Radford's frontcourt dominates Mason to end year on low point

Despite the fact that Radford probably has the best frontcourt Mason will see this season, this road loss was still a pathetic effort. The final score was 80-53 and Mason shot 27% from the field while allowing RU to shot over 52%, yikes. The Patriots were manhandled in the paint, and that's putting it nicely. The scouting report the team was emphasizing all week had to focus on the Highlanders two power inside big men, Art Parakhouski and Joey Lynch-Flohr. Parakhouski, who had scouts from the Detroit Pistons watching from the stands last night, finished with 34 points, 12 rebounds, and 5 blocks. 20 of these points came in the second half, and he didn't have much trouble getting to the rim. Ryan Pearson and Mike Morrison were no match for Radford's size and experience in the frontcourt, they got frustrated early and Morrison ended up in foul trouble early. Cam Long was no where to be found, scoring only 2 points and was 1-for-12 from the floor. Mason won't win many road games this year with Cam shooting like that.

According to Statsheet.com the game was "statistically over" with 5:49 to go in the second half but anyone watching last night knew the Patriots were done right as the second half began and Art Parakhouski quickly racked up a few baskets while Mike Morrison finished put backs and picked up another foul. The Patriots missed so many easy lay-ups and other opportunities, Luke Hancock uncharacteristically hit rim on a dunk that might have sparked some life for the team early on. It was just that kind of game for Mason. Despite going 17-63 from the field, they went 16-19 from the free-throw line but on the flip side RU got 28 attempts from the free-throw line went 84% from there. It's no surprise the Patriots were out-rebounded 47-29, but I did notice that Johnny Williams seems to be better on the boards than Mike Morrison if given additional minutes. Ryan Pearson, who usually is the Patriots best offesnive rebounder was boxed out all night, showing how much this team didn't match-up well with RU.

What is most discouraging about this loss is the fact that Radford's offense was very one dimensional and they had no depth. You knew that they were going to do and you knew where their points were going to come from, their guards were a total none factor. If they had some decent three-point shooters the margin of this loss could have been much worse believe it or not. They had open look three-pointers and went 0-for-9 from there. Their bench scored a whopping 4 points and to begin the second half you would have thought maybe the Patriots could wear them down, not the case. The Patriots have 4 more games in the next 10 days including ODU this Saturday, so hold on tight!

Below is a chart from StatSheet.com and it highlights the "Four Factors to Winning at Basketball". If you have never heard of this statistical breakdown before read more about what they mean here

NCAA Basketball Stats

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Patriots head to Big South

The Patriots travel down to Radford Wednesday to take on last year's Big South champion. This will be an interesting test for Mason as the Highlanders sport a much bigger line-up including the team's leading scorer and rebounder Artsiom Parakhouski who stands at 6-11, 260 lbs. Their line-up includes a three forward, two guard set which we don't see often among mid-majors. Will this give the Patriots trouble and will rebounding be an issue in this one? Mason has had trouble out-rebounding teams they had a size advantage over so this could be a battle for second chance points. Parakhouski will give the Patriots trouble and keeping guys like Mike Morrison and Ryan Pearson out of foul trouble will be key. I would expect to see a lot more minutes for Kevin Foster up front in this one as well. As for the backcourt, Radford doesn't have anyone that will give Cam Long and the rest of the gang much trouble so Mason will have to take advantage in that area. Three-point shooting could also be a factor in this one as Radford has been allowing their opponents to shoot over 34% from behind the arch. William & Mary squeaked by these guys last week by nailing 15 three-pointers. Another weakness Mason could exploit is the Highlanders lack of depth, an up and down the court type game could favor the quicker, more athletic Patriots.

We have only seen this team win once on the road so far and I am curious to see how they will come out after only playing once in 18 days. The young guys on this team need to get more reps on the road, so hopefully Larranaga will use this game like the Tulane one and play the freshmen often. Last time the Patriots played a bigger team I thought we'd see more Johnny Williams, might things be different this time? The kid needs more work on his game but I still believe he will have a bigger impact before the season is over.

This is the final out of conference game before the conference schedule kicks into full swing and it will be the final chance for Larranaga to play around with the line-up. Some questions that still remain unanswered would be is the starting line-up going to stay the same and will the scramble defense continue to be put on hold.

Side note: Freshmen Sherrod Wright was named CAA Rookie of the Week

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Announcement: Holiday Week Publishing

The Cornell Basketball Blog will have limited publishing during the holiday week. Seasons greetings to all and thank you for reading!

A Christmas Tree Hunt With Cornell Men's Basketball
CornellBigRed.com

ITHACA, N.Y. -- The Cornell men's basketball team was up to more than just winning the Madison Square Garden Holiday Festival. Senior Andre Wilkins and the Big Red recorded their trip to New York City as the team searched for the famous Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree. Watch the journey ... then enjoy Happy Holidays from Cornell Athletics!


(originally published 12.23.09)

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News and Notes: Evening Edition

Just a few news and notes...

• From the Harvard Crimson:

The Big Red also played a skilled Big East squad this weekend in St. John’s, and Cornell took down the Red Storm, 71-66. St. John’s is no Georgetown, but after watching that game at Madison Square Garden, it was apparent that the Big Red won despite lacking its opponent’s athleticism and raw talent. Cornell’s advantage came from its discipline and poise, instilled in the team by its veteran leadership, spearheaded by the impressive senior trio of Ryan Wittman, Louis Dale, and Jeff Foote. Even when St. John’s pulled ahead, the Big Red kept its composure and found good looks at the basket.

• From the Mike DeCourcy and the Sporting News:

Ivy climbing

After Cornell rallied to steal the Holiday Festival championship away from St. John's, Red Storm coach Norm Roberts said, "Without a doubt, that's an NCAA Tournament team."

Now, was he making a prediction on the Ivy League race, or was he campaigning early for a Big Red at-large bid?

The Ivy hasn't had an at-large bid. The league declining to hold a tournament and award that team its automatic bid is one reason. Because the bid goes to the regular-season champ, there's never a true hard-luck story.

However, with Cornell owning victories over Alabama and St. John's, and with Harvard expected to be a serious challenger for the Ivy crown, this could be a year when an at-large bid is possible—even necessary.

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Jon Jaques: Blogger and Baller

Coming Up Big at the Garden

By Jon Jaques
New York Times

December 24, 2009

Jon Jaques is a senior on the Cornell basketball team. As he did last season, Jon will be blogging for The Quad throughout this season.

I knew playing at Madison Square Garden meant being on the floor where some classic games have occurred, but to be involved in a great finish at the venue was something I could not have imagined.

