Ivy League: Who Will Represent It in the NCAA Tournament?

The Shakedown

It is every team's dream!

When basketball season rolls around in mid-October, each team begins its quest for NCAA glory.

Some may seek a chance to play on ESPN in a conference tournament. Others strive for bigger things, such as a conference tournament championship and a chance to try on Cinderella's slipper.

For the elite, it's no mystery—they want to hoist the trophy come early April.

With conference tournaments just six days away, I will begin my own improbable task of breaking down every NCAA D-I conference tournament.

With only a few days until The Madness begins, let's get it started with the Ivy League.

The Ivy League is the only conference of the 31 automatic-qualifying conferences that does not have a conference tournament.

In the past, that has caused lackluster play for a lot of teams down the stretch, as they have known their destinies just a few games into their conference schedules.

2011 poses a much different look for the eight-team conference located in the northeastern United States.

With just two weekends left of conference games, Harvard (20-4 Overall, 9-1 Ivy League) and Princeton (20-5 Overall, 8-1 Ivy League) sit alone at the top of the standings. What really makes things interesting is that if both teams win out, they will be playing for a conference title and an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament March 5 at Harvard.

The Breakdown

Before we set a March 5 "date for The Dance," let's take a look at the remaining games for each team.

Harvard has four remaining conference games left on its schedule. This weekend, the Crimson will face Brown and Yale in a set of road games.

Yale and Brown currently sit at fifth and sixth place, respectively, in the conference. Despite their current standings, Brown and Yale gave Harvard scares earlier this season.

Harvard knocked off Brown at home, 85-78, on February 12. The night before, Harvard narrowly escaped Yale, 78-75, in a game that the Crimson actually trailed at halftime.

Harvard will finish its regular season schedule the following weekend against Penn and Princeton. Harvard defeated Penn, 83-82, in two overtimes and lost to Princeton, 65-61, earlier this season.

Princeton is half-a-game behind Harvard and has five conference games remaining. This weekend, Princeton will face Cornell and Columbia.

The Tigers squeaked past Cornell, 57-55, two weeks ago, but laid a pounding on Columbia, 76-46. Princeton will also face a tougher weekend in early March, as they will take on Harvard and Dartmouth.

While Dartmouth doesn't pose much of a threat at 1-9 in the conference, it will be hard for the Tigers not to look ahead to Saturday's showdown against Harvard.

Princeton defeated Dartmouth, 68-53, in their first meeting and handed Harvard its only conference loss, 65-61, on February 4.

Princeton will play its final conference game at Penn on March 8. Princeton defeated Penn, 62-59, in overtime earlier this season.

The Take-Down

Here is my prediction for the rest of the Ivy League schedule.

Princeton

vs. Cornell—70-59 (W)

vs. Columbia—69-55 (W)

at Dartmouth—66-51 (W)

at Harvard—68-63 (W)

at Penn—60-62 (L)

Harvard

at Brown—76-71 (W)

at Yale—68-66 (W)

vs. Penn—63-68 (L)

vs. Princeton—63-68 (L)

Ivy League Champion: Princeton Tigers

Princeton (20-5 Overall, 12-2 Ivy League) finishes first. Harvard (22-6 Overall, 11-3 Ivy League) finishes second.

Things To Keep in Mind

If Princeton were to win the Ivy League, the Tigers' would earn their 24th NCAA Tournament appearance. The Tigers have 13 NCAA Tournament wins and have played in one Final Four.

The Princeton Tigers would mostly likely be looking at a No. 14 or a No. 15 seed.