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Men’s Hoops Looks To Clinch At Least A Share Of Ivy Title This Weekend When It Visits Dartmouth, HarvardCornellBigRed.com
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GAME INFORMATION
Game #27: Cornell at Dartmouth
Tip off: Friday, Feb. 27, at 7:00 p.m.
Site: Leede Arena (2,100), Hanover, N.H.
2008-09 Records: Cornell (18-8, 8-2 Ivy League); Dartmouth (8-16, 6-4 Ivy League)
Series Record: Dartmouth leads 101-96
Last Meeting: Cornell won 79-76 in 2OT, February 14, 2009 in Ithaca, N.Y.
Game #28: Cornell at Harvard
Tip off: Saturday, Feb. 28, at 7:00 p.m.
Site: Lavietes Pavilion (2,050), Cambridge, Mass.
2008-09 Records: Cornell (18-8, 8-2 Ivy League); Harvard (11-13, 3-7 Ivy League)
Series Record: Cornell leads 88-67
Last Meeting: Cornell won 96-75, February 13, 2009 in Ithaca, N.Y.
Radio: 1160 ESPN Radio, WPIE (Barry Leonard)
TV: None
Live Stats: check availability at www.CornellBigRed.com
Live Video: check availability at www.CornellBigRed.com
Tickets: available by calling (607) 254-BEAR
HEAD COACH STEVE DONAHUE
Cornell head coach Steve Donahue is in his ninth season at Cornell (114-131, .465) ... Donahue became the fourth Robert E. Gallagher ‘44 Coach of Men’s Basketball at Cornell on Sept. 6, 2000.
ITHACA, N.Y. — The Cornell men’s basketball team will try to secure at least a share of the 2008-09 Ivy League title when it visits Dartmouth (Friday, Feb. 27) and Harvard (Saturday, Feb. 28) this weekend. Both contests are scheduled to tip-off at 7 p.m. with Barry Leonard providing the calls locally on 1160 ESPN Radio as well as part of the RedCast subscription service.
Cornell enters the weekend two games up on the field with four to play, and a weekend split would guarantee the Big Red at least a share of the Ancient Eight title. Additionally, a sweep and losses by Columbia, Princeton and Yale during the weekend would give head coach Steve Donahue’s team its second straight outright Ivy title and NCAA tournament bid. That will be no easy task, however, as it will rematch with a Dartmouth squad that will be looking to reverse a 79-76 double overtime win by the Big Red two weekends ago, while Harvard will be playing on its Senior Day for Evan Harris, Drew Housman and Andrew Pusar.
Continuing to lead Cornell on both ends of the court are a trio of All-Ivy players, juniors Ryan Wittman (18.2 ppg., 3.5 rpg.) and Louis Dale (13.9 ppg., 4.2 rpg., 3.7 apg.) and senior Jeff Foote (12.2 ppg., 7.0 rpg., 2.2 apg., 2.2 bpg.). Combined with key contributors like juniors Geoff Reeves (9.5 ppg.) and Alex Tyler (6.6 ppg., 4.7 rpg.) who have also started all 26 games, and the Big Red looks poised to defend its 2007-08 Ivy League title. Freshman Chris Wroblewski, sophomore Adam Wire and seniors Brian Kreefer and Jason Battle have also played key roles off the bench. The return of senior Adam Gore from a knee injury also adds depth in the backcourt.
ABOUT DARTMOUTH: Despite being picked seventh in the Ivy League preseason poll, upstart Dartmouth has zoomed out to a 6-4 Ivy League mark after going 2-12 in non-conference play. Ivy League Player of the Year candidate Alex Barnett (19.6 points, 5.7 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 1.3 steals, 1.2 blocks per game) leads the Big Green, which has started 11 of the 14 players on its roster at least twice this season. Only Barnett and Jabari Trotter (7.3 ppg.) have opened all 24 contests. Dartmouth has been outrebounded by 3.0 boards per game and is shooting just 34 percent from beyond the arc. Fifth-year head coach Terry Dunn has a 44-89 record on the sidelines for the Big Green.
ABOUT HARVARD: Harvard has had its ups and downs due to youth and injury, but bring a dangerous 11-13 squad (3-7 Ivy) into the rematch. Jeremy Lin, a candidate for first-team All-Ivy honors ranks third in the Ivy league in scoring (18.1 ppg.) and is among the league leaders in rebounding (5.3), assists (4.3), steals (2.6), field goal percentage (.507) and 3-point percentage (.429), but is the only Crimson player averaging double figures. The rest of the versatile lineup has eight players averaging between 5.2 and 8.8 points per game. The Crimson have struggled on the defensive end, allowing opponents 46 percent shooting, including 51 percent from inside the 3-point arc. Head coach Tommy Amaker is in his second year at Harvard and has posted an 19-35 record with the Crimson and a 186-173 mark in 12 years as a head coach.
SO WHAT’S THE SCENARIO?: Cornell has a chance to clinch at least a share of the 2008-09 Ivy League title on Friday under the following scenario. The Big Red would need to defeat Dartmouth along with all of the following results all taking place — Penn beats Yale, Harvard beats Columbia and Brown beats Princeton. If that happens, the Big Red would be able to clinch the Ancient Eight title outright with a win over Harvard on Saturday. In any case, Cornell would clinch at least a share of the crown with a weekend road sweep regardless of any other games. It would clinch the title outright with two wins and one loss by Columbia, Princeton and Yale.
BACK TO BASICS: After winning 19 straight Ivy League contests, Cornell is 4-2 in its last six contests thanks to road losses at both Princeton and Yale. The Big Red’s average margin of victory in those four wins is 19.8 points.
RARE COMPANY: Cornell has extended its home win streak to 19 games, ranking it tied for third-longest in Division I with Pittsburgh, which faces Marquette on March 4. Utah State’s streak is at 32 heading into a Feb. 26 contest against Hawaii. The longest active home win streak in the country is Kansas, which has a 39-game stretch it will put to the test against Missouri on March 1.
HOME COURT ADVANTAGE: The Big Red is riding a school-record 19-game home win streak dating back to last year. Here are some facts about the streak.
• The previous longest home win streak was 14 games and started on Dec. 3, 1983 with a win over Cleveland State and culminated in a Jan. 9, 1985 loss to Canisius.
