Ivy Update: Week 1

November 9, 2026 0 By Neill White

Strongest Offensive Trends

Columbia, Off Reb Pct, Up, Trend Strength: 0.051 – Columbia’s improvement in offensive rebounding percentage is helping to fuel its overall success by securing second-chance points that directly boost scoring opportunities without relying on shooting volume.
Cornell, Off Reb Pct, Up, Trend Strength: 0.047 – Cornell is showing steady improvement in their ability to secure rebounds after turning over possession, a development that contributes to their growing offensive efficiency during this early stage of the season.
Dartmouth, Off Reb Pct, Up, Trend Strength: 0.045 – Dartmouth shows encouraging signs of enhanced rebounding capability early in the season.
Brown, Off Reb Pct, Down, Trend Strength: -0.015 – Brown is struggling with a declining ability to secure rebounds on offense, a trend that threatens to undermine their overall possession control during this early phase of the season.
Brown, Turnovers, Up, Trend Strength: 0.012 – Brown is experiencing a troubling upward trend in turnovers that has begun to undermine their overall performance early in the season.

Strongest Defensive Trends

Dartmouth, Opp Shooting, Up, Trend Strength: 0.021 – Dartmouth has begun to struggle with allowing opponents to score effectively, signaling a concerning decline in defensive consistency early in the season.
Cornell, Def Reb Pct, Down, Trend Strength: -0.018 – Cornell is struggling to hold down defensive rebounds, which allows opponents to secure extra offensive glass opportunities that can spark their own fast breaks.
Dartmouth, Opp Turnovers, Up, Trend Strength: 0.016 – Dartmouth is showing marked improvement in forcing opponents to commit more turnovers as the week begins.
Cornell, Opp Shooting, Down, Trend Strength: -0.014 – Cornell is showing signs of improvement as its defense becomes more effective at preventing opposing teams from scoring points efficiently throughout this early part of the season.
Columbia, Opp Turnovers, Up, Trend Strength: 0.011 – Columbia is demonstrating marked improvement in its ability to force turnovers by opponents, a positive trend that suggests the team is becoming more effective at stifling enemy possession opportunities during the early weeks of the season.

Figure 1: Efficiency margin trends for Ivy teams throughout the season. Teams trending upward show improving performance, while downward trends indicate struggles.

Conference Snapshot

Week Dates: November 02 – November 08, 2026
Trending Down (Efficiency): Brown, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, Harvard

Team-by-Team Analysis

Brown

Record: 1-2 | Elo: 1429.6 (ranked 294 of 365) | Efficiency Margin: -10.32 (ranked 235 of 365)

Offensive Trends:

Turnovers (Turnovers): Currently ranked 296 of 365 in D1. Trending up strongly 🔴.
Off Reb Pct (Offensive Rebounding): Currently ranked 245 of 365 in D1. Trending down strongly 🔴.

Defensive Trends:

Opp Turnovers (Opp Turnovers): Currently ranked 123 of 365 in D1. Trending up moderately 🟢.
Def Reb Pct (Defensive Rebounding): Currently ranked 44 of 365 in D1. Trending up moderately 🟢.

Columbia

Record: 1-1 | Elo: 1457.2 (ranked 252 of 365) | Efficiency Margin: -15.70 (ranked 290 of 365)

Offensive Trends:

Off Reb Pct (Offensive Rebounding): Currently ranked 39 of 365 in D1. Trending up strongly 🟢.
Shooting (Shooting): Currently ranked 170 of 365 in D1. Trending down weakly 🔴.

Defensive Trends:

Opp Turnovers (Opp Turnovers): Currently ranked 200 of 365 in D1. Trending up strongly 🟢.
Opp Shooting (Opp Shooting): Currently ranked 307 of 365 in D1. Trending up moderately 🔴.

Cornell

Record: 2-1 | Elo: 1540.5 (ranked 118 of 365) | Efficiency Margin: -5.61 (ranked 196 of 365)

Offensive Trends:

Off Reb Pct (Offensive Rebounding): Currently ranked 210 of 365 in D1. Trending up strongly 🟢.
Shooting (Shooting): Currently ranked 168 of 365 in D1. Trending down moderately 🔴.

Defensive Trends:

Opp Shooting (Opp Shooting): Currently ranked 94 of 365 in D1. Trending down strongly 🟢.
Def Reb Pct (Defensive Rebounding): Currently ranked 297 of 365 in D1. Trending down strongly 🔴.

Dartmouth

Record: 2-1 | Elo: 1452.0 (ranked 264 of 365) | Efficiency Margin: -13.47 (ranked 259 of 365)

Offensive Trends:

Off Reb Pct (Offensive Rebounding): Currently ranked 149 of 365 in D1. Trending up strongly 🟢.
Shooting (Shooting): Currently ranked 229 of 365 in D1. Trending down moderately 🔴.

Defensive Trends:

Opp Shooting (Opp Shooting): Currently ranked 190 of 365 in D1. Trending up strongly 🔴.
Opp Turnovers (Opp Turnovers): Currently ranked 70 of 365 in D1. Trending up strongly 🟢.

Harvard

Record: 2-0 | Elo: 1540.9 (ranked 128 of 365) | Efficiency Margin: +3.16 (ranked 127 of 365)

Offensive Trends:

Off Reb Pct (Offensive Rebounding): Currently ranked 1 of 365 in D1. Trending up strongly 🟢.
Shooting (Shooting): Currently ranked 71 of 365 in D1. Trending down weakly 🔴.

