2009–10 Ivy League men's basketball season

Preseason #1 Cornell lived up to its billing by scoring the first Ivy League win over one of the six major conferences as the Big Red beat the SEC's Alabama Crimson Tide 71–67 in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, behind Ryan Wittman's 23 points. It was Cornell's first win over a current SEC member school since the Big Red defeated Arkansas (then a part of the Southwest Conference) during the 1972–73 season.[3]

Harvard also got off to a fast start. After winning their opener against Holy Cross, the Crimson won a triple-overtime contest over the College of William & Mary, 87–85 on a half-court shot by senior guard Jeremy Lin.[4] Lin also made headlines in early December as he scored 30 points in a close loss (79–73) at #14 Connecticut, then came back to score 25 in the Crimson's very next game – a 74–67 upset of Boston College. Lin started the New Year by being named to the Mid-season Wooden Award 30-man watch list[5] and the Bob Cousy Award.

The Ivy made news for some not-so positive reasons as the conference saw two coaches fired during the pre-conference slate. Penn fired coach Glen Miller after an 0–7 start, while Dartmouth's Terry Dunn resigned after a 3–10 start.

But the biggest press of the non-conference season for the Ivy League came on January 6, as league favorite Cornell led #1 and undefeated Kansas with under a minute remaining at Allen Fieldhouse. Ultimately, the Big Red lost to KU 71–66, but the Ivy stalwarts proved that they could compete with the top teams[6]

Cornell and Harvard were expected to compete for the league title, but the Big Red swept the Crimson. However, Penn stopped Cornell's bid for a perfect Ivy League season by beating the then 22nd ranked Big Red 79–64 at the Palestra in Philadelphia. The win snapped an eight-game win streak by Cornell.[7]

At the conclusion of the season, the Ivy League all-conference teams were selected. Cornell placed a trio of seniors – Ryan Wittman, Jeff Foote and Louis Dale – on the All-Ivy first team. The Big Red threesome were joined on the first team by Harvard's Jeremy Lin and Penn's Zack Rosen. Wittman and Foote were the Ivy League player and defensive players of the year, respectively.[8]

• Player of the Year: Ryan Wittman, Cornell (unanimous)
• Rookie of the Year: Kyle Casey, Harvard
• Defensive Player of the Year: Jeff Foote, Cornell

All-Ivy League first team

• Louis Dale, Cornell
• Jeff Foote, Cornell (unanimous)
• Ryan Wittman, Cornell (unanimous)
• Jeremy Lin, Harvard (unanimous)
• Zack Rosen, Penn (unanimous)

All-Ivy League second team

• Matt Mullery, Brown
• Noruwa Agho, Columbia
• Jack Eggleston, Penn
• Douglas Davis, Princeton
• Dan Mavraides, Princeton
• Alex Zampier, Yale

All-Ivy League honorable mention

• Chris Wroblewski, Cornell
• Kyle Casey, Harvard
• Michael Sands, Yale

Ivy League Players of the Week
Throughout the conference season, the Ivy League offices name a player and rookie of the week.