• Last year the Big Red went 12-1 at home, meaning Cornell is now 30-3 in its last 33 home contests.
• The 11 straight wins to open this season is the longest since also opening 11-0 during the 1983-84 campaign.
HOME WRECKERS: Cornell has been extremely impressive in its 11-0 start this season at Newman Arena, doing everything well. As a team, Cornell is outscoring foes by 19.3 points (82.4-63.1) while hitting at a .519 clip from the field and .463 from 3-point range. The team has a 1.4:1 assist:turnover ratio and is defending at an outstanding pace, limiting opponents to .389 shooting from the floor and .308 from 3-point range. Seven of the team’s top 10 scorers are shooting at least 50 percent from the floor at home, with three hitting better than 60 percent.
MOVING ON UP: Head coach Steve Donahue won his 62nd Ivy League contest with an 85-45 victory at Brown, good for 13th place on the all-time Ivy League coaching wins list. He ranks second among Cornell coaches with only Sam MacNeil’s 77 wins from 1959-68 ranking ahead.
EVEN STEVEN: With the team’s victory over Yale, head coach Steve Donahue evened his career Ivy League record at 58-58. It was the first time in his career that he had a .500 Ivy League record overall since taking over the program in 2000-01. He currently sits at 62-60 over his eight years.
GRAND ENTRANCE: Cornell has seen both Ryan Wittman and Louis Dale surpass the 1,000-point mark this season. Wittman reached the milestone against Indiana earlier this season, while Dale hit the mark against Brown. The two became the first set of teammates to each reach 1,000 points in the same season since Cody Toppert ‘05 and Eric Taylor ‘05 each reached the milestone during the 2004-05 season.
REACHING 90: With its 96-point effort in the win over Harvard, Cornell has now scored 90 points on three occasions this season, hitting for 99 against Ursinus (99-45, Jan. 3) and 90 against Brown (90-58, Jan. 30). It is the first time a Big Red team has reached 90 points three different times since the 2003-04 campaign (also three times). Besides those three games this season, Cornell has also posted games of 89 (Boston University, 89-59 on Dec. 29) and 88 points (Penn, 88-73 on Feb. 7). It is coming off an 85-point effort in the win at Brown last Saturday.
MAY I ASSIST YOU?: The Big Red offense was at its best in the 96-75 win over Harvard. Cornell set a school record with 31 assists on 39 baskets, obliterating the previous mark of 28 assists against Alvernia on Jan. 10, 2008. It is the fourth time Cornell has had at least 20 assists in a game this year. The Big Red also had 19 assists in the win at Brown.
TALL IVY: Over the last three seasons, Cornell’s 31-7 record in the best among Ivy League teams in conference action. Penn, who claimed the 2006-07 title, is second at 26-11, followed by Yale (23-15), Columbia (20-18) and Brown (18-20). Other Ivy teams include Dartmouth (13-25), Harvard (11-27), and Princeton (10-27).
DYNAMIC DUO: Juniors Ryan Wittman and Louis Dale are the highest scoring classmates in Cornell history.
Points Teammates Year
2,340 Ryan Wittman (1,333) and Louis Dale (1,007) 2010
2,243 Cody Toppert (1,232) and Eric Taylor (1,011) 2005
2,180 Ray Mercedes (1,429) and Kevin Cuttica (751) 2001
2,050 Shawn Maharaj (1,258) and Rich Medina (792) 1992
PERFECT 10: The Big Red won 10 non-conference contests in one season for the fourth time in program history and for the first time since the 1950-51 season when Cornell also won 10 games. The Big Red won a program-best 11 games out of the league in 1949-50 and also took home 10 decisions in the 1919-20 campaign.
NON-LEAGUE SUCCESS: The Big Red posted its third consecutive non-conference season with at least a .500 record with a 10-6 mark. The last time the Big Red at least broke even in non-league play in more consecutive years was the 1959-60 to the 1967-68 campaign, a span of nine straight years.
RECORDS FALL: Division III powerhouse Ursinus proved to be no match for the defending Ivy League champion Big Red in a 99-45 triumph. Here are some notes on the victory.
• Cornell’s 18 3-pointers surpassed the previous record of 15 set against Syracuse at the Carrier Dome on Dec. 20, 2004.
• the Big Red’s 34 attempts from beyond the arc was also a single-game high, more than the 31 put up against Ithaca College on Dec. 3, 2001.
• the 65 first half points broke a record for points in a half previously set against Colgate when Cornell put up 62 points on Dec. 4, 1965.
• the 54-point margin of victory is the largest for a Cornell team since topping Clarkson 92-37 on Dec. 9, 1953.
• the 99 points ties the most in a single game under head coach Steve Donahue (vs. VMI on Dec. 1, 2006.
• the Bears’ .278 shooting percentage is the lowest by a Cornell opponent since the Big Red clinched the 2007-08 Ivy League championship by limiting Harvard to .242 shooting on March 1, 2008.
• freshman Alex Hill had 18 points on 6-of-10 shooting from beyond the arc. He entered the game with five career points, but hit five consecutive 3-pointers to end the first half (in a span of 3:01 late in the first half).
TREY BIEN: The Big Red has hit at least one 3-pointer in 559 straight games entering the Dartmouth contest. Cornell surpassed the 500-game plateau when the Big Red connected on six treys at Princeton on Feb. 16, 2007. The last time Cornell did not hit a 3-pointer was against Denison in the 1988-89 season opener (0-for-2). Since the 3-point shot came into effect in NCAA play during the 1986-87 season, Cornell has hit at least one shot behind the arc in 610 of 614 games, connecting on 3,584 treys, an average of 5.84 per game. The Big Red has hit a 3-pointer in all 245 games coached by Steve Donahue.
NIT SUCCESS: Cornell posted a 3-1 record in the NIT Preseason Tip-Off, earning consecutive victories over Loyola (MD) (82-72), Loyola (IL) (78-53) and Eastern Michigan (67-54) after opening the tournament with a loss to St. John’s (87-75). Of the 16 teams in the tournament, Cornell joined a who’s who of college basketball programs that includes Arizona, Davidson, Georgia, Oklahoma, Purdue and St. John’s, as well as the winner of Boston College and UAB, all of whom earned at least three wins in the tournament.