After being up by 13 points against a tough Davidson team at halftime, we let our guard down and the Wildcats came storming back. Only a clutch driving layup by Louis Dale that tied the game as time expired in regulation saved us from a crushing defeat. The stage was set for Ryan Wittman, who cemented his spot as one of the top shooters in the country this weekend. After a Davidson miss at the free-throw line left the game tied with 6 seconds remaining in overtime, Witt gathered the outlet pass, shook two defenders and rose up for 30 footer at the buzzer. When the ball came down right in the bottom of the net to give us a ridiculous win and send us to the Holiday Festival final to face St. John’s, the team, as expected, went nuts. Maybe the best part was watching the highlight over and over again on SportsCenter later that night. Not only did the shot and the ensuing storming of the floor dominate the lead into the broadcast, but it was also the No. 3 overall play on the show’s top 10 plays the next morning.

Watching each person’s reaction to the shot was priceless. The freshman Miles Asafo-Adjei immediately chased after Wittman, pointing at him with an outstretched arm the entire way. The freshman Errick Peck ran around the court looking lost for a few seconds before finding the rest of us mobbing Witt. The freshman Eitan Chemerinski stood clapping on the bench alone for a few moments before joining the ruckus. Just to prove I’m not only picking on our freshmen, the assistant coach Nat Graham had somehow made it all the way down toward the end of the bench by the time the ball was released and gave the classic two-fist pump celebration when it went down. Whatever the individual celebration may have been, that game and that monster shot will surely never be forgotten by those close to the Cornell basketball program.

Even though the Garden wasn’t near its capacity for our game St. John’s on Monday night, the stage was as big as I’ve been on in my college basketball career. To be honest, though I had circled the Garden games on my personal calendar coming into the season, I did not expect to play such a significant role in Cornell’s first win over a Big East team since beating Villanova 40 years ago. After primarily sitting on the bench for three years, I can honestly say that I relish any opportunity I get on the court to help the team win a game. But to have such a memorable night, both personally and team-wise, on the same floor where Michael Jordan posterized Patrick Ewing, where Willis Reed came limping out of the locker room before Game 7 of the 1970 N.B.A. Finals, and where Ryan Wittman nailed a 30-foot, overtime buzzer beater versus Davidson on Sunday (yes, that moment, in my book, is equal in magnitude to the other two) was truly unforgettable.

Even though my line for the night stood out, all I was really doing was spotting up for wide-open 3-pointers. Like I keep telling anyone who asks, it’s really easy to score when you have talented teammates who draw the attention of the other team and have a knack for making the easy pass when it’s available. My teammates did a fantastic job of making the extra pass and finding me all night.

After trailing by double digits in the first half — thanks to some unbelievable 3-point shooting by St. John’s — we were able to whittle its lead down to 5 at halftime. Though St. John’s is an extremely talented team, we knew our best shot to win would be to stick with the game plan and continue to force the Red Storm to make outside shots.

In the second half, our defensive intensity and focus picked up which lead to stops and easy baskets at the other end. After finally getting the lead midway through the second half, it was back and forth the rest of the way. Up by 2 with 50 seconds left and the ball, we had one of our worst possessions of the half. A deflected pass, a loose ball, pressure defense … nothing seemed to be going right on what was probably the most important possession of the game up until that point. With the shot clock winding down, the sophomore Chris Wroblewski came off a screen as I was cutting up from the corner. As ‘Ski was dribbling over, I told myself that if I caught the ball I would shoot it. Nothing else was happening during the possession, the shot clock was dwindling, and I felt like I couldn’t miss. It didn’t matter that the shot was from behind the confusing white N.B.A. line on the Madison Square Garden court or that the St John’s linebacker-like forward Justin Brownlee was charging at me like Ray Lewis hunting down a running back in the backfield. It just felt natural to let the ball go. And when it came down “moist” (as Miles Asafo-Adjei likes to say) I performed my own hilariously awkward celebration (which was probably premature). But it felt great.

Our team’s mantra for the tournament was “Only in the Garden” and it felt like a season’s worth of magic definitely took place in the hallowed arena this past weekend. The grandeur of the setting, the quality of competition, and the dramatic fashion in which we won both games probably makes those victories the biggest in program history since the 1960 Cornell squad beat a Bill Bradley-led Princeton squad and an Adolph Rupp-coached Kentucky team.

We’re not satisfied though, and obviously in the grand scheme of things, this tournament championship means nothing in terms of the Ivy League. We still have a ways to go, but the wins show we are making progress. Happy Holidays everybody!

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Cornell at La Salle Game Preview Center (12.29.09)

Get all the information you need about the Cornell Big Red's game at La Salle on December 29, right here with The Cornell Basketball Blog's Game Preview Center. As the game approaches, we will be adding relevant links to this space. Let us know your thoughts on the upcoming game by either leaving a comment to this post, sending us an email (CornellBigRedFan@gmail.com), or posting a message on The Cornell Basketball Blog's Community Forum (click here).

Go Big Red!

Multimedia Links

• La Salle CBS All Access Video
  
• Cornell Athletics Redcast Audio/Video Coverage
• WVBR.com (free audio)
• Slope Media (free audio and/or video via UStream)
• Live Blogging Updates with Brian Delaney (Ithaca Journal)

La Salle Explorers Basketball Related Links

• La Salle Basketball Official Site
• La Salle on CBS
• La Salle on CNN/SI
• La Salle on ESPN
• La Salle on Fox Sports
• La Salle on Yahoo
• La Salle on TheSportsNetwork.com
• The Explorers Blog
• LaSalle-Explorers.com
• La Salle on Scout.com

Cornell Basketball Related Links

• The Cornell Basketball Blog's Community Forum and Message Board
• The Cornell Basketball Blog's 2009-2010 Season Preview Index.
• Cornell Redcast Audio/Video Coverage
• Cornell Basketball's Official Website at CornellBigRed.com
• Cornell Daily Sun Sports
• Ithaca Journal Sports
• Cornell on CBS
• Cornell on CNN/SI
• Cornell on ESPN
• Cornell on Fox Sports
• Cornell on Yahoo
• Cornell on TheSportsNetwork.com
• Cornell Athletics Game Notes for Big Red at La Salle
  

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Cornell Basketball in the News

Cornell Upsets St. John’s to Win First Holiday Festival

by Jon Wagner
ChicagoSportsDay.com
February 24, 2009

NEW YORK – It wasn’t supposed to be this way.

If anyone figured to beat St. John’s in the annual Holiday Festival, it figured to be Hofstra, which defeated the Red Storm in the Festival title game in 2006, the fourth consecutive time that St. John’s had lost to its cross-town rival.

