Sunday, February 26, 2012

George Mason ends regular season with disappointing loss at VCU

 
The Patriots are limping into Hothe post season after a second straight loss. Last night Mason never came close to the Rams' high octane energy in Richmond. The game started off with some controversy after the Mason players started warming up on the court during Bradford Burgess' senior ceremony. Totally classless by the Mason players and it gave VCU even more fuel. For the actual game, I'm not sure what Paul Hewitt's gameplan was in this one as they looked like they had never seen a trap before or the Rams aggressive defense. VCU's defense prevented Mason from during pretty much anything they wanted to on offense. Mason has gotten by this year because of talent but they needed a strong gameplan in this one and didn't get it.

They didn't stop VCU's perimeter game despite having a decent night shooting themselves. The Rams won the battle at the free-throw line which looked similar to their loss against Northeastern. In the end the Rams' "havoc" on defense controlled the game and the Patriots had no answer while being frustrated all night.

Now Mason plays the winner of GSU/Hofstra game on Saturday at 8:30 pm in the CAA tournament.

Watch and Download Sprite Slam Dunk Contest NBA All-Star 2012

Watch and Download Sprite Slam Dunk Contest NBA All-Star 2012.

Utah's Evans wins 2012 Slam Dunk Contest His nickname is the Human Pogo Stick and Utah's Jeremy Evans set out to put some bounce back into the Slam Dunk Contest. Evans endeared himself to the fans with a mix of props and creativity, and they voted him the winner of one of the marquee events of the NBA's All-Star Saturday festivities. Evans, who got into the competition as a replacement for injured New York guard Iman Shumpert, earned 29 percent of the 3 million votes cast. He beat out Houston's Chase Budinger, Indiana's Paul George and Minnesota's Derrick Williams
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Watch and Download NBA All-Star Weekend 2012 BBVA Rising Stars Challenge

Watch and Download NBA All-Star Weekend 2012 BBVA Rising Stars Challenge
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Saturday, February 25, 2012

Game Recap: Cornell 69, Brown 63



If you get out of the gates slow, you’ll have trouble winning the race.

That was the case for the Brown men’s basketball team Friday night. The Bears started slow in both the first and second halves of their game against Cornell. As a result, they lost to the Big Red 69-63.

Just under 10 minutes into the game, Cornell raced out to a 26-10 lead thanks in part to freshman Shonn Miller who scored 9 of his 17 points during that stretch.

The Bears cut the deficit to 11 at the break 42-31. But Cornell extended that lead to 17 just over 3 minutes into the second half at 53-36.

Brown fought back but would get no closer than the 6-point margin they ended up losing by.

“We had a bad start to both halves,” said Brown coach Jesse Agel. “Our bigs weren’t getting the job done which gave them a chance to score 16 second chance points and we turned it over against their press. Once Dockery (Walker) went in there, we settled down and started to get back into it.”

Walker was sensational for the Bears scoring a career-high 23 points to go along with a career-high 17 rebounds. Walker was 10 of 11 shooting from the field.

Not to be outdone was Cornell senior Chris Wroblewski. The guard had 24 points and 11 rebounds for the Big Red who has now won 12 straight games against the Bears.

Brown junior Matt Sullivan registered his 8th consecutive game in double figures with 13 points and 5 rebounds. Earlier in the week, Sullivan was named an Academic All-American for his work in the classroom where he carries a 4.0 grade point average at the University.

The loss drops Brown’s record to (7-21) overall and (1-10) in the Ivy League.

The Bears host Columbia Saturday night at 6pm at the Pizzatola Sports Center.


Box Score

Box Score (PDF)

PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- Cornell put four players in double figures, led by senior Chris Wroblewski's third career double-double, and the Big Red held on late to claim a 69-63 victory over Brown on Friday evening at the Pizzitola Sports Center. The win improved the Big Red to 11-14 (6-5 Ivy), while the Bears slipped to 7-21 (1-10 Ivy).

Wroblewski, who was named a third team Capital One Academic All-American earlier in the week, posted 24 points, a career-high 11 rebounds and three assists to lead Cornell. His three assists move him with five of the school's career record. Shonn Miller chipped in 17 points, nine rebounds and two steals, Drew Ferry hit for 14 points and Johnathan Gray scored 12. Eitan Chemerinski was held scoreless, but had six of his seven rebounds on the offensive glass and added three assists. Cornell limited the Bears to 36 percent shooting from the floor and 18 percent from beyond the arc in the victory.

Brown's Dockery Walker was credited with 23 points and 17 rebounds, hitting 10-of-11 shots from the floor in the loss. Matt Sullivan, who like Wroblewski was named a third-team Academic All-American, was the only other Brown player in double figures with 13 points. He also added five rebounds. Brown had 16 offensive boards as the two teams each had 41 rebounds.