CENTURY MARKED: Head coach Steve Donahue picked up his 100th career coaching victory with a 67-54 triumph over Eastern Michigan in the final contest of the 2008 NIT Preseason Tip-Off on Nov. 25. The 2007-08 USBWA and NABC District Coach of the Year has a 114-131 overall record in nine seasons at Cornell and is 56-26 (.683) in his last three seasons, including last year’s Ivy League title. His teams have matched or surpassed its win totals overall and in league play each of the last six seasons (only school in the country) and has finished in the top three of the Ancient Eight standings for five straight years.
WITTMAN GETS CORNELL 3-POINT RECORD: Junior Ryan Wittman put his stamp on Cornell’s career 3-point list with four treys in the 96-75 victory over Harvard, giving him a school record 240 in his three seasons. He passed Cody Toppert ‘05, who had 237 in his four-year career with his field goal with 14:10 left in the first half as part of a 20-point night.
WITTMAN CLIMBS UP IVY TREY CHART: A week after junior Ryan Wittman set the school’s career record for 3-pointers, he jumped to third on the Ivy League’s list in the loss at Yale. Wittman hit five 3-pointers as part of a 21-point effort, ending his night with 247 career treys. He has since upped that total to 250. The only players sitting between Wittman and the record are former Quaker Tim Begley (253, 2001-05) and conference record holder Brian Earl of Princeton (281, 1995-99).
ANOTHER THREE SPREE: Junior forward Ryan Wittman hit nine 3-pointers against Syracuse, matching the single-game school record by Alex Compton at Yale on Feb. 24, 1996. The 19 attempts from beyond the arc set a school record, surpassing the 16 attempts by Cody Toppert against Duquesne on Feb. 6, 2004. The nine makes were one shy of a single-game Ivy League and Carrier Dome record.
RARE 30: Junior Ryan Wittman’s 33 points against Syracuse was the most by a Big Red player since Ray Mercedes notched 37 in a 93-84 loss to Harvard on March 3, 2001. It was the first 30-point effort by any Cornell player since Lenny Collins had 30 in a 72-67 loss at Marist on Nov. 19, 2004.
WITTMAN’S SCORING GRAND: Junior forward Ryan Wittman became the 23rd player in school history to score 1,000 career points when he posted 28 against Indiana on Nov. 30. He entered the contest with 979 points in his first 62 games and delivered his 1,000th point on a jumper with 9:10 left in regulation. He has since moved to sixth on the all-time list with 1,333 points. Next up is Ka’Ron Barnes ‘06 who scored 1,396 career points.
MORE THAN JUST THE SCORING: While his 18.2 points per game is spectacular, so are junior Ryan Wittman’s other contributions through 26 games. The 6-6 forward is averaging 3.5 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 1.0 steals and has posted a 1.5:1 assist-turnover ratio while playing 33.9 minutes per game. All of those numbers are career highs except for his rebounding average, which was at 4.2 rpg. a season ago.
WELCOME BACK: Reigning Ivy League Player of the Year Louis Dale is back after missing the first eight games of the 2008-09 season with a hamstring injury, and so far the returns have been excellent. The junior is averaging 13.9 points, 4.2 rebounds, 3.7 assists and1.3 steals in 25.2 minutes per game.
TRUE HOMER: Junior Louis Dale has played 10 of his first 18 games of the season at home and his numbers have been impressive. Dale is averaging 15.4 points, 4.2 rebounds and 3.4 assists while connecting on 58 percent of his shots from the floor (50-of-86) and 47 percent from 3-point range (16-of-34) in the home contests. For the season, Dale is shooting a personal-best 49 percent.
ADDING ANOTHER FOOTE: Senior center Jeff Foote has turned into a dominating force in the paint this season, ranking third on the team in scoring (12.2 ppg.) and pacing the squad and the Ivy League in rebounding (7.0 rpg.) and blocked shots (2.2 bpg.). Foote ranks among the team leaders in assists (2.2 apg.) while shooting 54 percent from the floor, also a team-best.
BRING IT ON, NIT: The NIT Preseason Tip-Off was the coming out party for senior center Jeff Foote, who ripped through both St. John’s and Loyola (MD). In those two games, Foote averaged 19.5 points, 7.5 rebounds, 6.0 blocks and 2.0 assists while getting to the line 18 times. He set a career-high with 20 points and five blocked shots to go along with seven rebounds and three assists against the Red Storm, then answered with 19 points, eight rebounds and seven blocks against the Greyhounds. In his four games in the preseason NIT, Foote averaged 16.0 points, 7.8 rebounds, 4.5 blocked shots and 2.8 assists while shooting 61 percent from the floor in Cornell’s 3-1 tournament run.
BLOCK TO BLOCK: Senior center Jeff Foote has blocked 58 shots in just 26 games after posting 30 blocks a season ago in 22 contests. After just 48 varsity contests, he already ranks fifth on the career list with 88 blocked shots.
AND THOUGH HE’S A SENIOR: Senior center Jeff Foote will be eligible to compete again in the 2009-10 season after sitting out a full season after transferring to Cornell from St. Bonaventure in the winter of 2006. A former walk-on for the Bonnies, he never played a varsity contest in his year-and-a-half with the program.
MOST IMPROVED?: Few players in the Ivy League have seen a bigger scoring jump than junior Geoff Reeves this season. The 6-4 guard is averaging 9.4 points a year after posting an average of 3.5 points per game. A 43 percent shooter thus far, Reeves has connected on 47-of-116 shots from beyond the arc (41 percent) and is also among the team leaders in assists (39) while averaging 27.5 minutes per game.
20-20: Junior Geoff Reeves has already posted a pair of 20-point games this season, including a career-best 26 points in a win over Loyola (IL). He made 10-of-14 shots overall, including 5-of-6 from beyond the arc in the contest. The 26 points were the most by an active Cornell player at the time and the most since Lenny Collins netted 27 points against Long Beach State on Dec. 30, 2005. Reeves also scored 21 points on 8-of-17 shooting and 5-of-8 from beyond the 3-point arc.
