Ivies have come oh-so close

Every March, the media tells the tale of some collegiate basketball team which is surprising the world. This team wasn't even supposed to be in the NCAA Tournament. The team consists of walk-ons and athletes other schools never wanted. This team, however, managed to upset teams with substantially better athletes. This team hit a last-second shot that would dwarf David's upset of Goliath. But during the last five tournaments, all the media said of the Ivy League representative was that it almost accomplished the impossible. While the collegiate world is bickering over a 14th basketball scholarship, Princeton, a team which has no athletic scholarships at all, came within one second of toppling the nation's top-ranked team. Over the last half-decade, though, the Ivies have yet to win a single tournament game. But the Ancient Eight has lost those five games by a grand total of only 19 points. And every one of those games was winnable. "You always prepare to win," Princeton coach Pete Carril said. "I don't know a single coach who goes into a game expecting to lose. Our guys were so psyched up, and they saw that we were the underdogs. But the Ivy League has always given a good account of itself." No one has ever claimed the Ivy League has not put on respectable performances. Yet the fact remains since 1989 the Ivies have been finding considerable trouble getting over that next obstacle. That year, Princeton faced Georgetown, the nation's top-ranked team. The Hoyas boasted a stifling defense and an offensive arsenal consisting of Alonzo Mourning, last year's second pick in the NBA draft by the Charlotte Hornets, and Charles Smith, a 1988 Olympian. But regardless of the odds -- the Tigers were 23-point underdogs -- they had a chance to win this game. Princeton's Kit Mueller took the last-second inbounds pass and put up the shot which would have won the game for the Tigers. Attempting to avoid the 6-foot-10 Mourning, Mueller let the desperation shot fly. It landed well wide of the basket, but was Mueller fouled? "That last play of the game -- we'll have to take that up with God?when we get there," Carril said following the devastating one-point loss. After that heart-wrenching combat, the Tigers returned to the battlefield the following season against Southwest Conference champion Arkansas. Princeton, showing the maturity gained from the previous season's heartbreaking loss, captured a 56-55 lead with 6:25 to go. But from that point forth, the Hogs edged out the Tigers and stole a 68-64 win over 13th-seeded Princeton. "Pete Carril has forgotten more basketball than I'll ever learn, and his team plays the way he tells them," Arkansas coach Nolan Richardson raved following the near upset. "Like [Georgetown coach] John Thompson told me, 'Whatever you do, you don't want to play them.' " The trend had begun, two NCAA Tournament contests and two nailbiting losses for the Ivies. As the following seasons continued, and the hole got bigger, the Ancient Eight played this same role over and over again. The next year saw something slightly different. After coming so close in the previous two tournaments, Princeton played well enough during the regular season to break into the AP Top 25. And with new respect came an eighth seed in March Madness. Although the Tigers were the favorite when they took on Villanova, the tournament brought out every ghost from the closet. And in the process, the Wildcats hit a shot with .7 seconds to play to slip past Princeton. One more tournament, one more close game, but still an Ivy loss. The Tigers went into the following year's NCAAs knowing they could play with any team in the country. After all, they had lost the three previous tournament games by a total of seven points. So when Princeton challenged its third Big East team in four years, Syracuse, the Tigers were ready. The score was tied at 23, but then Princeton had trouble finding the basket. The Ivy representative did not make another field goal for 10 minutes. Although the Tigers tried to get back into the game, they still lost, 51-43. "We saw this as a very winnable game," said Princeton guard George Leftwich, who had been around for all four NCAA losses. "I don't know how to explain what went wrong." It was more a matter of what went right, for the Orangemen that is. Syracuse forward Lawrence Moten connected on 8 of 10 shots for a game-high 23 points. Last year, it finally appeared as if the Ivy luck would change. The league had a new representative -- Penn. It was not a team based on back-door cuts and a gimmick offense. The Quakers came out and matched every opponent with athletic ability. Penn tried to outplay the opposition, not trick it. And when it was announced the Quakers would play Massachusetts, the Ivy League looked primed to finally get over that hump. But it wasn't to be. The Quakers continued the four-year-old streak set in motion by Princeton and lost, 54-50. "We don't want to hear competitive anymore," Penn coach Fran Dunphy said after the heart-breaking loss. "We want to hear victorious." But for now, the Ivies will have to settle with competitive for at least one more day. The Quakers will have a chance tomorrow against Nebraska to break free from the shackles holding the Ivy League. The albatross dragging Penn and the Ivies is the lack of national respect that comes from not winning in the Big Dance. "The league really hasn't won in the tournament," Penn junior center Eric Moore said, "so we don't deserve the respect yet." But if the Quakers and the Ivy League want to hear every television reporter from Philadelphia to Beijing talking about this year's NCAA Cinderella team, it all starts with a win 7:34 p.m. tomorrow.