Klitzman | Pathetic showing by Killer P's in '09

If there's one fact about Ivy League basketball that everyone knows, it's that the "Killer's P's" of Penn and Princeton dominate.

In the first 52 years of the league (1956 to 2007), Penn and Princeton won at least a share of the title 25 times each.

On the other hand, both teams have finished in the bottom half of the conference only three times in their histories.

The bottom line: Parity didn't exist in those first 52 seasons.

But the last year of that stretch - 2007 - showed signs of the changes to come.

True, Penn dominated the league with a 13-1 record, but that was the first year in the history of the Ancient Eight that one of the Killer P's finished dead last, as Princeton was a woeful 2-12.

Last year truly was historic. Princeton finished tied for last in the league at 3-11. Penn, meanwhile, went 8-6 and finished third. It was just the second time since 1957 that neither one of the P's finished in the top two. Their combined 11-17 record was the worst ever - in short, it was their worst year in Ivy history.

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That is, until this year.

At a combined 9-9 and with five games apiece remaining, the 11-17 mark probably will be safe. Yet there's a strong chance that both teams might finish in the bottom half of the league. For the first time ever.

This year has already been historically bad for Penn and Princeton. The Tigers lost to Dartmouth at home for just the third time in 41 years. And if they keep their mediocre play up, they'll finish in the bottom half of the league for the third straight year, something that would have been unthinkable just five years ago.

The Quakers have lost four straight conference games at home for the first time since 1940. Dartmouth swept the Red and Blue for the first time in 50 years. But what is most telling is that Princeton is not involved in the Quakers' ineptitude.

Instead, historically bad teams like Dartmouth and Columbia are in the top half of the league. And Cornell is on the cusp of clinching its second straight Ivy title.

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But is this here to stay? Will Penn and Princeton routinely be in the middle of the pack? Has the Ivy League finally achieved some level of parity?

As far as I see it, no.

Simply put, this year the League is mediocre. And mediocrity masquerades as parity.

It's true that just 1.5 games separate second and sixth place, but those teams are 6-4, 5-4, or 4-5. Not very impressive.

Furthermore, look at some of these teams at the top. I'm willing to admit that Cornell will be fighting for a probable third-straight crown next year with stars Ryan Wittman and Louis Dale returning.

However, Columbia will lose K.J. Matsui, Jason Miller and Joe Bova to graduation. Dartmouth definitely will see a drop off, as Alex Barnett - who has my Ivy League Player of the Year vote - and his league-leading 19.6 points per game will graduate.

But Penn's and Princeton's rosters are youth-laden. Glen Miller thinks that's one of the main reasons why Penn has gone 4-5. Whether or not that's a valid excuse is irrelevant; it's clear that Penn's most-talented players are underclassmen.

This is even more dramatic for Princeton as 96 percent of its points this season have come from non-seniors. And already Princeton has five conference wins, which matches the last two years' output.

So while the rest of the league revels in schadenfreude as the Killer P's play like the Pathetic P's, they better watch out that the Ps don't pounce next year.

Zach Klitzman is a junior history major from Bethesda, Md., and is Sports Editor of The Daily Pennsylvanian. His e-mail address is klitzman@dailypennsylvanian.com.

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