But, on Sunday, the Red Storm rallied from five points down with just under seven minutes remaining to beat the Pride by twelve, and reach the 2009 Holiday Festival championship game on Monday night.

So, finally getting by the local area nemesis of the current decade (before Sunday, St. John’s was 2-5 against Hofstra this decade after going 19-0 against the Pride previously), playing an Ivy League representative like Cornell figured to be a matchup that would yield St. John’s, appearing in the tournament for the 44th time, its 15th Festival title — especially against a Cornell team which had never won that tournament, and hadn’t played in it since 1970.

Not so fast.

That Ivy League school not only has its superior academic reputation, but it can teach a Big East team like St. John’s a few lessons on the basketball court as well.

Such as the values of ball movement, finding teammates, shooting the ball efficiently, possessing a balanced inside-outside offensive attack, solid defense, and being well-coached.

It also doesn’t hurt to get off on the right Foote… yes, that’s with a capital “F” and a silent “e,” as in Jeff Foote, Cornell’s very tough-to-deal-with, 7-foot, 245-pound senior center who was named the 2009 Holiday Festival Most Valuable Player.

At least for one night, Foote, along with several others, helped make the Big Red (9-2) better than the Red Storm (9-2), in Cornell’s 71-66 comeback win at Madison Square Garden.

At first glance, some of the numbers in this game could be deceiving, but a deeper look shows how much better the Cornell offense operated versus how much St. John’s struggled to achieve the same offensive output from the field.

Each team made 24 field goals, and each sank 11 three-pointers.

However, Cornell was much more efficient, dishing out 18 assists while shooting a blistering 57 percent (24-for-42) from the field, including 61 percent (11 of 18) from three-point range.

In contrast, St. John’s shot 42 percent (24 of 57) from the floor, going 44 percent (11 of 25) from beyond the arc.

Behind junior guard Dwight Hardy’s 13 points early on, the Red Storm made 7 of its first 9 three-pointers while jumping out to a 33-22 lead with 5:36left in the first half. Hardy wouldn’t score again until late in the second half, finishing the game with a team-high 19 points.

Meanwhile, Foote (19 points, 8-10 fg, 11 rebounds, 5 blocks) scored 6 points during a 9-3 Cornell run to close the first half, pulling the Big Red to within 36-31 at halftime.

From that point on, St. John’s couldn’t shake Cornell, and at a few points in the second half, the fairly small yet loud contingent of Big Red supporters made the quarter-filled Garden sound more like a Cornell home game on St. John’s own floor.

Behind the continued inside threat of Foote and hot perimeter shooting of 6-foot-7 senior Jon Jaques (game-high 20 points, 7-8 fg, 5-6 3-pt fg), Cornell built a 57-51 lead on a beautiful up-and-under reverse layup by Foote with 7:35 left in the game.

St. John’s wouldn’t go away, and the Red Storm tied the game at 60-60, but Foote’s basket with 2:26 left put Cornell ahead to stay, 62-60.

Jaques’ right wing three-pointer after some nice ball movement by Cornell, gave the Big Red a 67-62 lead 31.4 seconds remaining.

A right-corner trey by Hardy pulled St. John’s to within 69-66 with 15.5 seconds left, but free throws sealed the first ever Holiday Festival championship for Cornell.

Foote, who averaged 17.5 points, 12.5 rebounds, 3.5 assists, and 2.5 blocks in the two-day tournament, almost couldn’t believe he was named the MVP.

“It’s surreal,” he said. “I have only been MVP once before and it was a high school tournament. To be MVP on this stage is unreal. It was extra nice [at Madison Square Garden]. My brother got to see me and my parents were watching on TV, so [that] made it all worth it.”

In terms of the larger picture, the win, Cornell’s seventh straight victory this season, was a huge one for its program, as it snapped a 40-year, 46-game drought against Big East opponents, and drew high praise from St. John’s coach Norm Roberts, who said, “Give them a lot of credit. They made some huge shots. They’re a good basketball team, without a doubt, [a potentially tough] NCAA tournament team,” which Roberts added “could beat [almost] any team in the country” when it’s playing as well as it did against St. John’s on Monday night.

“This is a huge step for our program,” Cornell head coach Steve Donahue said. “Here’s a team that’s on a roll [St. John’s came in 9-1 with its only loss at Duke] and we play them at their place, at Madison Square Garden, in a very prestigious tournament, in front of a lot of alums. It’s a huge step, I feel great for [our players]. To win in this venue, in this environment, is awesome.”

A word of caution to anyone else which might lie in the way of Cornell taking further steps, such as a potential weak three or four seed who might draw Cornell on that 13 or 14 line come March.

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News and Notes: Cornell References All Over NYC Media, Big Red Move into RPI Top 15

Below some news and notes...

• The Washington Jewish Week writes, "Former Charles E. Smith Jewish Day School basketball star Eitan Chemerinski is learning about life in Division I basketball. Translation: He's still not getting a lot of playing time at Cornell. Chemerinski has appeared in only two of Cornell's 10 games so far. But that's not unusual for a freshman. There are five players on Cornell's team who are in about the same situation as he. He has one rebound, but is still looking for his first points. But he's seeing some good games as Cornell has won six in a row for an impressive 8-2 start. This year is going to be a learning experience for Chemerinski, but it should be a good one."

• On December 22, Cornell recruit Jake Matthews pumped in 32 points against Highlands High School. Matthews is a 6'3" guard from Greensburg-Salem High School near Pittsburgh. Meanwhile, on December 18, fellow Cornell recruit, Manny Sahota, a 6'6" wing from Brampton, Ontario, scored 14 points for his D'Youville High School team in a loss to Eastern Commerce Collegiate Institute.
  

• In Ivy roster news, Penn made a new assistant coaching hire.
  

• There are some major stories referencing Cornell basketball in the media today. To see the stories, continue reading this post and take the link below.
  

• Here is the New York Daily News Recap of Cornell's win over St. John's in the Holiday Festival at Madison Square Garden.

St. John's Red Storm can't match Cornell from three in loss

Just when it seemed like St. John's had figured out what kind of team it should be, the Red Storm suffered an identity crisis Monday night.

A little more than 24 hours after suffocating Hofstra for an important win over a local rival and declaring that it would be a defense-first squad, the Red Storm was the exact opposite against Cornell in the Holiday Festival title game. St. John's got baited into a three-point shooting contest and ended up on the losing end of a 71-66 decision at the Garden.

The Big Red (9-2) was the nation's third-best three-point shooting team two years running and returned almost everyone. But the Johnnies got sucked in when they led by five at halftime after their best outside shooting half of the season.

