Potential Harvard/Princeton playoff would be at the Palestra

The Newark Star-Ledger reported last night that if a second playoff for the Ivy League's automatic bid for the NCAA Tournament in three seasons is necessary, it will take place at the Palestra.

Princeton's 58-53 home win over Harvard last night sets up that possibility. The Tigers now stand at 8-2 in Ivy play and the Crimson are 9-2. Harvard and Princeton split their season series. So if both teams win out, that "if necessary" playoff at the Palestra will be necessary.

The Ivy League's official Twitter denied the Star-Ledger's initial report that the date was already set for Saturday, March 16, also denying that a time or TV deal was set yet. The March 16 date would make sense, though, since the 2011 playoff also took place on the Saturday after the Ivy slate closed that season.

In 2011, Ivy co-Champions Princeton and Harvard met at Yale's John L. Lee Amphitheater in a memorable one-game playoff to determine the League's automatic bid recipient. Princeton overcame a seven-point halftime deficit to win, 63-62, on a Douglas Davis buzzer-beater.

That means now Penn can officially play the spoiler with its home matchups versus Harvard tonight and/or Princeton on March 12.