TYLER MORE: Junior Alex Tyler has been his strong, steady self in 2008-09, as the two-year starter at power forward is averaging 6.6 points, 4.7 rebounds and 1.1 blocked shots while playing 22.2 minutes per game. Tyler has reached double figures in scoring six times and posted a season-high 10 rebounds in the season opener against South Dakota. He had 14 points and a career-high four blocked shots to go along with six rebounds in the win over Boston University. His 11 points, seven rebounds and four blocks also led the Big Red past Columbia on the road, while he matched a career-high with 19 points and added seven rebounds in the return contest against the Lions.
TYLER MAKING CAREER MOVES: Senior Alex Tyler ranks among the school’s career leaders in field goal percentage (12th, .518) and blocked shots (ninth, 48).
ROBO-POINT GUARD: When Ivy League Player of the Year Louis Dale went down with an injury in the preseason, freshman Chris Wroblewski was forced to take over running the offense from the point guard position and so far has been outstanding. He averaged 6.6 points, 2.9 assists and 2.4 rebounds per game in the team’s first nine games, including six starts.The freshman posted a 1.4:1 assist-turnover ratio (26a, 18t). He is currently second on the team lead in assists (67) and is averaging 6.3 points, 2.6 assists and 2.3 rebounds per game. Wroblewski averaged 8.5 points, 4.0 rebounds and 4.0 assists in two contests against Columbia.
WROBO HOT: Since the beginning of Ivy League play, freshman Chris Wroblewski has shown to be one of the Ancient Eight’s top rookies, averaging 7.5 points, 3.0 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 0.8 steals per game while shooting 42 percent from the floor and a scorching 47 percent from 3-point range (15-of-32).
WROBO RECORD: Freshman Chris Wroblewski hit on 5-of-6 shots from beyond the 3-point arc in the win over Harvard, setting a Cornell Newman Arena record for 3-point percentage in a game (.833). The previous record of .800 (4-of-5) had happened eight times previously.
COMING IN WIRED: Sophomore Adam Wire didn’t play in the team’s first two games of the year, but made quite an impact off the bench since. Wire has averaged 3.4 points, 4.0 rebounds and 1.7 steals while playing 16.6 minutes in 24 appearances. The 6-6 forward corralled seven rebounds, including five on the offensive end, and added two points and two steals in 15 minutes of action against Loyola (MD) for his breakout game. In all, 39 of his 95 rebounds on the season have been on the offensive end and he leads the team and ranks second in the Ivy League with 40 steals.
BATTLE, KREEFER PLAYING KEY ROLES AS CAPTAINS: Old stalwarts Jason Battle and Brian Kreefer have played outstanding basketball this season while providing excellent leadership. Battle has started two contests and is averaging 1.2 points and 0.6 rebounds in 6.9 minutes per game. Battle had six points and three rebounds in a win over Loyola (MD). Kreefer has played 11.6 minutes per game off the bench and has picked up 3.5 points and 2.9 rebounds while making 57 percent of his shots from the field. Kreefer had a career-high six assists in the win over Loyola (IL).
KREEF NEAR-PERFECT: Senior Brian Kreefer has made 15 of his last 19 shots from the floor over his last five games to raise his field goal percentage to .565. He is shooting an insane 71 percent (20-of-28) from the floor against Ivy League opponents in 2009.
WELCOME HOME: Senior Adam Gore made his triumphant return to college basketball in the 90-58 victory over Brown. Just four and a half months after suffering his second torn ACL in two years, Gore played 10 productive minutes, scoring three points, grabbing two rounds and dishing off an assist. He has averaged 2.1 points and 0.9 rebounds in his first eight games, seeing 7.8 minutes per contest.
BIG RED PICKED TO REPEAT IN PRESEASON POLL: After capturing its first Ivy League title in 20 years, the Ivy League media picked the Cornell men’s basketball team to repeat as Ivy League champions by a unanimous vote in the 2008-09 preseason poll. The Big Red is the first team in the League’s storied history not named Penn or Princeton to garner a unanimous first-place selection. Cornell returns four starters and seven of its top eight scorers from last season’s 22-6 squad that ran through an undefeated league campaign (14-0) en route to its third NCAA tournament appearance in program history. Directly behind Cornell is traditional Ivy League power Penn, who received 110 votes as a near-unanimous second-place choice for the 16 voters. Each of the eight schools had two media representatives who cover Ivy League basketball eligible to vote. Yale (80 points) was picked third, followed by a resurgent Harvard squad (77 points) led by coach Tommy Amaker. Brown, last year’s runner-up, was close behind the Crimson with 75 points for fifth place. Rounding out the poll was Columbia (45), Dartmouth (33) and Princeton (28).
IVY OPENER: Cornell opened its 53rd official Ivy League season (the league was formally started prior to the 1956-57 season) with a 71-59 win at Columbia and is now 19-34 in Ivy openers. Cornell is 15-17 against Columbia and has played the Lions more than any other team to open league play. Other notes on the Ivy opener:
• The records against opponents in Ivy openers: Brown (0-3), Columbia (13-17), Dartmouth (1-4), Harvard (2-5), Penn (0-2), Princeton (0-1) and Yale (1-2).
• Cornell is 14-15 in Ivy openers at home and 5-19 on the road.
• Going back to its Eastern Intercollegiate Basketball League (a forerunner of the Ivy League), Cornell’s record is 44-62 in conference openers (25-28 in the EIBL).
• Cornell has won three straight Ivy openers, all against the Lions.
DONAHUE NAMED COURT COACH FOR U-18 NATIONAL TEAM TRYOUTS: This summer, Cornell head coach Steve Donahue spent a week in July as a court coach for the U.S. Under-18 national team tryouts in Washington, D.C. The team, under the direction of Davidson’s head coach Bob McKillop, also featured VCU’s Anthony Grant and Georgetown’s John Thompson III as assistant coaches. The team won the silver medal at the 2008 FIBA U18 championship in Formosa, Argentina, falling to the host team 77-64 in the gold medal game.
GETTING UP THERE: Cornell head coach Steve Donahue entered the 2008-09 campaign with the second-longest tenure at the helm of their current team in the Ivy League. Only James Jones at Yale (10th year) has been at his current school longer than Donahue has directed the Big Red (nine years).
2008-09 CAPTAINS: Cornell’s four-year senior class of Jason Battle, Adam Gore, Brian Kreefer and Conor Mullen will represent the Big Red as team captains for the 2008-09 season. It will be the second year as captain for both Battle and Gore and the first for Kreefer and Mullen.