Both teams were 7-for-11 outside the arc in the first half, but after the break the Big Red stayed hot while the Storm cooled as the game got away.

Usually one of the worst three-point shooting teams in the Big East, the Johnnies (9-2) have been proficient at it this year, which could explain why they kept firing away.

"It was more our game plan to hopefully have them shoot the ball from distance. The strategy didn't look real smart for a while because they shot the heck out of it," Cornell coach Steve Donahue said. "Teams that aren't used to doing that fall into a trap of being casual, thinking 'this is an easy game - we're making shots.' In my mind that's not the strength of that team."

Cornell won its first Holiday Festival in four appearances and snapped a 41-game losing streak to Big East teams that dated back to before the conference was formed - a win over Villanova Dec. 30, 1969.

"We knew if we stayed tough defensively that they were not going to be able to shoot 75% from three all night," said 7-footer Jeff Foote, who had 19 points on 8-for-10 shooting and 11 rebounds and was named the Festival's MVP.

Of the Johnnies' 57 shots, 25 were three-point attempts and they made 11, a season-best 44%. But in the second half they were 4-for-14 from beyond the arc. Cornell shot 57% for the game and 11-for-18 (61%) on three-point attempts.

"We've been going at three-pointers pretty good all season so I definitely thought we could do a lot better today," D.J. Kennedy said. "We knew Cornell was a great three-point shooting team, so I feel we kind of let down on that. ... They're smart players, great shooters. Any open look, it was almost (like) a layup.

"We kind of forgot our (defensive) principles and gave them a lot of open looks and they capitalized on every one of them."

Dwight Hardy had a career-high 19 points and was 5-for-7 on three-pointers, Kennedy had 15 points and Paris Horne had 12 points for St. John's. Jon Jaques scored 20 to lead Cornell.

Cornell pushed past the Johnnies in the first 10 minutes of the second half and led by as much as 57-51 before St. John's tied the game at 60 on Hardy's three-pointer with 2:49 left. St. John's would go 1-for-6 on three-pointers from that point on with Kennedy missing two, Justin Brownlee, Malik Boothe and Hardy missing one each.

"Without a doubt that's an NCAA Tournament team," St. John's coach Norm Roberts said. "That team can beat anybody in the country when they're hot - maybe not Kansas or one of those guys - but they can win in the tournament."

• Rubin of the New York Daily News called Cornell's win over St. John's an "upset."

• Here is an article by Dick "Hoops" Weiss in the New York Daily News:
  

Cornell's Louis Dale get by St. John's on Monday night, and the Big Red are make big waves in the Ivy League.

Cornell Big Red program now blossoming in Ivy League

From the Ivy League's inception in 1954 until three years ago, Penn and Princeton had dominated the men's basketball standings, with the Quakers winning 21 league titles and the Tigers claiming 19.

But Cornell (9-2) has rocked their world the last few years. The Big Red has won consecutive Ivy titles in 2008 and 2009 and looks like it could earn a single-digit seed and actually win a game in the NCAA Tournament this season. Cornell already has victories over Alabama, St. Joseph's, UMass and most recently St. John's, 71-66, Monday in the final of the Holiday Festival at the Garden. Cornell lost by 10 to Seton Hall at home and fell by a respectable 15 to Syracuse at the Carrier Dome.

"I think we're ready to take another step if we're fortunate to get there," Cornell coach Steve Donahue said, knowing full well Harvard will also be a contender for the league title - and the Ivy's automatic NCAA bid.

"I would hope whoever comes out of there, I think we're way more competitive than we have been. It's still a fairly young league. There's still a lot of young talent, but I like what a lot of teams for the most part are doing in the non-league (games) in challenging the big teams.

"Our league has been beaten up the last couple years by the national announcers," Donahue said. "I think everyone likes to take a shot at the Ivy League - the elitist system. But we feel the league is good, as we have as much talent in our league as many mid-major leagues do right now, but until we win a game in the (NCAA) Tournament, we're not going to get that respect."

The Big Red, which had not played at the Garden in nearly 40 years before last weekend, made a few more converts with the way it played against the improved Johnnies. Cornell got 19 points, 11 rebounds and five blocked shots from rapidly improving 7-foot senior center Jeff Foote and 20 points (including five 3-pointers) from 6-7 forward Jon Jaques. The Big Red has a productive power player in Foote and plenty of perimeter shooting from four other spots on the floor.

"This is something we've been building for a couple years, playing these bigger, power-conference teams," said 6-7 senior forward Ryan Wittman, the Ivy League Player of the Year last season. "Our sophomore year we played a couple. Each year we've been playing more and more. So, we're pretty used to it now."

Cornell reflects how basketball dynamics in the Ivy League have changed.

"If you look back, when I came to Cornell, my 10 years as an assistant at Penn, there were no coaching changes," Donahue said. "Very rarely did a team struggle and the coach was fired. But Billy Carmody and John Thompson III left Princeton for jobs at Northwestern and Georgetown. Fran Dunphy left for Temple, and the other six schools re-committed and have done a great job of challenging the schools at the top in recruiting.

"Schools want to win, and when they don't, they make changes."

The most radical move occurred two weeks ago when Penn - frustrated by an 0-7 start - fired Glen Miller, who won the league in his first year in 2007. "I don't know what happened at Penn," Donahue said. "But I would hope coaches in our league don't have to win at all costs or they're losing their job. It sends a bad message."

When Donahue took over at Cornell in 2000-01, he brought an impressive resume to a program that was mired at the bottom of the league. Donahue was Dunphy's top assistant in a Penn program that won six Ivy titles in eight years. Donahue went through six straight losing seasons, but the Cornell administration stuck with him. His current team is built around four senior starters - Wittman, Jaques, Foote and guard Louis Dale - plus sophomore guard Chris Wroblewski.

Wittman - the son of former Indiana great Randy Wittman - is one of several under-recruited prospects who have blossomed at Cornell. He was hurt during the summer before his senior year in high school and didn't get a chance to showcase his talents. As it turns out, he wanted a strong academic school and fell in love with Cornell when he visited.

It's easy to see why, as the Big Red is a growing success story.

• New York area media personality, Steve Kallas writes in his blog:

BELIEVE IT OR NOT, CORNELL BASKETBALL DESERVES YOUR RESPECT

Cornell came in to Madison Square Garden on December 21 and beat St. John’s of the Big East, 71-66, to win their first-ever Holiday Festival. The reaction in New York, focusing virtually only on St. John’s, a struggling team in recent years trying to regain their past glory, was “How can St. John’s be any good when they lost to Cornell?” One “expert” even said that, just when St. John’s was getting some votes as a top 25 team, they go and lose to Cornell. Cornell!!!” As if it was some kind of punch line.

