Dartmouth looks to vacate cellar

Depending on how far one can stretch the transitive property, Dartmouth could very well stake a de facto claim to the nation's top spot.

The perennial Ivy League bottom-feeder turned heads in the Ivy League this Saturday by making neat work of Harvard in overtime, putting away the Crimson by a decisive 75-66 score in Boston.

Yes, that's the same Harvard team that had given us college hoops' biggest upset of the season by shaming then-No. 17 Boston College, 80-72. And yes, that's the same BC squad that ended then-No. 1 UNC's hopes for a perfect season just a few days earlier.

So is Dartmouth coach Terry Dunn ready to start penciling Duke and Pittsburgh onto his schedule?

"I don't look at it like that at all," said Dunn, who is in his fourth season at the helm. "I look at it in terms of [the fact] that on any given night, any team can be beaten."

Dunn might not have to depend on that philosophy to shake up his own conference this season. Despite an overall 3-13 record and 1-1 start in the Ancient Eight, Dartmouth's performance against Harvard has upset the usual pecking order of Ivy hoops. Dunn has rotated his multi-talented bench and made frequent use of the Big Green's major offensive weapon, senior Alex Barnett.

The 6-foot-6 forward from St. Louis, is more than enough reason to fear Dartmouth's offensive prowess. In the win over Harvard, Barnett notched 30 points for the second time this season. Armed with a 41.2 three-point shooting percentage, the reigning Ivy League Player of the Week will continue to threaten from beyond the arc as well as in the paint.

Though the starting lineup hasn't changed much since last season, which ended with Dartmouth on the rock bottom of the Ivy League, the coach cites his players' improvement in cohesiveness and attitude as the biggest difference-maker.

"Right now, our biggest attribute is that we're playing well as a team," Dunn said.

"It's not about who starts but rather who finishes," he said in reference to his other weapons, such as 6-foot-1 guard Marlon Sanders, who put up a 14-point effort against Harvard and is a talented defender. Dunn has also been reaching deep into his bench for players who can contribute productive minutes, such as freshmen David Rufful and Jabari Trotter, who have averaged 43.8 minutes and 13.5 points between them.

If one of Dunn's role players can develop into a consistent second option, Dartmouth could at least get a whiff of one top spot - the Ivy League's.

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