BIG RED ON THE RADIO: For the second straight year, the Cornell University men’s basketball games will be broadcast live on WPIE-1160 AM out of Elmira, N.Y., with Barry Leonard on the call. A half-hour pregame show and postgame analysis will enable Big Red fans to follow Coach Steve Donahue’s team throughout the season.
LIVE VIDEO: The Big Red’s home contests will all be broadcast live with streaming video as part of the RedCast subscription service. Visit www.CornellBigRed.com for all the latest information on Cornell broadcasts.
LIVE STATS: Cornell will use SIDEARM Live Stats for each of the Big Red’s home games in 2008-09. Visit www.CornellBigRed.com for all of the official statistics.
NEXT UP: Cornell closes out the regular season when it returns home to face Penn (Friday, March 6 at 7 p.m.) and Princeton (Saturday, March 7 at 7 p.m.) at Newman Arena. The Big Red will honor its senior class prior to the game against the Tigers on Saturday.
Cornell enters the weekend two games up on the field with four to play, and a weekend split would guarantee the Big Red at least a share of the Ancient Eight title. Additionally, a sweep and losses by Columbia, Princeton and Yale during the weekend would give head coach Steve Donahue’s team its second straight outright Ivy title and NCAA tournament bid. That will be no easy task, however, as it will rematch with a Dartmouth squad that will be looking to reverse a 79-76 double overtime win by the Big Red two weekends ago, while Harvard will be playing on its Senior Day for Evan Harris, Drew Housman and Andrew Pusar.
Continuing to lead Cornell on both ends of the court are a trio of All-Ivy players, juniors Ryan Wittman (18.2 ppg., 3.5 rpg.) and Louis Dale (13.9 ppg., 4.2 rpg., 3.7 apg.) and senior Jeff Foote (12.2 ppg., 7.0 rpg., 2.2 apg., 2.2 bpg.). Combined with key contributors like juniors Geoff Reeves (9.5 ppg.) and Alex Tyler (6.6 ppg., 4.7 rpg.) who have also started all 26 games, and the Big Red looks poised to defend its 2007-08 Ivy League title. Freshman Chris Wroblewski, sophomore Adam Wire and seniors Brian Kreefer and Jason Battle have also played key roles off the bench. The return of senior Adam Gore from a knee injury also adds depth in the backcourt.
ABOUT DARTMOUTH: Despite being picked seventh in the Ivy League preseason poll, upstart Dartmouth has zoomed out to a 6-4 Ivy League mark after going 2-12 in non-conference play. Ivy League Player of the Year candidate Alex Barnett (19.6 points, 5.7 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 1.3 steals, 1.2 blocks per game) leads the Big Green, which has started 11 of the 14 players on its roster at least twice this season. Only Barnett and Jabari Trotter (7.3 ppg.) have opened all 24 contests. Dartmouth has been outrebounded by 3.0 boards per game and is shooting just 34 percent from beyond the arc. Fifth-year head coach Terry Dunn has a 44-89 record on the sidelines for the Big Green.
ABOUT HARVARD: Harvard has had its ups and downs due to youth and injury, but bring a dangerous 11-13 squad (3-7 Ivy) into the rematch. Jeremy Lin, a candidate for first-team All-Ivy honors ranks third in the Ivy league in scoring (18.1 ppg.) and is among the league leaders in rebounding (5.3), assists (4.3), steals (2.6), field goal percentage (.507) and 3-point percentage (.429), but is the only Crimson player averaging double figures. The rest of the versatile lineup has eight players averaging between 5.2 and 8.8 points per game. The Crimson have struggled on the defensive end, allowing opponents 46 percent shooting, including 51 percent from inside the 3-point arc. Head coach Tommy Amaker is in his second year at Harvard and has posted an 19-35 record with the Crimson and a 186-173 mark in 12 years as a head coach.
SO WHAT’S THE SCENARIO?: Cornell has a chance to clinch at least a share of the 2008-09 Ivy League title on Friday under the following scenario. The Big Red would need to defeat Dartmouth along with all of the following results all taking place — Penn beats Yale, Harvard beats Columbia and Brown beats Princeton. If that happens, the Big Red would be able to clinch the Ancient Eight title outright with a win over Harvard on Saturday. In any case, Cornell would clinch at least a share of the crown with a weekend road sweep regardless of any other games. It would clinch the title outright with two wins and one loss by Columbia, Princeton and Yale.
BACK TO BASICS: After winning 19 straight Ivy League contests, Cornell is 4-2 in its last six contests thanks to road losses at both Princeton and Yale. The Big Red’s average margin of victory in those four wins is 19.8 points.
RARE COMPANY: Cornell has extended its home win streak to 19 games, ranking it tied for third-longest in Division I with Pittsburgh, which faces Marquette on March 4. Utah State’s streak is at 32 heading into a Feb. 26 contest against Hawaii. The longest active home win streak in the country is Kansas, which has a 39-game stretch it will put to the test against Missouri on March 1.
HOME COURT ADVANTAGE: The Big Red is riding a school-record 19-game home win streak dating back to last year. Here are some facts about the streak.
• The previous longest home win streak was 14 games and started on Dec. 3, 1983 with a win over Cleveland State and culminated in a Jan. 9, 1985 loss to Canisius.
• Last year the Big Red went 12-1 at home, meaning Cornell is now 30-3 in its last 33 home contests.
• The 11 straight wins to open this season is the longest since also opening 11-0 during the 1983-84 campaign.
HOME WRECKERS: Cornell has been extremely impressive in its 11-0 start this season at Newman Arena, doing everything well. As a team, Cornell is outscoring foes by 19.3 points (82.4-63.1) while hitting at a .519 clip from the field and .463 from 3-point range. The team has a 1.4:1 assist:turnover ratio and is defending at an outstanding pace, limiting opponents to .389 shooting from the floor and .308 from 3-point range. Seven of the team’s top 10 scorers are shooting at least 50 percent from the floor at home, with three hitting better than 60 percent.
MOVING ON UP: Head coach Steve Donahue won his 62nd Ivy League contest with an 85-45 victory at Brown, good for 13th place on the all-time Ivy League coaching wins list. He ranks second among Cornell coaches with only Sam MacNeil’s 77 wins from 1959-68 ranking ahead.