CORNELL IS FOR REAL THIS SEASON

As often happens, people are slow to realize what’s happening. Especially in college basketball. In fact, St. John’s is making a comeback. They are better than they’ve been the last few seasons. The powers-that-be at St. John’s have been beyond patient with coach Norm Roberts in today’s world of you’d better win now. Hopefully, he holds on.

But whether anybody knows it or not, Cornell is for real this year.

While Penn and Princeton seemed to have won the Ivy League title every year for what seems like the last 30 years, unbeknownst to most, Cornell has been the Ivy League Champion the last two years. And their roster isn’t an Ivy League roster. They have a seven-foot center who can play. They have the son of an NBA player who can shoot the lights out. They have a point guard who was the Player of the Year in the Ivy League two years ago as a sophomore. And they have an excellent shooting sophomore who was the Ivy League Rookie of the Year last season.

While St. John’s was getting some top 25 votes last week, it says here that Cornell will be a top 25 team before the year is out.

THREE SENIORS WHO CAN REALLY PLAY

Senior Ryan Wittman has been getting most of the publicity for Cornell. The son of former NBA player Randy Wittman and already the second all-time leading scorer in Cornell history, Ryan Wittman lit up Davidson for 29 in the first round of the Holiday Festival at MSG, including a game-winning deep three at the buzzer to beat Davidson in overtime. While limited to 10 points in the final, Wittman is a deadly shooter who commands so much attention that it gives others open shots. Now averaging over 18 points a game and making plenty of big shots, he’s also commanding attention from NBA scouts. Whether he can make it at the next level is an open question, but you get the gist that he’s much more than just a good Ivy League player.

Senior Jeff Foote is the sleeper in the group, but he’s also now commanding the attention of the scouts who are showing up to watch Wittman. A seven-footer who can play, Foote is averaging 14 points and 9.5 rebounds a game. His coming out party might have been at the Garden, where he was the Holiday Festival Tournament MVP by averaging 17.5 points, 12.5 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 2.5 blocks per game in the tournament.

Senior Louis Dale is the point guard who runs the show for coach Steve Donahue. He was the Ivy League Player of the Year two years ago as a sophomore, no mean feat, even in the Ivy League. Dale is cool under pressure and scored the game-tying basket in the last second against Davidson in the first round of the Holiday Festival to send the game into overtime. Dale is solid all around, averaging just under 10 points, with just over five assists and three rebounds per game.

OTHERS HELP AS WELL

Sophomore Chris Wroblewski was the Ivy League Rookie of the Year last season. He shoots 94% from the foul line, is a good three-point threat and is averaging 10.9 points a game.

Senior Jon Jaques was the surprise star of the win over St. John’s, going 7-8 from the field (including 5-6 from three-point range) to lead Cornell with 20 in the Holiday Festival Final.

Cornell even has a senior, Mark Coury, who started for Kentucky two years ago and transferred to Cornell. Coury was 3-3 off the bench in the win over St. John’s.

WHO HAVE THEY BEATEN?

Coach Donahue has intelligently scheduled a bunch of road games early on this season. Cornell has answered the bell: they have a seven-game winning streak and have road wins at Alabama, UMass, Toledo, Drexel and Bucknell in addition to their two MSG wins. Ivy League teams just don’t do that. In addition, they have road games at La Salle and at Kansas (yes, Kansas) in the next two weeks.

Their two losses have been in the Carrier Dome against top team Syracuse and at home to a better-than-you-think Seton Hall squad.

NCAA TOURNAMENT FACTOR?

Well, Cornell probably has to win the Ivy to get the automatic bid because it’s hard to believe that the committee would give an at-large bid to an Ivy. Harvard is good this year and could give Cornell a run for its money.

But it says here that Cornell wins the Ivy, is ranked in the top 25, gets a higher than normal seed (for an Ivy) and beats somebody in the first round in March. Maybe two wins.

And the seniors go out in a blaze of glory.

We’ll see what happens.

• Cornell RPI Watch: The RPI (Rating Percentage Index) is a measure of strength of schedule and how a team does against that schedule. It does not consider the margin of victory, but only whether or not a team won and where the game was played (home/away/neutral court). The formula is 25% team winning percentage (WP), 50% opponents' average winning percentage (OWP), and 25% opponents' opponents' average winning percentage (OOWP). (See: CollegeRPI.com for a further explanation of the formula.) The RPI may be the most influential factor in NCAA Tournament seeding. Below is a look at Cornell's RPI rank as of December 24 following a 9-2 start for the Big Red. All of Cornell's opponents are also listed (out of 347 total Division I teams). Cornell's results against these opponents are in parentheses.
  

9. Syracuse (L)
14. Kansas
15. Cornell
21. St. John's (W)
30. Harvard
69. La Salle
72. Seton Hall (L)
74. Alabama (W)
95. Princeton
105. St. Joseph's (W)
127. Drexel (W)
130. Vermont (W)
135. Davidson (W)
137. UMass (W)
185. Brown
189. Columbia
242. South Dakota
279. Yale
281. Bucknell (W)
300. Toledo (W)
340. Bryant
342. Dartmouth
345. Penn
NR- Clarkson (D-III)
NR- PSU-Erie (D-III)

Neither the Ken Pomeroy or Jeff Sagarin rankings are used by the NCAA Tournament Selection Committee. Nevertheless, the KenPom.com site ranks Cornell No. 63 in the nation, while the Sagarin rankings have Cornell at No. 32. Both sites are predominantly used by fans and the media.

• Below are links to our game recaps from each of Cornell's games this season. Associated press recaps courtesy of Rivals.com/YahooSports.com are always available by clicking on Cornell's schedule/results on the right column of this blog.

1. at Alabama (W 71-67)
2. at UMass (W 74-61)
   
3. vs. Seton Hall (L 79-89)
   
4. at Syracuse (L 73-88)
   
5. Toledo (Phil.) (W 78-60)
   
6. Vermont (Phil.) (W 67-59)
   
7. at Drexel (W 61-54)
   
8. at Bucknell (W 104-98) (OT)
   
9. vs. St. Joseph's (W 78-66)
10. Davidson (W 91-88) (OT)
11. at St. John's W 71-66
    

• Below, check out results and upcoming action around the Ivy League. (click here for a composite Ivy League schedule) (Click here for a TV schedule of Ivy League games).
  

