Ivy League

Jim Goffredo's hot hand helped Harvard open its Ivy League campaign in style. Goffredo, a junior guard, scored a career-high 33 points yesterday, hitting 7 of 12 3-point attempts in the Crimson's 78-65 victory over Dartmouth at Lavietes Pavilion. Goffredo hit five of his trifectas before the break. Brian Cusworth added 15 points for Harvard (9-5, 1-0), and Matt Stehle contributed 14 points, 8 rebounds, 8 assists, and 3 blocks. The Crimson finished 17 of 23 from the free throw line compared with 5 of 6 for Dartmouth, and outrebounded the Big Green, 41-27.

For years, Gac Filipaj mopped floors, cleaned toilets and took out trash at Columbia University. A refugee from war-torn Yugoslavia, he eked out a living working for the Ivy League school. But Sunday was payback time: The 52-year-old janitor donned a cap and gown to graduate with a bachelor's degree in classics. As a Columbia employee, he didn't have to pay for the classes he took. His favorite subject was the Roman philosopher and statesman Seneca, the janitor said during a break from his work at Lerner Hall, the student union building he cleans.

(Order of finish based on preseason media poll) Penn - No suspense here. The Quakers are the team to beat, coming off two undefeated seasons and a pair of Ivy League titles. Last season, Penn had the league's top scoring offense (29.0 points) and the top scoring defense (14.5). The Quakers will try to duplicate that success with nine returning starters. Harvard - It's no secret the Crimson's strength lies on defense and coach Tim Murphy made sure the entire Ivy League knew that on a recent coaches' conference call.

Boston businessman Joe O'Donnell, founder of Boston Culinary Group, and his wife, Katherine A. O'Donnell, have donated $30 million to Harvard University. The school announced the gift Tuesday, saying that the money will help President Drew Faust carry out the Ivy League institution's long-term mission. O'Donnell, a Harvard College and Harvard Business School grad, is a regular crimson benefactor. He's originally from Everett.

If a playoff game is necessary to decide the Ivy League men's basketball championship, the game will be held at Quinnipiac University in Hamden, Conn., according to the New Haven Register . Harvard has already clinched a tie for the Ivy League title. If Penn beats Princeton Tuesday, it would force the one-game playoff for the title and automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. Harvard lost to Princeton last season in a one-game playoff held at Yale University in New Haven.

ITHACA, N.Y. — Oliver McNally made four free throws in the final 20 seconds as Harvard held off Cornell 67-63 Saturday night to clinch at least a share of its second straight Ivy League title. With Pennsylvania's victory over Yale, the Crimson (26-4, 12-2), who have concluded their regular season, need a Quakers loss Tuesday at Princeton to clinch the crown outright and earn an NCAA tournament berth for the first time since making their only appearance in 1946. After the Big Red (12-16, 7-7)

Ivy League coordinator of football officials Jim Maconaghy says on-field officials will target helmet-to-helmet hits this fall. Maconaghy said in a conference call Tuesday that the league has "to protect all of our players, and we will continue to do that. " The league announced last month that the presidents of its eight schools had accepted a series of recommendations made by a special committee to try to limit concussive hits in football. The recommendations take effect this season and also limit contact workouts to one during preseason two-a-day workouts.

PHILADELPHIA - Brittney Exline is too young to drive a car or go to an R-rated movie, but the 15-year-old probably will not have much time for those things anyway now that she's starting her first year of college. Exline starts her Ivy League career Wednesday when classes begin at the University of Pennsylvania. Despite the age difference with her 17- and 18-year-old peers, she said she doesn't really notice it - and neither do they. "I didn't tell people right off the bat that I was 15," Exline said.

By Ryan Mooney, Globe Correspondent Everett football fans will have to wait another year to see their golden-armed native son, Jonathan DiBiaso, play at the college level. The record-shattering quarterback made a verbal commitment to Dartmouth College during a luncheon at Everett High School, but also announced his plan to attend a year of post-grad school at Philips Exeter in New Hampshire first. "Going into an Ivy League school I know the academics will be very tough," DiBiaso explained.

A year after stealing the Ivy League title from Harvard with a last-second shot, Princeton gave the Crimson the crown and an NCAA berth, and took no joy in doing it. Ian Hummer had 18 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Tigers to a 62-52 victory over Pennsylvania on Tuesday night, giving Harvard the league title and its first trip to the NCAA tournament since 1946. "It was an interesting game coming in," said Princeton senior forward Patrick Saunders, who scored 10 points. "We don't have much love for either team.

The NCAA Tournament is in Boston for the fourth time since 1999, and each time it's held here, the participants go away raving about the city and the venue. For three days, at least, Boston is a college basketball town. But nothing happens in a vacuum. College basketball has been happening all around us for months in five conferences - the Ivy League, the Atlantic Coast Conference, the America East, the Northeast Conference, and the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference - and with that in mind, it occurred to me that it might be a fun idea to get a little taste of what it's like at...

The NCAA Tournament is in Boston for the fourth time since 1999, and each time it's held here, the participants go away raving about the city and the venue. For three days, at least, Boston is a college basketball town. But nothing happens in a vacuum. College basketball has been happening all around us for months in five conferences - the Ivy League, the Atlantic Coast Conference, the America East, the Northeast Conference, and the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference - and with that in mind, it occurred to me that it might be a fun idea to get a little taste of what it's like at each of the 21...

ALBUQUERQUE - I saw a Harvard basketball team take the floor to play an NCAA Tournament game as its band played "10,000 Men of Harvard. " That alone may have been worth the trip. Winning was, of course, the goal, but beating this particular Vanderbilt team with the weapons at Harvard's disposal was always a major reach, as even Crimson coach Tommy Amaker had to acknowledge. "You could see the difference in size and athleticism," he said. "At every position. " But Harvard made it a game.

When he went recruiting his first year as Harvard's basketball coach, Tommy Amaker found it difficult selling his vision for the Crimson program - one that had not won an Ivy League title nor appeared in the NCAA Tournament since 1946. Amaker was swimming upstream against a strong undercurrent of skepticism. So when he was met with questions of "Why Harvard?" Amaker was ready with the response: "Why not?" "That's exactly how I would approach it," said the fifth-year Crimson coach, who arrived at Harvard in 2007 with a strong basketball pedigree.

Tommy Amaker was talking about the past to make a point about the future. When you have a Duke pedigree, as Amaker does (former player and assistant coach under Mike Krzyzewski), a Coach K reference is almost expected. "About 100 years ago, as a freshman for Coach K, I learned that he had a favorite phrase," said Amaker. " ‘Next play. What is our next play?' " Simple translation: Once you have accomplished your goal, start thinking about another one. "That's what we will tell our kids," said Amaker, who is completing his fifth year as the Harvard men's...

The Harvard men's basketball team is headed to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1946. Princeton's 62-52 victory over Penn Tuesday clinched the Ivy League title for Harvard (26-4, 12-2 Ivy League), as well as the league's automatic berth in the NCAA men's basketball championship. Penn needed a win to force a one-game playoff on Saturday. Harvard went 26-4 in the regular season and broke into the AP Top 25 in December, climbing as high as 22d in early January.

Their itinerary was in a holding pattern. Bus trip Friday evening to New Haven for a playoff game to decide the Ivy League title? Or plane trip to another destination after the NCAA Tournament pairings are announced Sunday evening? Either way, coach Tommy Amaker's Harvard team was ready for its next challenge as Penn and Princeton finished their regular season at Princeton's Jadwin Gym Tuesday night. For Princeton (which beat Harvard in a playoff for the Ivy title last year)