Dartmouth Continues Ivy Play vs. Penn Saturday, at Harvard Monday

Saturday, January 14

Hanover, N.H.

2:00 PM

Dartmouth College

Penn

Tickets

Photo by: Justin Lafleur

Dartmouth Continues Ivy Play vs. Penn Saturday, at Harvard Monday

1/12/2023 3:31:00 PM | Men's Basketball

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The Big Green are set to return to Leede Arena Saturday for its Pride Game

By: Justin Lafleur

GAME 18
Dartmouth (5-12, 1-2 Ivy League) vs. Penn (9-8, 2-1 Ivy League)
Date: Saturday, January 14, 2023 – 2 p.m.
Location: Hanover, N.H. – Leede Arena
All-Time Series: Penn, 157-64
Watch (ESPN+) | Live Stats

GAME 19
Dartmouth (5-12, 1-2 Ivy League) at Harvard (10-7, 1-2 Ivy League)
Date: Monday, January 16, 2023 – 2 p.m.
Location: Cambridge, Mass. – Lavietes Pavilion
All-Time Series: Harvard, 98-94
Watch (ESPN+) | Live Stats

Setting the Scene
After a 1-1 weekend on the road, the Dartmouth men's basketball team returns home on Saturday to host Penn (2 p.m.) before hitting the road on Monday to face Harvard (2 p.m.) on Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Last weekend, the Big Green picked up an 81-77 win at Yale on Friday before falling at Brown a day later, 77-70.

Currently, Princeton leads the Ivy League at 3-0 while Cornell and Penn are 2-1 and the remaining five teams are 1-2. Friday's win snapped Dartmouth's 12-game losing streak against Yale, giving the Big Green their first win in the series since 2015 and first win at Yale since 2014. The victory came over the defending Ivy League Tournament champions as Dartmouth handed the Bulldogs their first home loss of the season. Junior Dusan Neskovic led the way with a career-high 24 points, one more than the 23 he scored in the season opener at Fordham. It marked the most points scored by any player (home or away) at Yale this season and second most this season overall (behind Kentucky's Oscar Tshiebwe, who scored 28). The 24 marked the most points by an opponent at Yale since Princeton's Tosan Evbuomwan had 26 on Feb. 19, 2022. Neskovic shot 7-of-10 from the floor, including a perfect 4-of-4 from 3-point range. It marked the most made threes for a Big Green player without a miss since Brendan Barry was 5-for-5 vs NVU-Lyndon on Nov. 16, 2021. It was the most made threes without a miss for a Dartmouth player against a Division I opponent since Ian Sistare was 4-for-4 at Boston College on Jan. 13, 2018.

Sophomore Ryan Cornish added 18 points at Yale while senior Dame Adelekun added 13. Neskovic was 2-of-3 from 3-point range at Brown, making him 6-of-7 for the week. Similarly, junior Izaiah Robinson impressed from behind the arc. He scored nine points and dished a career-high five assists at Yale, then scored a career-high 12 points at Brown Saturday. Robinson was 6-of-9 from distance over the two games; his four made threes on Saturday (in six attempts) were also a career high. Robinson has now scored 30 points over the last three games.

After not scoring more than 63 points in either of its previous six games, Dartmouth scored 70 or more both games last weekend, leading to a win and a chance until the end at Brown. The effort Friday came against a Yale defense that entered tops in the Ivy League and seventh nationally in scoring defense coming in (56.9). The Bulldogs were also seventh in scoring margin (+18.4) and eighth in rebound margin (+9.9). Dartmouth ended up outrebounding Yale, 37-36, becoming just the third team this season to outrebound the Bulldogs (along with Hawaii and Kentucky).

On Saturday at Brown, four Big Green scored in double figures, led by 17 points from Adelekun. A tight first half saw neither team lead by more than seven (which was the halftime margin). The Bears opened things up early in the second to take a 17-point lead before Dartmouth had one last surge to within six, but couldn't get any closer.

Dartmouth will be facing the top two scorers in the Ivy League this weekend in Penn's Jordan Dingle (who is also second in the nation at 24.2 points per game) and Harvard's Chris Ledlum (19.3). Saturday is the Big Green's Pride Game in celebration of the LGBTQ+ community.