Friday, November 13
Yale 86 Sacred Heart 92 (Connecticut Six) Box Score - Recap
Brown 68 St. Francis (N.Y.) 64 Box Score - Recap
Dartmouth 58 Boston College 89 Box Score - Recap
Harvard 87 Holy Cross 77 Box Score - Recap
Penn 55 Penn State 70 Box Score - Recap

Saturday, November 14
Princeton 71 Central Michigan 68 Box Score - Recap
Cornell 71 Alabama 67 Box Score - Recap

Sunday, November 15
Brown 55 Virginia Tech 69 Box Score - Recap
William & Mary 85 Harvard 87 (3OT) Box Score - Recap
Dartmouth 44 George Mason 60 Box Score - Recap

Monday, November 16
Yale 63 Hofstra 68 (NIT at Storrs CT) Box Score - Recap
Penn 65 Villanova 103 Box Score - Recap

Tuesday, November 17
Yale 65 Colgate 55 (NIT Storrs CT) Box Score - Recap
Columbia53 DePaul 59 [SNY] Box Score - Recap

Wednesday, November 18
Rhode Island 78 Brown 57 Box Score - Recap
Manhattan 54 Princeton 61 Box Score - Recap
Cornell 74 UMass 61 Box Score - Recap

Friday, November 20
Brown 76 St. John's 79 Box Score - Recap
Longwood 61 Columbia 72 Box Score - Recap
Seton Hall 89 Cornell 79 Box Score - Recap
Bryant 51 Harvard 77 Box Score - Recap

Saturday, November 21
Army 56 Princeton 52 Box Score - Recap
Dartmouth 60 Furman 83 Box Score - Recap
Delaware 97 Penn 94 2OT Box Score - Recap
Quinnipiac 71 Yale 64 Box Score - Recap

Sunday, November 22
Maine 62 Brown 75 Box Score - Recap

Monday, November 23
Harvard 53 Army 56 Box Score - Recap
Charlotte 88. Yale 74 NIT Box Score - Recap

Tuesday, November 24
Princeton 50 George Washington 65 Box Score - Recap
Cornell 73 Syracuse 88 Box Score - Recap
Loyola (Md.) 58 Dartmouth 41 Box Score - Recap
Bucknell 59 Columbia 73 Box Score - Recap
Drexel 58 Penn 49 Box Score - Recap
Elon 65 Yale 69 NIT Box Score - Recap

Wednesday, November 25
Brown 70 Bryant 68 Box Score - Recap
New Hampshire 60 Harvard 78 Box Score - Recap

Friday, November 27
Cornell 78. Toledo 60 (Legends Classic at Philadelphia, Pa.) Box Score - Recap
Brown 79 Siena 99 (Philadelphia Hoops Classic) Box Score - Recap
Yale 48 Army 64 Box Score - Recap
Hartford 56 Dartmouth 68 Box Score - Recap

Saturday, November 28
Cornell 67 Vermont 59 (Legends Classic at Philadelphia, Pa.) Box Score - Recap
Brown 79 Siena 99 (Philadelphia Hoops Classic) Box Score - Recap
Yale 48 Army 64 Box Score - Recap
Hartford 56 Dartmouth 68 Box Score - Recap

Sunday, November 29
Cornell 61 Drexel 54 (Legends Classic at Philadelphia, Pa.) Box Score - Recap
Harvard 78 Boston U. 70 Box Score - Recap
Princeton 60 California 81 [CSN California] Box Score - Recap

Monday, November 30
Columbia 55 Sacred Heart 60 Box Score - Recap

Tuesday, December 1
Vermont 63 Dartmouth 58 Box Score - Recap

Wednesday, December 2
Holy Cross 85 Brown 79 (OT) Box Score - Recap
Cornell 104 Bucknell 98 (OT) Box Score - Recap
Yale 48 Hartford 46 Box Score - Recap
Rice 64 Harvard 85 Box Score - Recap

Thursday, December 3
Lehigh 75 Columbia 70 Box Score - Recap
Princeton 44 Rutgers 58 Box Score - Recap

Friday, December 4
Penn 67 Navy 73 [CBS College Sports] Box Score - Recap

Saturday, December 5
Columbia 60 Stony Brook 63 Box Score - Recap
Brown 55 Minnesota 91 Box Score - Recap

Sunday, December 6
Harvard 73 UConn 79 [SNY/ESPN Fullcourt] Box Score - Recap
Lafayette 48 Princeton 62 Box Score - Recap
Cornell 78 St. Joseph's (PA) 66 Box Score - Recap

Monday, December 7
Brown 62 Providence 78 Box Score - Recap
Vermont 72 Yale 60 Box Score - Recap

Tuesday, December 8
Columbia 102 Wagner 91 Box Score - Recap
Albany 78 Penn 60 Box Score - Recap

Wednesday, December 9
Harvard 74 Boston College 67 Box Score - Recap
Bryant 54 Yale 69 Box Score - Recap

Saturday, December 12
Columbia 69 Bryant 57 Box Score - Recap
Army 59 Dartmouth 46 Box Score - Recap
Penn 75 Monmouth 80 Box Score - Recap

Sunday, December 13
Princeton 65 UNC Greensboro 50 Box Score - Recap
Lyndon State 54 Dartmouth 83 Box Score

Wednesday, December 16
Monmouth 42 Princeton46 Box Score - Recap

Thursday, December 17
Dartmouth 58 Lehigh 66 Box Score - Recap

Sunday, December 20
Cornell 91 Davidson 88 [MSG Holiday Festival, Fox Sports Atlantic/MSG] Box Score - Recap
Dartmouth 59 New Hampshire 69 Box Score - Recap
Princeton at Maine- Weather Cancellation

Monday, December 21
Yale 78 Providence 87 Box Score - Recap
Cornell 71 St. John's 66 [MSG Holiday Festival, Fox Sports Atlantic/MSG] Box Score - Recap

Tuesday, December 22
Colgate 63 Dartmouth 44 Box Score - Recap

Wednesday, December 23
Harvard 70 Georgetown 86 [ESPN Full Court/ MyTV9/ SNY] Box Score - Recap
Columbia 51 Quinnipiac 63 Box Score - Recap

Monday, December 28
MIT at Harvard, 4 pm
Kean at Brown, 7 pm
Penn at Davidson, 7 pm

Tuesday, December 29
Yale at Colorado, 9 pm [FSN Rocky Mountain]
Cornell at La Salle, 4 pm

Wednesday, December 30
Dartmouth at Quinnipiac, 2 pm [NESN]
Brown at Sacred Heart, 7 pm
George Washington at Harvard, 6 pm
Maine at Columbia, 7 pm
Wagner at Princeton, 7 pm

Thursday, December 31
Yale at Colorado State, 4 pm
Penn St. Erie-The Behrend College at Cornell, 2 pm
Penn at Duke, 6 pm [ESPN2]

Saturday, January 2
American at Brown, 1 pm
Bryant at Cornell, 2 pm
Harvard at Seattle, 5:10 pm
Princeton at St. Joseph's, 2 pm [The Comcast Network]

Sunday, January 3
Penn at Lafayette, 1 pm
Yale at Albany, 4 pm [Time Warner Cable (TW3)]

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ESPN's Andy Katz Talks Cornell

From ESPN's Andy Katz in his article, "Don't forget about these conferences":

Favorite in the Ivy: Harvard has been impressive, but Cornell has been impressive of late, winning at Alabama, at UMass and at St. John's. The only two losses for the Big Red were at home to Seton Hall and at Syracuse -- not bad for an Ivy school.