EVEN STEVEN: With the team’s victory over Yale, head coach Steve Donahue evened his career Ivy League record at 58-58. It was the first time in his career that he had a .500 Ivy League record overall since taking over the program in 2000-01. He currently sits at 62-60 over his eight years.
GRAND ENTRANCE: Cornell has seen both Ryan Wittman and Louis Dale surpass the 1,000-point mark this season. Wittman reached the milestone against Indiana earlier this season, while Dale hit the mark against Brown. The two became the first set of teammates to each reach 1,000 points in the same season since Cody Toppert ‘05 and Eric Taylor ‘05 each reached the milestone during the 2004-05 season.
REACHING 90: With its 96-point effort in the win over Harvard, Cornell has now scored 90 points on three occasions this season, hitting for 99 against Ursinus (99-45, Jan. 3) and 90 against Brown (90-58, Jan. 30). It is the first time a Big Red team has reached 90 points three different times since the 2003-04 campaign (also three times). Besides those three games this season, Cornell has also posted games of 89 (Boston University, 89-59 on Dec. 29) and 88 points (Penn, 88-73 on Feb. 7). It is coming off an 85-point effort in the win at Brown last Saturday.
MAY I ASSIST YOU?: The Big Red offense was at its best in the 96-75 win over Harvard. Cornell set a school record with 31 assists on 39 baskets, obliterating the previous mark of 28 assists against Alvernia on Jan. 10, 2008. It is the fourth time Cornell has had at least 20 assists in a game this year. The Big Red also had 19 assists in the win at Brown.
TALL IVY: Over the last three seasons, Cornell’s 31-7 record in the best among Ivy League teams in conference action. Penn, who claimed the 2006-07 title, is second at 26-11, followed by Yale (23-15), Columbia (20-18) and Brown (18-20). Other Ivy teams include Dartmouth (13-25), Harvard (11-27), and Princeton (10-27).
DYNAMIC DUO: Juniors Ryan Wittman and Louis Dale are the highest scoring classmates in Cornell history.
Points Teammates Year
2,340 Ryan Wittman (1,333) and Louis Dale (1,007) 2010
2,243 Cody Toppert (1,232) and Eric Taylor (1,011) 2005
2,180 Ray Mercedes (1,429) and Kevin Cuttica (751) 2001
2,050 Shawn Maharaj (1,258) and Rich Medina (792) 1992
PERFECT 10: The Big Red won 10 non-conference contests in one season for the fourth time in program history and for the first time since the 1950-51 season when Cornell also won 10 games. The Big Red won a program-best 11 games out of the league in 1949-50 and also took home 10 decisions in the 1919-20 campaign.
NON-LEAGUE SUCCESS: The Big Red posted its third consecutive non-conference season with at least a .500 record with a 10-6 mark. The last time the Big Red at least broke even in non-league play in more consecutive years was the 1959-60 to the 1967-68 campaign, a span of nine straight years.
RECORDS FALL: Division III powerhouse Ursinus proved to be no match for the defending Ivy League champion Big Red in a 99-45 triumph. Here are some notes on the victory.
• Cornell’s 18 3-pointers surpassed the previous record of 15 set against Syracuse at the Carrier Dome on Dec. 20, 2004.
• the Big Red’s 34 attempts from beyond the arc was also a single-game high, more than the 31 put up against Ithaca College on Dec. 3, 2001.
• the 65 first half points broke a record for points in a half previously set against Colgate when Cornell put up 62 points on Dec. 4, 1965.
• the 54-point margin of victory is the largest for a Cornell team since topping Clarkson 92-37 on Dec. 9, 1953.
• the 99 points ties the most in a single game under head coach Steve Donahue (vs. VMI on Dec. 1, 2006.
• the Bears’ .278 shooting percentage is the lowest by a Cornell opponent since the Big Red clinched the 2007-08 Ivy League championship by limiting Harvard to .242 shooting on March 1, 2008.
• freshman Alex Hill had 18 points on 6-of-10 shooting from beyond the arc. He entered the game with five career points, but hit five consecutive 3-pointers to end the first half (in a span of 3:01 late in the first half).
TREY BIEN: The Big Red has hit at least one 3-pointer in 559 straight games entering the Dartmouth contest. Cornell surpassed the 500-game plateau when the Big Red connected on six treys at Princeton on Feb. 16, 2007. The last time Cornell did not hit a 3-pointer was against Denison in the 1988-89 season opener (0-for-2). Since the 3-point shot came into effect in NCAA play during the 1986-87 season, Cornell has hit at least one shot behind the arc in 610 of 614 games, connecting on 3,584 treys, an average of 5.84 per game. The Big Red has hit a 3-pointer in all 245 games coached by Steve Donahue.
NIT SUCCESS: Cornell posted a 3-1 record in the NIT Preseason Tip-Off, earning consecutive victories over Loyola (MD) (82-72), Loyola (IL) (78-53) and Eastern Michigan (67-54) after opening the tournament with a loss to St. John’s (87-75). Of the 16 teams in the tournament, Cornell joined a who’s who of college basketball programs that includes Arizona, Davidson, Georgia, Oklahoma, Purdue and St. John’s, as well as the winner of Boston College and UAB, all of whom earned at least three wins in the tournament.
CENTURY MARKED: Head coach Steve Donahue picked up his 100th career coaching victory with a 67-54 triumph over Eastern Michigan in the final contest of the 2008 NIT Preseason Tip-Off on Nov. 25. The 2007-08 USBWA and NABC District Coach of the Year has a 114-131 overall record in nine seasons at Cornell and is 56-26 (.683) in his last three seasons, including last year’s Ivy League title. His teams have matched or surpassed its win totals overall and in league play each of the last six seasons (only school in the country) and has finished in the top three of the Ancient Eight standings for five straight years.
WITTMAN GETS CORNELL 3-POINT RECORD: Junior Ryan Wittman put his stamp on Cornell’s career 3-point list with four treys in the 96-75 victory over Harvard, giving him a school record 240 in his three seasons. He passed Cody Toppert ‘05, who had 237 in his four-year career with his field goal with 14:10 left in the first half as part of a 20-point night.