Tomorrow is our Pride Game in celebration of the LGBTQ+ community as the Big Green host Penn at 2 p.m. See you at Leede Arena! 🏳️‍🌈#TheWoods🌲 | #GoBigGreen pic.twitter.com/WO2DPZNcu5
— Dartmouth Men's Basketball (@DartmouthMBB) January 13, 2023

With a win on Saturday...
- Dartmouth would improve to 2-2 in the Ivy League for the first time since the 2013-14 season.
- The Big Green would beat Penn for the third time in their last four tries and third straight at home.
- Dartmouth would improve to 7-2 over its last nine home games against the Quakers.
- The Big Green would improve to 4-3 at home this season.

With a win on Monday...
- Dartmouth would improve to 99-94 all-time against Harvard.
- The Big Green would win a second straight game vs. the Crimson for the first time since winning three straight from 1998-99.
- The Big Green would win back-to-back games at Harvard for the first time since 1995-96 when Dartmouth won 70-61 on Dec. 12, 1995 and 69-60 on Dec. 17, 1996.

Last Time Out
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (1/7/23) — Trailing 68-51, the Dartmouth men's basketball team staged a 14-3 run to pull within six with 2:03 still remaining, but the Big Green couldn't get any closer in a 77-70 loss at Brown on Saturday evening. Earlier in the half, the Bears reeled off eight straight points to turn a seven-point lead into a 15-point advantage, following a back-and-forth first half of basketball. Senior Dame Adelekun led Dartmouth with 17 points — which was also a game high — while junior Izaiah Robinson posted career highs in points (12) and made 3-pointers (4).

Scouting Penn
Picked first in the Ivy League Preseason Poll, Penn enters the weekend with a 9-8 record, 2-1 in league play. The Quakers won at Brown (76-68) and Columbia (84-55) while falling at Cornell (88-69). Penn picked up some impressive out-of-league wins over defending Patriot League Champion Colgate (81-69) and vs. Temple (77-57).

The Quakers are led by Jordan Dingle, who on Monday was named Ivy League Player of the Week for the fourth time this season. He stands second nationally in scoring, averaging 24.2 points per game. Dingle most recently scored 33 points in the Saturday win over Columbia. Clark Slajchert (brother of former Dartmouth player Wes) is also averaging 17.1 points per contest, shooting 95.1 percent from the free throw line (fourth in the nation). As a team, Penn leads the Ivy League in free throw percentage (75.1). Max Martz comes in at 9.8 points per contest while Nick Spinoso leads Penn in assists per game (3.6), which is third in the Ivy League. He's also tops on the Quakers in rebounding average (5.5).

All-Time Against The Quakers
Penn leads the all-time series against Dartmouth, 157-64, but the Big Green have won two of the last three — both coming at home. Prior to that, Penn had won five in a row. That followed a stretch of three straight Dartmouth wins (from 2016-17) and four-of-five. The Big Green are 6-2 over their last eight home games against Penn. The first-ever meeting between the sides came on Mar. 1, 1905, a 30-26 Penn victory. Dartmouth's first win came in the next meeting, on Jan. 17, 1907 via a 31-15 final.

Scouting Harvard
Harvard enters a Saturday afternoon showdown against Columbia with a 10-7 record, including 1-2 in the Ivy League. The Crimson fell at Princeton (69-66) and Yale (58-54) with a 70-68 overtime win at Brown sandwiched in between. In Harvard's nonleague slate was a competitive 68-54 defeat at Kansas in a game that was even closer than the final score indicated.

Chris Ledlum leads Harvard and stands second in the Ivy League in scoring average (19.3). His 9.0 rebounds per game are also tops on the team, and league. Four other Crimson average between 7.1 and 8.5 points in Chisom Okpara (8.5), Sam Silverstein (7.8), Luka Sakota (7.5) and Idan Tretout (7.1). Evan Nelson leads Harvard and is fourth in the Ivy League in assists (3.5 per game).