Defensive Trends:

Opp Shooting (Opp Shooting): Currently ranked 180 of 365 in D1. Trending down strongly 🟢.
Def Reb Pct (Defensive Rebounding): Currently ranked 99 of 365 in D1. Trending up strongly 🟢.

Penn

Record: 0-1 | Elo: 1519.1 (ranked 152 of 365) | Efficiency Margin: -12.07 (ranked 247 of 365)

Offensive Trends:

Shooting (Shooting): Currently ranked 317 of 365 in D1. Trending down strongly 🔴.
Turnovers (Turnovers): Currently ranked 22 of 365 in D1. Trending down moderately 🟢.

Defensive Trends:

Def Reb Pct (Defensive Rebounding): Currently ranked 338 of 365 in D1. Trending down strongly 🔴.
Opp Shooting (Opp Shooting): Currently ranked 331 of 365 in D1. Trending up moderately 🔴.

Princeton

Record: 2-1 | Elo: 1482.0 (ranked 220 of 365) | Efficiency Margin: -6.95 (ranked 209 of 365)

Offensive Trends:

Off Reb Pct (Offensive Rebounding): Currently ranked 194 of 365 in D1. Trending up strongly 🟢.
Shooting (Shooting): Currently ranked 340 of 365 in D1. Trending down moderately 🔴.

Defensive Trends:

Opp Turnovers (Opp Turnovers): Currently ranked 34 of 365 in D1. Trending up strongly 🟢.
Def Reb Pct (Defensive Rebounding): Currently ranked 186 of 365 in D1. Trending down moderately 🔴.

Yale

Record: 1-1 | Elo: 1626.3 (ranked 42 of 365) | Efficiency Margin: -0.86 (ranked 166 of 365)

Offensive Trends:

Shooting (Shooting): Currently ranked 254 of 365 in D1. Trending down strongly 🔴.
Turnovers (Turnovers): Currently ranked 184 of 365 in D1. Trending up moderately 🔴.

Defensive Trends:

Opp Shooting (Opp Shooting): Currently ranked 69 of 365 in D1. Trending down strongly 🟢.
Opp Turnovers (Opp Turnovers): Currently ranked 351 of 365 in D1. Trending down strongly 🔴.

Figure 2: Offensive Four Factors comparison across Ivy teams. The radar chart shows each team’s shooting efficiency (eFG%), ball security (TOV%), offensive rebounding (OREB%), and free throw generation (FT Rate).

Figure 3: Defensive Four Factors comparison across Ivy teams. The radar chart shows each team’s opponent shooting defense (Opp eFG%), ball disruption (forcing TOV%), defensive rebounding (DREB%), and opponent free throw prevention (Opp FT Rate).

Figure 4: MACD trends heatmap showing which metrics are improving (green) or declining (red) for each team. Stronger colors indicate more pronounced trends.

Looking Ahead

Brown faces significant challenges in ball security and offensive rebounding efficiency, with both metrics trending strongly downward relative to their season averages of 0.187 and 0.266 respectively, indicating deteriorating performance in these critical areas. Columbia is demonstrating marked improvement, particularly on the offensive glass where they are securing more second-chance possessions with an upward trend in off-rebounding percentage from a season average of 0.375, while also generating significant defensive pressure evidenced by a strong upward trend in forcing opponent turnovers from a baseline of 0.159. Cornell has exhibited strong development on the offensive end with a strong upward trend in off-rebounding percentage from a season average of 0.282, and has improved its ability to limit opponent shooting accuracy with a positive downward trend relative to a season average of 0.47; however, they must address a concerning weakness where their def-reb percentage is trending strongly downward from a season average of 0.663, revealing an inability to limit offensive rebounds by opponents and potentially negating defensive gains. Dartmouth’s primary concern centers on opponent shooting accuracy, which shows a strong upward trend relative to a season average of 0.51, indicating the defense is allowing opponents to score at rates higher than their baseline performance.

Metrics Glossary

Four Factors (Dean Oliver’s framework for basketball success):

eFG% (Effective Field Goal %): Field goal percentage adjusted for 3-pointers being worth more (FGM + 0.5×3PM) / FGA. Higher is better offensively, lower is better defensively.
TOV% (Turnover Rate): Turnovers per 100 possessions. Lower is better offensively (taking care of the ball), higher is better defensively (forcing turnovers).
OREB% / DREB% (Offensive/Defensive Rebound Rate): Percentage of available rebounds grabbed. Offensive rebounds create second-chance points; defensive rebounds end opponent possessions.
FTR (Free Throw Rate): Free throws made per field goal attempt (FTM/FGA). Measures ability to get to the line AND convert. Higher is better offensively, lower is better defensively.

Other Metrics:

Elo Rating: Chess-style rating system that updates based on game results and opponent strength. Higher Elo indicates stronger team.
Efficiency Margin: Point differential per 100 possessions (Offensive Efficiency – Defensive Efficiency). Accounts for pace of play.
MACD (Moving Average Convergence Divergence): Trend indicator comparing 12-game and 26-game exponential moving averages. Positive MACD = improving trend, Negative MACD = declining trend.

Analysis powered by HoopSci’s advanced metrics and MACD trending indicators.

CategoryIVY

TagsIVY Ivy League