WITTMAN CLIMBS UP IVY TREY CHART: A week after junior Ryan Wittman set the school’s career record for 3-pointers, he jumped to third on the Ivy League’s list in the loss at Yale. Wittman hit five 3-pointers as part of a 21-point effort, ending his night with 247 career treys. He has since upped that total to 250. The only players sitting between Wittman and the record are former Quaker Tim Begley (253, 2001-05) and conference record holder Brian Earl of Princeton (281, 1995-99).
ANOTHER THREE SPREE: Junior forward Ryan Wittman hit nine 3-pointers against Syracuse, matching the single-game school record by Alex Compton at Yale on Feb. 24, 1996. The 19 attempts from beyond the arc set a school record, surpassing the 16 attempts by Cody Toppert against Duquesne on Feb. 6, 2004. The nine makes were one shy of a single-game Ivy League and Carrier Dome record.
RARE 30: Junior Ryan Wittman’s 33 points against Syracuse was the most by a Big Red player since Ray Mercedes notched 37 in a 93-84 loss to Harvard on March 3, 2001. It was the first 30-point effort by any Cornell player since Lenny Collins had 30 in a 72-67 loss at Marist on Nov. 19, 2004.
WITTMAN’S SCORING GRAND: Junior forward Ryan Wittman became the 23rd player in school history to score 1,000 career points when he posted 28 against Indiana on Nov. 30. He entered the contest with 979 points in his first 62 games and delivered his 1,000th point on a jumper with 9:10 left in regulation. He has since moved to sixth on the all-time list with 1,333 points. Next up is Ka’Ron Barnes ‘06 who scored 1,396 career points.
MORE THAN JUST THE SCORING: While his 18.2 points per game is spectacular, so are junior Ryan Wittman’s other contributions through 26 games. The 6-6 forward is averaging 3.5 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 1.0 steals and has posted a 1.5:1 assist-turnover ratio while playing 33.9 minutes per game. All of those numbers are career highs except for his rebounding average, which was at 4.2 rpg. a season ago.
WELCOME BACK: Reigning Ivy League Player of the Year Louis Dale is back after missing the first eight games of the 2008-09 season with a hamstring injury, and so far the returns have been excellent. The junior is averaging 13.9 points, 4.2 rebounds, 3.7 assists and1.3 steals in 25.2 minutes per game.
TRUE HOMER: Junior Louis Dale has played 10 of his first 18 games of the season at home and his numbers have been impressive. Dale is averaging 15.4 points, 4.2 rebounds and 3.4 assists while connecting on 58 percent of his shots from the floor (50-of-86) and 47 percent from 3-point range (16-of-34) in the home contests. For the season, Dale is shooting a personal-best 49 percent.
ADDING ANOTHER FOOTE: Senior center Jeff Foote has turned into a dominating force in the paint this season, ranking third on the team in scoring (12.2 ppg.) and pacing the squad and the Ivy League in rebounding (7.0 rpg.) and blocked shots (2.2 bpg.). Foote ranks among the team leaders in assists (2.2 apg.) while shooting 54 percent from the floor, also a team-best.
BRING IT ON, NIT: The NIT Preseason Tip-Off was the coming out party for senior center Jeff Foote, who ripped through both St. John’s and Loyola (MD). In those two games, Foote averaged 19.5 points, 7.5 rebounds, 6.0 blocks and 2.0 assists while getting to the line 18 times. He set a career-high with 20 points and five blocked shots to go along with seven rebounds and three assists against the Red Storm, then answered with 19 points, eight rebounds and seven blocks against the Greyhounds. In his four games in the preseason NIT, Foote averaged 16.0 points, 7.8 rebounds, 4.5 blocked shots and 2.8 assists while shooting 61 percent from the floor in Cornell’s 3-1 tournament run.
BLOCK TO BLOCK: Senior center Jeff Foote has blocked 58 shots in just 26 games after posting 30 blocks a season ago in 22 contests. After just 48 varsity contests, he already ranks fifth on the career list with 88 blocked shots.
AND THOUGH HE’S A SENIOR: Senior center Jeff Foote will be eligible to compete again in the 2009-10 season after sitting out a full season after transferring to Cornell from St. Bonaventure in the winter of 2006. A former walk-on for the Bonnies, he never played a varsity contest in his year-and-a-half with the program.
MOST IMPROVED?: Few players in the Ivy League have seen a bigger scoring jump than junior Geoff Reeves this season. The 6-4 guard is averaging 9.4 points a year after posting an average of 3.5 points per game. A 43 percent shooter thus far, Reeves has connected on 47-of-116 shots from beyond the arc (41 percent) and is also among the team leaders in assists (39) while averaging 27.5 minutes per game.
20-20: Junior Geoff Reeves has already posted a pair of 20-point games this season, including a career-best 26 points in a win over Loyola (IL). He made 10-of-14 shots overall, including 5-of-6 from beyond the arc in the contest. The 26 points were the most by an active Cornell player at the time and the most since Lenny Collins netted 27 points against Long Beach State on Dec. 30, 2005. Reeves also scored 21 points on 8-of-17 shooting and 5-of-8 from beyond the 3-point arc.
TYLER MORE: Junior Alex Tyler has been his strong, steady self in 2008-09, as the two-year starter at power forward is averaging 6.6 points, 4.7 rebounds and 1.1 blocked shots while playing 22.2 minutes per game. Tyler has reached double figures in scoring six times and posted a season-high 10 rebounds in the season opener against South Dakota. He had 14 points and a career-high four blocked shots to go along with six rebounds in the win over Boston University. His 11 points, seven rebounds and four blocks also led the Big Red past Columbia on the road, while he matched a career-high with 19 points and added seven rebounds in the return contest against the Lions.
TYLER MAKING CAREER MOVES: Senior Alex Tyler ranks among the school’s career leaders in field goal percentage (12th, .518) and blocked shots (ninth, 48).
ROBO-POINT GUARD: When Ivy League Player of the Year Louis Dale went down with an injury in the preseason, freshman Chris Wroblewski was forced to take over running the offense from the point guard position and so far has been outstanding. He averaged 6.6 points, 2.9 assists and 2.4 rebounds per game in the team’s first nine games, including six starts.The freshman posted a 1.4:1 assist-turnover ratio (26a, 18t). He is currently second on the team lead in assists (67) and is averaging 6.3 points, 2.6 assists and 2.3 rebounds per game. Wroblewski averaged 8.5 points, 4.0 rebounds and 4.0 assists in two contests against Columbia.