All-Time Against The Crimson
Dartmouth holds a 98-94 all-time lead against Harvard. The Big Green won the season finale last season, 76-54, spoiling Harvard's Senior Day with the program's largest margin of victory at Harvard in 30 years. This came after four consecutive Crimson wins, all coming by five points or less. Dartmouth's last win at home was on Jan. 12, 2019 behind an 81-63 final.Dartmouth won the first-ever meeting vs. the Crimson, winning 26-18 on Feb. 2, 1901. The Big Green won nine of the first 11 meetings overall.

Dan Na Na, Da Na Na
Dartmouth men's basketball has found itself on ESPN SportsCenter Top 10 twice this season. Most recently, Dame Adelekun's block vs. Cornell on New Year's Day made the cut at No. 10. It was an impressive play in which he essentially caught the ball as the shot was going up (rather than swatting it away). The other came on Dec. 13 at Boston University via a Jaren Johnson chase down block.

3-Point Prowess
Dartmouth knocked down double-figure 3-pointers in three of the first four games of the season (11 at Fordham, 10 vs. Bryant and 13 against MCLA). That made it seven times in eight games with 10+ treys dating back to the end of 2021-22. (The Big Green had nine at Quinnipiac in game four.) It marked the first time the Big Green had double-digit made threes in their first three games of the season since 2018-19.

Dartmouth made 13 treys in consecutive games vs. NVU-Johnson and CSU Bakersfield. The 26 made threes were the most since the start of the 2021-22 season at Georgetown (16) and hosting NVU-Lyndon (14). It was also the first time with 13+ made threes consecutively since those two contests.

Overall, the Big Green have reached double-figure made threes in six of 17 games this season. Dartmouth's 8.2 made 3-pointers per contest stand fourth in the Ivy League.

Block Party
Dartmouth's 4.4 blocks per game are first in the Ivy League and 54th in the nation, owning 75 blocks in 17 games. Individually, senior Dame Adelekun's 30 blocks and 1.88 blocks per contest are tops in the league (and 35th and 40th in the nation, respectively). He's had three or more blocks four times, including a career high in back-to-back games — four at Central Connecticut State then five at Boston University.

The four blocks at CCSU marked the most for a Big Green player since Chris Knight had four on Feb. 8, 2019, at home vs. Cornell. The five at BU were the most since Jan. 17, 2015, when Gabas Maldunas had five against NJIT. In the first 5:21 of the second half, Adelekun posted nine points, four rebounds, four blocks and an assist in an incredible stretch of basketball. Going back to the first half, the Ivy League leader in blocks had all of his career-high five rejections in the span of 10:04 of game action.

Tough Schedule
Dartmouth's nonleague schedule was challenging, with the 12 Division I opponents posting a combined 89-81 record (following games Jan. 3). Every team has a .500 or better record, except six. The Big Green's first three DI opponents of the year (Fordham, Bryant and Quinnipiac) are currently a combined 35-14.

Ken Pom Ranking in parenthesis
Fordham: 13-3 (178)
Bryant: 10-6 (204)
Quinnipiac: 12-5 (122)
Incarnate Word: 6-10 (352)
UTSA: 7-9 (320)
Grambling State: 10-6 (227)
CSU Bakersfield: 5-10 (290)
Vermont: 8-9 (156)
Central Connecticut State: 4-14 (325)
Boston University: 9-8 (249)
South Florida: 7-9 (176)
UMass: 10-5 (142)
Total: 101-94

Balanced Scoring
Through 17 games, eight different Big Green players have led the team in scoring. Here is a rundown.

