Facing a 19-23 halftime deficit in Pennsylvania on Tuesday, the Princeton Tigers had twenty minutes of basketball left to save their season. They turned to Kareem Maddox, who did not disappoint. The senior forward poured in 21 points in the second half, adding in five assists, three rebounds, and a block along the way to lead Princeton to a 70-58 victory.
With the win pushing Princeton's Ivy League record to 12-2, the Tigers pulled into a tie with the Harvard Crimson atop the league. With no tournament, and only one automatic bid to the NCAA tournament, that leave's only one option: a one-game playoff, winner take all.
The playoff game, scheduled for Saturday, March 12 at 4 p.m. EST, will take place at neutral Yale. The game will be broadcast by ESPN3 and SIRIUS Satellite Radio on channel 130. GoCrimson.com will also provide free audio of the game.
With a win, Harvard would clinch their first ever outright Ivy League men's basketball title, and just their second ever NCAA Tournament appearance (their first coming in 1946). In fact, Harvard is the only Ivy team that has never won a conference championship -- Princeton has won a share of the league title 25 times.
It was only March 5 when the two teams last faced eachother. With Harvard's 79-67 win securing a share of the title for the Crimson, the team's fans stormed the court. Princeton coach Sydney Johnson made his team sit on the bench and watch their opposition's celebrations, hoping to motivate his team.
On Saturday, he'll get to see if it worked.