Ivy League Men's Basketball Preseason Poll Revealed

10/22/2014 1:34:00 PM | Men's Basketball

By: Dartmouth

HANOVER, N.H. — The Ivy League conducted its men's basketball teleconference call with the media today and released its preseason poll with very little difference expected from last year's final standings. For a second straight year, Harvard is the unanimous pick to repeat as the conference champion, while Dartmouth is picked to finish in sixth place.

Finishing second in the poll is Yale, with Columbia third and Princeton a close fourth. Brown is pegged for fifth, while Penn is slated for seventh and Cornell eighth. The only differences from the final standings in the Ancient Eight in 2013-14 is that Princeton tied Columbia for third and Penn tied the Big Green for sixth.

Dartmouth enjoyed its best overall record in 15 years by going 12-16. In non-conference games, the Big Green owned a break-even mark of 7-7, but center Gabas Maldunas, the team's leading scorer and the league's top rebounder at the time, was lost for the season after just one Ivy League contest. Head coach Paul Cormier still managed to lead his squad to a 5-9 conference record, matching the previous season's mark, including victories over Brown, Princeton and Yale.

2014-15 Ivy League Men's Basketball Preseason Media Poll (First-place votes in parentheses)
Rank	School	Points
1.	Harvard (17)	136
2.	Yale	108
3.	Columbia	94
4.	Princeton	88
5.	Brown	75
6.	Dartmouth	47
7.	Penn	39
8.	Cornell	25

Maldunas (Sr., 6-9, 230) and point guard Alex Mitola (Jr., 5-11, 170) are the captains for the Big Green. Even with missing half of his junior season, Maldunas is poised to become Dartmouth's first 1,000-point scorer since 2009 Ivy League Player of the year Alex Barnett '09 stepped on the hardwood at Leede Arena. The Lithuanian has averaged over 10 points and seven rebounds a game in his career, and last year shot 52.5 percent from the floor and blocked 30 shots in 15 games.

Not only does Mitola run the offense, he is also the Big Green's top marksman having hit 131 three-pointers over his first two seasons at a 40.4 percent clip. Last year the native of Florham Park, New Jersey, led Dartmouth averaging 11.8 points and 2.7 assists per game.

Dartmouth also features athletic wing John Golden (Sr., 6-6, 200), a defensive stopper who also contributed 8.7 points and nearly two assists a night. He has played in all 86 games during his first three years and started every contest over the past two seasons.

Joining Mitola in the junior class is an experienced and deep group. Forward Connor Boehm (6-7, 235) shot nearly 53 percent while averaging almost 11 points a game; guard Kevin Crescenzi (6-3, 190) displayed a burgeoning shot from the perimeter at 40 percent; lightning-quick guard Malik Gill (5-9, 185) is a disruptive defensive force having led the team in steals each of his first two seasons; and a trio of forwards in Brandon McDonnell (6-8, 210), Tommy Carpenter (6-7, 200) and Matt Rennie (6-8, 220), each of whom started at one point or another last year.

The sophomore class consists of four players — forwards Wesley Dickinson (6-7, 220), Eli Harrison (6-6, 190) and Ike Ngwudo (6-6, 200), plus center Cole Harrison (6-10, 235). Cormier also brought in some talented newcomers in guards Taylor Johnson (6-4, 195, Fort Worth, Texas), Cameron Smith (6-1, 170, Bristow, Va.) and Miles Wright (6-4, 195, Boston, Mass.), as well as forward Alex Wolf (6-10, 240, Greenwich, Conn.). The Big Green also have Ball State transfer guard Quinten Payne (So., 6-5, 190, St. Charles, Ill.) on the roster, but he will have to sit out the season due to NCAA transfer rules.

The season opens up at St. Bonaventure on Nov. 15 at 7 p.m., and the home opener will take place on Nov. 28 against IPFW at 3 p.m.