Dame Adelekun: 5 - vs. Vermont (12/6), at Boston University (12/13), at South Florida (12/16), vs. Cornell (1/1), at Brown (1/7)
Ryan Cornish: 3 - at UTSA (11/27), vs. Grambling State (11/28), vs. CSU Bakersfield (12/3)
Brandon Mitchell-Day: 2 - vs. Bryant (11/11), vs. Incarnate Word (11/25)
Cade Haskins: 2 - at Quinnipiac (11/15), at Central Connecticut State (12/9)
Dusan Neskovic: 2 - at Fordham (11/7), at Yale (1/6)
Jaren Johnson: 1 - at UMass (12/20)
Robert McRae III: 1 - vs. MCLA (11/12)
Jayden Williams: 1 - vs. NVU-Johnson (11/30)

Big Green in the Lone Star State
Dartmouth picked up a 78-77 overtime win at UTSA on Sunday, Nov. 27, marking the program's first-ever win in the state of Texas. The Big Green also played Incarnate Word in the 210 San Antonio Shootout, as the Cardinals and Roadrunners marked the fifth and sixth Texas schools Dartmouth has ever played (the others being Houston, Rice, Texas, Texas A&M and Texas Tech). There are 24 current Division I men's basketball programs in the state. Dartmouth is now 3-5 all-time against Texas schools, also owning wins over Houston (Dec. 12, 1957 at home by an 84-64 final) and Texas A&M (Dec. 17, 1989 by a 64-51 final).

Welcome to Dartmouth!
Head coach David McLaughlin announced in August the addition of three student-athletes in the Class of 2026 — Brandon Mitchell-Day, Jackson Munro and Jayden Williams.

Mitchell-Day, a 6-8, 205-pound forward from Creve Coeur, Missouri, was the conference player of the year for Mary Institute and St. Louis Country Day (MICDS) this past winter, scoring over 1,000 points in his prep career. Twice he was named all-state and all-district, and he played AAU ball for Gateway Basketball on the Under Armour Rise Circuit.

A 6-8, 220-pound forward from Wilmette, Illinois, Munro is a product of New Trier High School, which he helped advance to the Illinois State Sectional finals by averaging around 16 points and nine rebounds a game. The Chicago Sun-Times First Team All-State selection was also a two-time All-Central Suburban League performer and named the New Trier/Thanksgiving Tournament MVP. On the AAU circuit, he made a name for himself playing with Fundamental U.

Williams, a product of Windermere Prep in Florida, was All-Florida First Team this past year along with all-district and All-Region 3 honors to his name. The 6-6, 185-pound wing averaged about 18 points and 7.5 rebounds per contest, helping the Lakers post a 20-8 record during the season. He also played AAU ball as a member of 1Family.

Captains Revealed
Last May, Dartmouth men's basketball head coach David McLaughlin revealed the three captains that will lead his squad during the 2022-23 season — rising seniors Dame Adelekun, Jackson Blaufeld and Cam Krystkowiak.

Adelekun, a 6-8, 220-pound power forward from Gastonia, North Carolina, emerged as a force in the frontcourt when Ivy League play began at the beginning of the calendar year. Injuries had limited him to just 15 games in his career while averaging just over one point. But in conference games last winter, he produced 10.6 points and 8.2 rebounds per game over the 14 contests while shooting 63.6 percent from the floor and blocking a team-high 10 shots. Those numbers led to him earning the team's Rudy LaRusso '59 Award as the most improved player as well. A 6-4, 195-pound shooting guard from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Blaufeld may have seen limited action during his career with just 17 games under his belt, but he is one of the most positive and vocal teammates the Big Green have ever seen. His work ethic in practice is unmatched, whether he is putting in extra time to improve his own game or helping his teammates get better with his intense energy and dogged determination when matching up against them. Krystkowiak, the son of former NBA player Larry Krystkowiak, is working on making a name for himself as the third captain for the Big Green next season. The 6-9, 210-pound power forward from San Diego, California, finally got a chance to play this past winter after missing his entire freshman season due to an injury. With the skills to play in the post and on the perimeter, he showed what he could do right out of the gate with nine points in the season opener at Boston College and five more with four rebounds in the win at Georgetown, including his first 3-pointer. But it was his 20-point performance in a six-point loss at California that put all of his talent on display.

Follow Along
Both Saturday and Monday will be streamed on ESPN+. On Saturday, Brett Franklin and former Dartmouth head coach Dave Faucher will be on the ESPN+ call, with Justin McIsaac and Bill Murphy on the call for a free DartmouthSports.com audio broadcast.

What's Ahead?
After this weekend, the Big Green head to Princeton on Saturday, Jan. 21 for a 2 p.m. showdown against the Tigers.