The 2009–10 Ivy League men's basketball season was the 56th season of Ivy League basketball. The Cornell University Big Red won their third consecutive Ivy League Championship and were the league's representative at the

2010 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament The 2010 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament involved 65 schools playing in a single-elimination tournament to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball as a culmination of the 2009–10 basketball seaso ...

. Seeded 12th in the East Region the Big Red won their first two games over number five seed Temple University 78-65 and number four seed University of Wisconsin 87-69 before falling to number one seed University of Kentucky 62-45 in the Sweet Sixteen. They were the first Ivy League team to reach the Sweet Sixteen since the 1978–79 Penn Quakers and set an Ivy League record with 29 wins.

Preseason

The Ivy League held its pre-season media day on October 28, 2009 in Princeton, New Jersey. The league's media unanimously voted Cornell the preseason #1 for the second straight season. Cornell returned all five starters, three all-conference performers, and the Ivy League rookie and defensive players of the year from the 2009 Ivy League championship team. Two Ivy League seniors were named preseason candidates for the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award. Columbia's Patrick Foley and Brown's Matthew Mullery were named to the 30-man preseason list.

Ivy League Media Poll

Regular season

Non-conference

Preseason #1 Cornell lived up to its billing by scoring the first Ivy League win over one of the six major conferences as the Big Red beat the SEC's Alabama Crimson Tide 71–67 in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, behind Ryan Wittman's 23 points. It was Cornell's first win over a current SEC member school since the Big Red defeated Arkansas (then a part of the Southwest Conference) during the 1972–73 season.

Harvard Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

also got off to a fast start. After winning their opener against

Holy Cross Holy Cross or Saint Cross may refer to: * the instrument of the crucifixion of Jesus * Christian cross, a frequently used religious symbol of Christianity * True Cross, supposed remnants of the actual cross upon which Jesus was crucified * Feast ...

, the Crimson won a triple-overtime contest over the College of William & Mary, 87–85 on a half-court shot by senior guard

Jeremy Lin Jeremy Shu-How Lin (born August 23, 1988) is a Taiwanese-American professional basketball player who last played for the Guangzhou Loong Lions of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA). He unexpectedly led a winning turnaround with the Ne ...

. Lin also made headlines in early December as he scored 30 points in a close loss (79–73) at #14 Connecticut, then came back to score 25 in the Crimson's very next game – a 74–67 upset of

Boston College Boston College (BC) is a private Jesuit research university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. Founded in 1863, the university has more than 9,300 full-time undergraduates and nearly 5,000 graduate students. Although Boston College is classifie ...

. Lin started the New Year by being named to the Mid-season Wooden Award 30-man watch list and the Bob Cousy Award. The Ivy made news for some not-so positive reasons as the conference saw two coaches fired during the pre-conference slate. Penn fired coach Glen Miller after an 0–7 start, while Dartmouth's Terry Dunn resigned after a 3–10 start. But the biggest press of the non-conference season for the Ivy League came on January 6, as league favorite Cornell led #1 and undefeated Kansas with under a minute remaining at Allen Fieldhouse. Ultimately, the Big Red lost to KU 71–66, but the Ivy stalwarts proved that they could compete with the top teams

Conference season

Cornell and Harvard were expected to compete for the league title, but the Big Red swept the Crimson. However, Penn stopped Cornell's bid for a perfect Ivy League season by beating the then 22nd ranked Big Red 79–64 at the Palestra in Philadelphia. The win snapped an eight-game win streak by Cornell.

Conference awards & honors

All-Conference teams

At the conclusion of the season, the Ivy League all-conference teams were selected. Cornell placed a trio of seniors – Ryan Wittman, Jeff Foote and Louis Dale – on the All-Ivy first team. The Big Red threesome were joined on the first team by Harvard's Jeremy Lin and Penn's Zack Rosen. Wittman and Foote were the Ivy League player and defensive players of the year, respectively.All-Ivy Men's Basketball – 2009–10
/ref> *Player of the Year: Ryan Wittman, Cornell (unanimous) *Rookie of the Year: Kyle Casey, Harvard *Defensive Player of the Year: Jeff Foote, Cornell All-Ivy League first team *

Louis Dale Louis Dale III (born May 20, 1988) is an American former professional basketball player. He played college basketball at Cornell. High school career Dale attended the Altamont School in Birmingham, Alabama, where he played basketball and ran tra ...

, Cornell * Jeff Foote, Cornell (unanimous) *Ryan Wittman, Cornell (unanimous) *

, Harvard (unanimous) * Zack Rosen, Penn (unanimous) All-Ivy League second team *Matt Mullery, Brown *Noruwa Agho, Columbia *Jack Eggleston, Penn *Douglas Davis, Princeton * Dan Mavraides, Princeton *Alex Zampier, Yale All-Ivy League honorable mention * Chris Wroblewski, Cornell *

Kyle Casey Kyle David Casey (born November 27, 1990) is an American professional basketball player who last played for the Abejas de León of the Mexican LNBP. He played college basketball for Harvard. High school career Casey attended Brimmer and May sch ...

, Harvard *Michael Sands, Yale

Weekly awards

Ivy League Players of the Week
Throughout the conference season, the Ivy League offices name a player and rookie of the week.

External links

Ivy League Official website

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:2009-10 Ivy League Men's Basketball Season