WROBO HOT: Since the beginning of Ivy League play, freshman Chris Wroblewski has shown to be one of the Ancient Eight’s top rookies, averaging 7.5 points, 3.0 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 0.8 steals per game while shooting 42 percent from the floor and a scorching 47 percent from 3-point range (15-of-32).
WROBO RECORD: Freshman Chris Wroblewski hit on 5-of-6 shots from beyond the 3-point arc in the win over Harvard, setting a Cornell Newman Arena record for 3-point percentage in a game (.833). The previous record of .800 (4-of-5) had happened eight times previously.
COMING IN WIRED: Sophomore Adam Wire didn’t play in the team’s first two games of the year, but made quite an impact off the bench since. Wire has averaged 3.4 points, 4.0 rebounds and 1.7 steals while playing 16.6 minutes in 24 appearances. The 6-6 forward corralled seven rebounds, including five on the offensive end, and added two points and two steals in 15 minutes of action against Loyola (MD) for his breakout game. In all, 39 of his 95 rebounds on the season have been on the offensive end and he leads the team and ranks second in the Ivy League with 40 steals.
BATTLE, KREEFER PLAYING KEY ROLES AS CAPTAINS: Old stalwarts Jason Battle and Brian Kreefer have played outstanding basketball this season while providing excellent leadership. Battle has started two contests and is averaging 1.2 points and 0.6 rebounds in 6.9 minutes per game. Battle had six points and three rebounds in a win over Loyola (MD). Kreefer has played 11.6 minutes per game off the bench and has picked up 3.5 points and 2.9 rebounds while making 57 percent of his shots from the field. Kreefer had a career-high six assists in the win over Loyola (IL).
KREEF NEAR-PERFECT: Senior Brian Kreefer has made 15 of his last 19 shots from the floor over his last five games to raise his field goal percentage to .565. He is shooting an insane 71 percent (20-of-28) from the floor against Ivy League opponents in 2009.
WELCOME HOME: Senior Adam Gore made his triumphant return to college basketball in the 90-58 victory over Brown. Just four and a half months after suffering his second torn ACL in two years, Gore played 10 productive minutes, scoring three points, grabbing two rounds and dishing off an assist. He has averaged 2.1 points and 0.9 rebounds in his first eight games, seeing 7.8 minutes per contest.
BIG RED PICKED TO REPEAT IN PRESEASON POLL: After capturing its first Ivy League title in 20 years, the Ivy League media picked the Cornell men’s basketball team to repeat as Ivy League champions by a unanimous vote in the 2008-09 preseason poll. The Big Red is the first team in the League’s storied history not named Penn or Princeton to garner a unanimous first-place selection. Cornell returns four starters and seven of its top eight scorers from last season’s 22-6 squad that ran through an undefeated league campaign (14-0) en route to its third NCAA tournament appearance in program history. Directly behind Cornell is traditional Ivy League power Penn, who received 110 votes as a near-unanimous second-place choice for the 16 voters. Each of the eight schools had two media representatives who cover Ivy League basketball eligible to vote. Yale (80 points) was picked third, followed by a resurgent Harvard squad (77 points) led by coach Tommy Amaker. Brown, last year’s runner-up, was close behind the Crimson with 75 points for fifth place. Rounding out the poll was Columbia (45), Dartmouth (33) and Princeton (28).
IVY OPENER: Cornell opened its 53rd official Ivy League season (the league was formally started prior to the 1956-57 season) with a 71-59 win at Columbia and is now 19-34 in Ivy openers. Cornell is 15-17 against Columbia and has played the Lions more than any other team to open league play. Other notes on the Ivy opener:
• The records against opponents in Ivy openers: Brown (0-3), Columbia (13-17), Dartmouth (1-4), Harvard (2-5), Penn (0-2), Princeton (0-1) and Yale (1-2).
• Cornell is 14-15 in Ivy openers at home and 5-19 on the road.
• Going back to its Eastern Intercollegiate Basketball League (a forerunner of the Ivy League), Cornell’s record is 44-62 in conference openers (25-28 in the EIBL).
• Cornell has won three straight Ivy openers, all against the Lions.
DONAHUE NAMED COURT COACH FOR U-18 NATIONAL TEAM TRYOUTS: This summer, Cornell head coach Steve Donahue spent a week in July as a court coach for the U.S. Under-18 national team tryouts in Washington, D.C. The team, under the direction of Davidson’s head coach Bob McKillop, also featured VCU’s Anthony Grant and Georgetown’s John Thompson III as assistant coaches. The team won the silver medal at the 2008 FIBA U18 championship in Formosa, Argentina, falling to the host team 77-64 in the gold medal game.
GETTING UP THERE: Cornell head coach Steve Donahue entered the 2008-09 campaign with the second-longest tenure at the helm of their current team in the Ivy League. Only James Jones at Yale (10th year) has been at his current school longer than Donahue has directed the Big Red (nine years).
2008-09 CAPTAINS: Cornell’s four-year senior class of Jason Battle, Adam Gore, Brian Kreefer and Conor Mullen will represent the Big Red as team captains for the 2008-09 season. It will be the second year as captain for both Battle and Gore and the first for Kreefer and Mullen.
BIG RED ON THE RADIO: For the second straight year, the Cornell University men’s basketball games will be broadcast live on WPIE-1160 AM out of Elmira, N.Y., with Barry Leonard on the call. A half-hour pregame show and postgame analysis will enable Big Red fans to follow Coach Steve Donahue’s team throughout the season.
LIVE VIDEO: The Big Red’s home contests will all be broadcast live with streaming video as part of the RedCast subscription service. Visit www.CornellBigRed.com for all the latest information on Cornell broadcasts.
LIVE STATS: Cornell will use SIDEARM Live Stats for each of the Big Red’s home games in 2008-09. Visit www.CornellBigRed.com for all of the official statistics.
NEXT UP: Cornell closes out the regular season when it returns home to face Penn (Friday, March 6 at 7 p.m.) and Princeton (Saturday, March 7 at 7 p.m.) at Newman Arena. The Big Red will honor its senior class prior to the game against the Tigers on Saturday.
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