacing that with Harvard. The media loved the Cornell story, but Harvard making that same run is the media's wet dream.

The media (which basically means ESPN) may want Harvard to get in, but ESPN is not the selection committee and they are are they responsible for the polls. You can spout conspiracy theories all you want, but I don't buy it. If Harvard makes the tournament as an at large bid it will have nothing to do with the media.

Like the NCAA doesnt care about ratings? Which is why you get a crappy major team over a deserving mid major all the time,

Harvard is neither a major nor mid-major team. They might make a good Cinderella story but they have a non-existant fan base. The NCAA will get better ratings by inviting a team with a large fan base.

They are an appealing name for a neutral fan to get behind though. They'll definitely get neutrals to watch.

This.  Like it or not Harvard still has a more recognizable name, so they're always getting the media hype, even in seasons where we beat them by 30+.  And ESPN likes the lazy story (you know, where a far superior QB doesn't get the Heisman because he didn't have enough "Heisman moments", i.e. 30 seconds of clips we can just show you instead of actually analyzing why he is better because God forbid our "college football experts" do some fucking work) so they're going to want to focus on the more recognizable team with good academics that you already have heard about in the Facebook movie instead of alerting you to the fact that a better team with good academics happens to exist.

Also, does anyone know if Harvard and Penn tie the RS this year will Harvard fans rush the court again.  Or is rushing the court for a RS title tie before you lost the playoff game really something you only do once?

[Trotsky]

To be honest, Cornell has had a lot of good insider press out of Bristol over the years.  This is not in any way to suggest that ESPN is not a cancer that should be nuked from orbit, to be sure.