Cornel lled by as many as 17 points in the second half before holding on late. Wroblewski hit a dagger 3-pointer with 1:41 left as Brown was making a desperation comeback. Brown went on a 21-10 run after the Big Red went up 53-36 on a Wroblewski jumper three minutes into the second half. Cornell went through an extended offensive drought, going more than six minutes without a field goal and nearly 10 minutes with just one as the home team clawed back. A pair of free throws by Dwight Tarwater all but sealed hte contest with less than a minute to play.

The Big Red went into the break leading 42-31, then came out quickly. Miller scored on a layup, and after blocking a shot on the other end, Gray ended the sequence with a short jumper. Consecutive jumpers by Wroblewski, including a trey, pushed the lead to 17.

Brown scored the first two points of the game and then took a 4-2 lead before the Big Red took over with 12 straight points, including a pair of 3-pointers by Ferry in the span of 15 seconds. Consecutive baskets by Walker got Brown within 14-8, but that lead was nearly as quickly up to 16 as Cornell went on a 12-2 run to make it 26-10 on consecutive baskets by Miller to force a Brown timeout. The lead never dipped below double figures the rest of the half.

Cornell will look for a season sweep of Yale tomorrow at 7 p.m. when the two teams meet in the John J. Lee Amphitheater.


Box Score

Providence, Rhode Island - Brown dropped a 69-63 Ivy League decision to Cornell at the Pizzitola Sports Center Friday evening, despite a getting 23 points and 17 rebounds, both career highs, from sophomore forward Dockery Walker. The loss drops the Bears to 7-21 overall and 1-10 in the Ivy League, while Cornell extends its record to 11-14, 6-5 in Ivy play.

Walker scored a career high 23 points on phenomenal 10 of 11 shooting from the field, and completed the double-double with a career high 17 rebounds. Junior guard Matt Sullivan also scored in double figures for the Bears with 13 points.

Cornell's All-Ivy senior point guard Chris Wroblewski also put together a double-double, with a game high 24 points, while pulling down 11 rebounds. Shonn Miller chipped in with 17 points and 9 rebounds, while Drew Ferry added 14 points behind 4 of 9 shooting from behind the three-point arc.

Trailing 42-31 at intermission, as by as many as 16 points in the second half, 55-39, the Bears made a run at the Big Red and pulled to within six points, 63-57, after a free throw by junior Steve Albrecht with 2:47 left in the game.

The Big Red answered with a trey by Ferry following an offensive rebound by Eitan Chemerski, to extend the Big Red lead to 66-57, with just 1:41 remaining in the game.

Cornell jumped out to an early 14-4 lead after forcing five Brown turnovers in the opening six minutes. The Big Red led by as many as 16 points in the half, 26-10, following a jump shot by Miller with 10:38 left.

Brown was able to cut the Big Red lead to 11 points at the half, 42-31, after two Andrew McCarthy free thrown in the waning moments of the half.

The Bears stayed in the game behind Walker's terrific effort, scoring 14 points on 6 of 7 shooting, and grabbing six rebounds, in the first half alone.

Brown plays it final home game of the season Saturday evening, hosting Columbia at the Pizzitola Sports center, starting at 6:00 p.m.


Watch and Download NBA All-Star Saturday Night February 25, 2012 in HD 720p

Watch and Download NBA All-Star Saturday Night February 25, 2012 in HD 720p
Slam Dunk Contest and 3-Point Contest included.
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Sport: NBA Basketball
Event: All Star Weekend
Language: English (U.S.)
Length: 1 Hour 54 Minutes
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Friday, February 24, 2012

No Redcast Friday Night


ITHACA, N.Y. -- Due to travel problems, tonight's men's basketball game between Cornell and Brown will not be broadcast on HITS 103.3 FM radio or on RedCast. Tomorrow's contest vs. Yale will be broadcast as normal. To follow tonight's game against the Bears at 7 p.m., you can listen to Brown's audio broadcast by clicking here. Live stats and live video (for a subscription fee) are also available. Sorry for any inconvenience.

Audio for Tonight's Game

Release from Cornell Athletics: "Due to travel issues, MBKB vs Brown tonight will not be carried on Hits 103.3. You can listen to Brown's broadcast at ."

Ivy League Report from Yahoo Sports and the SportsXChange

Get all the information you need about the Cornell Big Red's games at Brown (February 24, 7 pm) and at Yale (February 25, 7 pm) with The Cornell Basketball Blog's Game Preview Center. Below, an Ivy League Report from Yahoo Sports and the SportsXChange.....


GETTING INSIDE

For defending Ivy League champion Princeton, this week is where its hopes for another NCAA Tournament berth will be decided. And the Tigers are going to need some help from their biggest rival to make it happen.

The Tigers have come roaring back into the conference-title race, but not enough to control their own destiny. They enter the weekend of Feb. 24-25 two games behind Harvard in the loss column, and the Crimson have just four games left to play.