From Katz in his article, "Recapping the season's first six weeks":

Team to keep an eye on come March: Cornell can win a game in the NCAAs if it gets a decent seed. The Big Red has won games away from home against perceived higher-level leagues. Cornell has a shooter in Ryan Wittman and size with 7-footer Jeff Foote. Of course, that's if Cornell can earn the Ivy berth ahead of surging Harvard and Jeremy Lin.

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Cornell Gets Mention on Yahoo's "The Dagger"

From Yahoo's Dagger Blog:

Cram Session: Kansas rolls, Big Red rising...

Cornell 71, St. John's 66 -- (This happened Monday, but was too good to ignore.) Our preseason "team to watch", Cornell has a 9-2 record against the 38th strongest schedule in the country. That resume includes wins over Alabama, Massachusetts, St. Joseph's and St. John's. The Big Red don't have to worry about an at-large berth since the Ivy League regular season champion gets the conference's automatic NCAA berth and if Cornell doesn't get that, they probably won't have had a good enough 2010 to warrant such discussion anyway. But if and when they do qualify for March Madness, watch out. The thinking used to be that Cornell could advance with the right match-up. Now I'm thinking they could advance with pretty much any draw.

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Cornell Athletics Game Notes for Big Red at La Salle

Men's Hoops Looks To Continue Hot Streak At La Salle

CornellBigRed.com

Game Notes (pdf) I Live Stats I Live Video (La Salle subscription needed) I Buy Tickets I Live Audio (RedCast) I Text Updates I 2009-10 Cornell Information Center I 2009-10 Cornell Statistics I 2009-10 Cornell Roster I 2009-10 Cornell Schedule & Results

GAME INFORMATION
Game #12: Cornell at La Salle
Tip off: Tuesday, Dec. 29, at 4:00 p.m.
Site: Tom Gola Arena (4,000), Philadelphia, Pa.
2009-10 Records: Cornell (9-2, 0-0 Ivy); La Salle (7-4, 0-0 Atlantic 10)
Series Record: Series tied 2-2
Last Meeting: Cornell won 79-70, Dec. 20, 2008 in Ithaca, N.Y.
Radio: 93.5 WVBR-FM (Barry Leonard)
La Salle Web Site: www.GoExplorers.com
TV: None
Live Stats: Available at www.CornellBigRed.com
Live Video: Available at www.CornellBigRed.com



HEAD COACH STEVE DONAHUE
Cornell head coach Steve Donahue is in his 10th season at Cornell (126-135, .483) ... Donahue became the fourth Robert E. Gallagher ‘44 Coach of Men’s Basketball at Cornell.

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ITHACA, N.Y. — The Cornell men’s basketball team returns from Christmas break looking to keep its hot streak intact when it meets La Salle on Tuesday, Dec. 29, at 4:00 p.m. at Tom Gola Arena in Philadelphia. Barry Leonard and Matt Grassie will provide the call on 93.5 WVBR-FM, while live audio of the game can be heard on the internet as part of the RedCast subscription service.

Cornell brings a seven-game win streak into the contest, including winning its first-ever Madison Square Garden Holiday Festival with dramatic victories over Davidson (91-88 in overtime) and 14-time tournament champion and Big East member St. John’s (71-66). The victory was the first over a Big East team by the Big Red in 40 years.

The contest will continue a run of 10 of its first 12 games away from home. Cornell already owns road wins at Alabama, St. John’s, Massachusetts and Drexel, neutral court wins over Davidson and Vermont and a home win over Saint Joseph’s early in the season.

The All-Ivy trio of Louis Dale, Jeff Foote and Ryan Wittman have lived up to their billing so far this season. Dale is averaging 9.7 points, 5.2 assists, 3.1 rebounds and 1.9 steals per game, while Foote is at 14.0 points, 9.5 rebounds and 1.9 blocks. Wittman, the second all-time leading scorer at Cornell, paces the squad with his 18.3 points. Additionally, Chris Wroblewski, last season’s Ivy League Rookie of the Year, is putting up 10.9 points per game as the third double-figure scorer. Seniors Mark Coury, Jon Jaques, Alex Tyler and Geoff Reeves, juniors Max Groebe and Adam Wire and freshman Errick Peck round out the rotation.

ABOUT LA SALLE
• Conference: Atlantic 10
• Head Coach: Dr. John Giannini (North Central ‘84), sixth season.
• La Salle brings a 7-4 record into its contest with the Big Red.
• The Explorers are riding a six-game win streak at home.
• Senior Rodney Green leads the Atlantic 10 in scoring at 18.8 ppg. and is one of the early leaders for Atlantic 10 Player of the Year.
• The Explorers are eighth in the latest Division I rankings for 3-point field goal percentage at .426.
• Freshman Aaric Murray is averaging 10.7 points, 7.4 rebounds and 2.2 blocks per game.

CORNELL VS. THE ATLANTIC 10
• Cornell is 16-18 all-time against current members of the Atlantic 10.
• The Big Red 2-2 against La Salle and has also played Dayton (0-1), Duquesne (0-2), Fordham (4-4), Massachusetts (1-0), Richmond (0-1), St. Bonaventure (8-3), Saint Joseph’s (0-3), Saint Joseph’s (1-3), Saint Louis (0-1) and Xavier (Ohio) (0-1).
• The Big Red has never played Charlotte, George Washington, Rhode Island or Temple.
• This is the last of three scheduled meetings this season against teams from the A-10. Cornell knocked off Massachusetts on the road 74-61 on Nov. 18 and topped Saint Joseph’s 78-66 on Dec. 6.

