CU77 Says It's True

The Princeton men's lacrosse team has clinched a spot in the Ivy League tournament.

At least TigerBlog has it from a reliable source. Who is the source you ask?

Why it's CU77, of course.

And who is CU77? TigerBlog has no idea.

TB can surmise a few things about him. From the moniker, he's a 1977 Cornell grad. He's either a former Cornell lacrosse player or a huge fan of the program

And, much like TigerBlog, he's fascinated by the permutations of the various scenarios for the Ivy League tournament.

In recent years, today would have been the day that TigerBlog went through all of the remaining possibilities and posted a story about it on goprincetontigers.com. This year? Why bother.

CU77 already did it.

CU77 is a poster on the laxpower.com message board. He (for that matter, TB assumes he's a he) went through the last six games - three each for the next two weekends - and came up with the 64 possible outcomes.

All 64 have Princeton and Cornell in the Ivy tournament.

Don't believe TigerBlog? Click HERE and see for yourself. 

Is he right? He is if he interpreted the Ivy League's tiebreakers correctly, which TB assumes he did, since he started out by posting them before he listed all the possibilities.

So instead of doing it himself, TB will simply tip his hat to CU77 and say thanks.

It is, after all, a daunting task. TB wonders how long it actually took him to do.

Still, the lingering question for TB is whether or not he can make the definitive claim that Princeton is in the Ivy tournament. And if so, does he need to give attribution? And if so, to whom? A relatively anonymous person on a message board?

Anyway, TigerBlog does know some things about the upcoming Ivy League tournament. Let's assume Princeton and Cornell are both in, though the Tigers can be anywhere between the outright champion and top seed and tournament host to the No. 4 team.

The winner of the Princeton-Cornell game is guaranteed at least a share of the Ivy League title. That game will be a winner-take-all showdown for the title and top seed if both win this weekend; if one wins this weekend and the other loses, then the winner earns a least a share of the Ivy title before the showdown the following week.

The tournament can only be played in Princeton, Ithaca or Providence, though only 10 of CU77's 64 outcomes result in the tournament at Brown. The only chances for Brown to host involve a win over Cornell this weekend - even TigerBlog could figure that part out.

Princeton hosts Harvard Friday evening at 6 on ESPNU. After that, it's the trip to Cornell for the regular-season finale on April 25.

Princeton's first goal this year was to reach the Ivy League tournament. Goal No. 2 is the NCAA tournament.

That second goal was starting to look like a relatively safe proposition when Princeton was 6-1, but then the Tigers lost three straight - to Brown, Stony Brook and Lehigh. That turned around Saturday, when Princeton sprinted past Dartmouth 16-5.

It's amazing how seasons have their ebbs and flows, and how in a season as short as in lacrosse, how those ebbs and flows can turn on a dime. Princeton left Lehigh Tuesday night in the rain and cold on the short end of a 16-15 score and wondering what was in store for the rest of the season.

And then Saturday in New Hampshire, Princeton played as well as it has all year, on offense and defense. Its third quarter was nearly perfect, as the Tigers outscored Dartmouth 7-1 to break open what had been a 5-3 lead at halftime.

So now the stretch drive begins.

If CU77 is correct, then Princeton has a minimum of three games remaining.

The Tigers have been ravaged by injuries this season and have essentially played the entire year without Will Reynolds, Mark Strabo and Jake Froccaro. In the preseason those three would have been three of Princeton's six or seven best players.

There have been players who have emerged this year to pick up the slack. Ryan Ambler made a jump from freshman year to sophomore year and has made another one this year. Gavin McBride is having a big year in the midfield, going from no points as a freshman to 17 goals and nine assist so far as a sophomore.

Sam Gravitte was supposed to be Reynolds' backup, but he's stepped up to be a solid longstick midfielder who is basically on the field every time the ball is on the defensive end. Shortstick midfield figured to be an issue with the graduation of last year's top three, but Austin deButts, Bobby Weaver and Austin Sims have all been excellent.

There are others too.

Mostly, though, this team is being driven by two seniors having extraordinary years, all-time years at Princeton for that matter. Both of them have great stories.

Mike MacDonald came back from having surgery on both of his hips to have one of the greatest offensive seasons in Princeton history. He already has 38 goals, 22 assists and 60 points, and no player in program history has ever had a season with at least 40 goals and 20 assists.

The other is Kip Orban. TigerBlog told anyone who would listen that they were missing the boat on Orban, who wasn't even an honorable mention All-Ivy League selection a year ago, let alone an All-America or preseason All-America.

So what has he done? So far he's blasted his way to 33 goals, an extraordinary amount for a Princeton middie. Among all-time Princeton greats middies who never put up 33 goals in a season are Tom Schreiber, Lorne Smith and Scott Reinhardt.

TigerBlog has been watching Princeton lacrosse for a long time, and there aren't too many examples he can come up with of players who have been this unstoppable game after game after game. Those who make the list are the very elite of the all-time great players he's seen here.

Led by these two, Princeton has already achieved its first goal, with its second still out there.

The Tigers, after missing out last year, are back in the Ivy League tournament.

At least if CU77 is right.

If nothing else, TB owes him a thank you, for taking care of those scenarios for him.