Harvard wins Ivy, 1st NCAA bid since 1946

Mar 7, 2012 - 2:33 AM Princeton, NJ (Sports Network) - Harvard won the Ivy League title on Tuesday and claimed the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament after Penn lost to Princeton.

Penn needed a win to tie Harvard at the top of the Ivy standings and force a one-game playoff. Princeton, though, posted a 62-52 victory at Jadwin Gym to deny the Quakers that opportunity.

Harvard finished 12-2 in the conference, one game ahead of Penn, and earned its first trip to the NCAA Tournament since 1946.

Penn had a seven-game winning streak snapped and finished 11-3 in the Ivy League.

Its previous loss before Tuesday came Feb. 10 against Harvard, which was ranked for the first time ever in the Associated Press poll earlier this season.

Last year, Harvard lost a one-game playoff to Princeton at the buzzer for the Ivy League's automatic NCAA berth and failed to receive an at-large bid after sharing the regular season title with the Tigers.