Penn men's and women's basketball picked seventh, fourth in Ivy preseason poll

The votes have been tallied.

This week, the Ivy League released its preseason polls for the upcoming basketball season. The women’s team is in the upper half of the standings, coming in at fourth. Conversely, the men’s team was placed seventh.

The women’s ranking comes after a 7-7 Ivy League season that earned a trip to the Ivy League Tournament. There, the Red and Blue’s season halted in a loss to longtime rival Princeton after a controversial call against then-senior guard Jordan Obi. While Obi has since graduated, the team retains 2024 Ivy League Rookie of the Year guard Mataya Gayle and second-team All-Ivy player senior guard Stina Almqvist.

In voting, Penn racked up 75 points, narrowly edging out Brown, who had 71. Last season, Penn and Brown held identical records and Brown had a better overall record, but Penn punched their ticket to New York and the Ivy League Tournament because of a decisive win over third-seed Harvard to win the tiebreak.

Atop the women’s ranking is Princeton, who accumulated 122 points and 10 first-place votes. Princeton has won the regular season title for six straight seasons. Behind the Tigers was Columbia with 110 points and five first-place votes. Princeton and Columbia faced off in last year’s Ivy League Tournament, showcasing since-graduated guards Kaitlyn Chen and Abbey Hsu in a clash of the titans. Though Princeton emerged victorious, both teams earned NCAA tournament berths.

Similarly, Princeton sits atop the men’s standings with 127 points and 15 first-place votes. While it was the first seed, Princeton lost in the Ivy League Tournament to Brown. Brown was the only other team to receive a first-place vote. Both the Tigers and Bears retained their top talent, with 2024 Ivy League Player of the Year Caden Pierce and All-Ivy first team guard Xaivian Lee returning to Princeton and All-Ivy first team guard Kino Lilly Jr. returning to Brown.

Last year’s Ivy League champion was Yale, who is No. 2 in this year’s preseason poll with 108 points. In March Madness, the Bulldogs upset fourth-seeded Auburn. Their win marked the second year in a row where an Ivy League team advanced past the first round. However, the loss of forward Danny Wolf to the transfer portal will play a major role in their upcoming season.

Notably, Penn lost its standout rookie guard Tyler Perkins as well. Perkins now plays for Villanova — a team that he helped upset last season. But Penn turned on its heel and also looked to the transfer portal, adding junior guard Dylan Williams, junior guard Michael Zanoni, and junior guard/forward Ethan Roberts.

The Red and Blue amassed 51 points in the poll, narrowly coming behind Harvard’s 55 for No. 6. This comes after a 3-11 record in conference play, Penn’s worst since 1957.

In November, both Penn teams will tip off their seasons. And in March, the voters will know if they made the right calls.