THE SERIES
• The series is tied 2-2 after the Big Red won last year’s meeting 79-70.
• Jeff Foote set a then-career high with 25 points, including 16 in the second half, as Cornell rallied from a 14-point second half deficit to knock off the Explorers a season ago after a two-week break for final exams.
• Foote made 8-of-14 shots from the floor and 9-of-12 from the charity stripe as Cornell gutted out the victory, outscoring their Atlantic 10 foe 52-32 after halftime to snap a three-game losing skid. Ryan Wittman chipped in with 18 points, while classmate Louis Dale had 14.
• Cornell and La Salle have played one other time with Cornell head coach Steve Donahue on the sidelines, a 73-59 Big Red loss on Dec. 28, 2002.

THE STORY LINE
• Cornell brings a seven-game win streak into the post-Christmas break after capturing the 2009 Madison Square Garden Holiday Festival on Dec. 21.
• Cornell knocked off Davidson in overtime 91-88 behind a 35-footer at the buzzer by senior Ryan Wittman. That came after classmate Louis Dale made a layup with 0.7 seconds left to send the game into the extra period. The Big Red then topped St. John’s 71-66 in the final, the first win over a Big East squad in 40 years.
• The Big Red brings a 2-0 record this season against Atlantic 10 opponents into the contest, knocking off Massachusetts 74-61 in the first round of the Legends Classic on Nov. 18, then topped Saint Joseph’s 78-66 on Dec. 6 at Newman Arena.
• Cornell will pit its 8-1 road/neutral site record against a La Salle squad with a six-game home win streak.
• Cornell’s two losses this season have been to teams a pair of Big East teams that have a combined record of 21-1 as of Dec. 29 (Syracuse and Seton Hall will play each other that night).

REVIEWING THE HOLIDAY FESTIVAL
• The Big Red won its first-ever Madison Square Garden Holiday Festival title thanks to a 91-88 overtime win over Davidson in the first round, followed by a 71-66 victory over 14-time tournament champion St. John’s in the final.
• Senior Jeff Foote was named tournament MVP after averaging 17.5 points, 12.5 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 2.5 blocked shots in the two wins.
• Senior Ryan Wittman joined Foote on the all-tournament team thanks in large part to his 29-point outburst against Davidson, including the game-winning 35-foot 3-pointer at the overtime buzzer. The play was ranked the No. 3 “Play of the Week” on ESPN’s SportsCenter.
• Wittman was named Ivy League Player of the Week on Dec. 21 after his performance against Davidson.
• Senior guard Louis Dale had six assists in the Big Red’s championship win over St. John’s, pushing him past Chuck Rolles ‘56 for the school’s career record. He ended the tournament with 382.
• Senior Jon Jaques had 20 points in the championship game, making 5-of-6 3-pointers and 7-of-8 field goals to go along with three rebounds and three steals.
• Cornell shot a combined 50 percent from the field and 3-point range in the two tournament victories.
• The victory over St. John’s snapped the Big Red’s 40-year, 46-game losing streak against Big East foes.

WHAT A SENIOR CLASS
• The senior class has draw a great deal of acclaim during its four seasons.
• The team has a 68-29 record in its four seasons and is nearing last year’s 72 wins in four years for the all-time Big Red record.
• The squad is also 34-8 in Ivy play with two Ivy League championships and a third-place finish.
• Louis Dale, Jon Jaques, Geoff Reeves, Pete Reynolds, Alex Tyler and Ryan Wittman were all high school recruits from the same class that began playing for the Big Red in 2006-07.
• Andre Wilkins joined the team as a sophomore in 2007-08 after spending his rookie season at Blinn College in Texas.
• Jeff Foote transferred from St. Bonaventure in 2006-07 and sat out until after the fall semester in 2007-08. He is a fifth-year player.

PLAYER NOTES
• The top four players in the backcourt, seniors Louis Dale, Geoff Reeves, Ryan Wittman and sophomore Chris Wroblewski have made 81-93 free throws this season (.871), including 30-of-35 in the final three minutes of games within 10 points (.857).
• Senior Ryan Wittman had a career-low four points at UMass, but has averaged 19.3 points in the nine games since.
• Sophomore Chris Wroblewski is 21-of-44 from 3-point range in his last nine games (48 percent) after hitting just 1-of-5 (20 percent) in his first two.
• In Cornell’s nine wins this season, Mark Coury has made 19-of-24 shots from the floor (.792).
• Coury has hit 16-of-20 shots from the floor (80 percent) in his last seven games.
• During Cornell’s seven-game win streak, senior Louis Dale has 39 assists and just 16 turnovers. He has 29 assists and 11 turnovers in the last five games.
• Senior Jeff Foote has five double-doubles in his last eight games.
• In his last four games, Jeff Foote is averaging 17.5 points, 12.0 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 2.3 blocks with three double-doubles. He has shot .634 (26-of-41) over that span.
• Foote, a career 62 percent free-throw shooter, has made 29-of-39 from the line in the last four games (.744).
• Sophomore Chris Wroblewski is shooting 55 percent from 3-point range (11-of-20) over his last six games, while Geoff Reeves is shooting 55 (12-of-22) in his last seven.
• Senior Ryan Wittman has made at least two 3-pointers in each of his last eight games and has been in double figures in nine consecutive.
• Senior Jon Jaques is averaging 13.3 points, 1.7 rebounds, 1.3 steals and 1.0 assists in 20.3 minutes in his three starts. He is shooting 63 percent from the floor (15-of-24) and 58 percent (7-of-12) from 3-point range over that span.

TEAM NOTES
• The Big Red is averaging 86.0 points in its last four games, all Big Red wins.
• Cornell opponents are shooting .434 from the floor in the last three games.
• The team’s seven-game win streak is the third-longest of the decade (behing a 16-game streak in 2007-08 and a nine-game run in 2008-09).
• Cornell has scored at least 70 points in nine of 11 contests.
• Cornell has a positive assist:turnover ratio in 10 of its 11 games this season.
• The team has hit 27 more 3-pointers this season than its opponents and has 47 more assists.
• Its .766 free-throw percentage, if maintained, would surpass the school record of .761 set in 2007-08.
• Over its last five games, Cornell is shooting .490 from 3-point range (47-of-96).

CORNELL IN THE COMMUNITY
• LeChase Construction Services, the Special Olympics and Cornell basketball will team up for the 2009-10 season. For each 3-point shot the Big Red men’s and women’s basketball teams convert during the campaign, LeChase will donate $5 to the Special Olympics.
• So far this season, the men’s team has hit 101 treys and the women’s team has made 75 for a total of 176. So far, LeChase will be donating $880.
• The Big Red basketball teams offered a free youth clinic on Dec. 12 that included a free-throw shooting contest to benefit the United Way of Tompkins County.

NEXT UP
• The Big Red returns home on Dec. 31 when it meets Penn State-Behrend at 2 p.m. at Newman Arena.
• Cornell won the only prior meeting between the teams.

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