Princeton can start to take care of business by winning at Harvard on Feb. 24. The Tigers already beat the Crimson 70-62 on Feb. 11, the lone loss in Ivy League play that Harvard has suffered all year.

However, merely completing the sweep of Harvard wouldn’t be enough to get the Tigers even. It would, however, benefit travel partner Penn, which enters the weekend in second place. Penn follows Princeton up to Harvard, and it would move into first place with a weekend sweep if Harvard loses both of its games. Since Princeton still finishes the year hosting Penn, the Tigers would once again control their own destiny under that scenario.

Another team looking for that to happen is Yale. The Bulldogs had their chance to draw even with Harvard, but they fell 66-51 on Feb. 18. That dropped Yale into a tie with Princeton with three losses in league play.

If Harvard gets swept, however, Yale gets new life. If it can pull off home wins over Columbia and Cornell this weekend, it could rocket back into a first-place tie by following that up with a road sweep at Princeton and Penn the following week.

Of course, all of this hinges on the Crimson faltering at home. That seems unlikely, since Harvard is unbeaten in its own building this year. In fact, Harvard has won its last 27 games in Lavietes Pavilion, the second-longest home winning streak in the nation.

Speaking of streaks, Dartmouth can finally dream of going on a winning streak after ending its 20-game skid. Its comeback victory over Brown got the Big Green on the right track after a ton of close calls, but to actually put multiple wins together will be a challenge since Dartmouth next has Penn and Princeton coming to New Hampshire.

Cornell fell out of the picture after getting swept during the weekend of Feb. 17-18, and the Big Red is just hoping to finish with a winning record in league play. Columbia can’t do better than .500 thanks to six excruciatingly close losses among its seven league defeats, including one on a Penn basket in the final second of overtime Feb. 18. As for 1-9 Brown … well, it’s rooting for Dartmouth to go on another losing streak to end the season so it can avoid last place.

NOTES, QUOTES

Penn senior G Zack Rosen was selected the Ivy League Player of the Week for the third time this season. He torched Cornell for 25 points and six assists on Feb. 17, and followed that up with 14 points, six rebounds and five assists in the Quakers’ overtime victory over Columbia.

Harvard tied its program record by winning its 23rd game of the season Feb. 18. The next victory would make the 2011-12 squad the winningest team in Harvard history, breaking the tie with last year’s squad.

Douglas Davis moved into fourth place on Princeton’s all-time scoring list. The man he passed to get there was Craig Robinson, the current Oregon State coach and brother-in-law of President Obama.

Matt Sullivan has found his scoring touch for Brown in Ivy League play. The junior forward has been in double figures seven games in a row entering the week of Feb. 24-25, and he is averaging 14 points per game over that stretch.

Miles Asafo-Adjei saw his first action since mid-December for Cornell. After suffering a leg infection that caused him to miss 15 games, he was back on the court against Princeton and finished with two assists and a rebound.

Columbia had not been outrebounded in Ivy League play before the weekend of Feb. 17-18. However, the Lions were outrebounded 30-25 by Princeton and 28-27 by Penn.

Dartmouth’s David Rufful set a school record when he played in his 110th career game Feb. 18. The victory over Brown also saw him reach another individual milestone when he scored his 800th career point on a first-half free throw.

Yale’s two lowest-scoring efforts of the season have both come against the Harvard defense. The Bulldogs scored 35 points in a home loss on Jan. 27, 51 in a defeat Feb. 18.

STRATEGY AND PERSONNEL

Matchup To Watch: Penn at Harvard, Feb. 25—Assuming Penn doesn’t stumble in a trap game against Dartmouth, it’ll have the chance to at least draw even with Harvard in the Ivy League standings with a win here. The Crimson have already won at the Palestra earlier this season, however, and have been unbeatable at home.

Key Games To Watch:

Feb. 24

Princeton at Harvard

The Tigers have had the Crimson’s number over the past two years, but Harvard can bury the defending champs with a win.

Feb. 24

Pennsylvania at Dartmouth

Dartmouth is more than capable of catching Penn looking ahead and pulling off the upset; the Big Green nearly toppled the Quakers at the Palestra before falling 58-55 earlier in February.

Feb. 24

Columbia at Yale

The Lions are the hard-luck team of the Ivy League, but they match up well with Yale and Greg Mangano thanks to Mark Cisco’s abilities in the middle.

Feb. 25

Cornell at Yale

The Bulldogs would be in a much stronger position in the Ivy race had they not lost 85-84 in Ithaca in overtime.

Feb. 25

Columbia at Brown

Jesse Agel’s crew looking for a rare Ivy win in its final home game.

Around The League

BROWN

Junior F Andrew McCarthy missed the loss to Harvard because of back spasms, but he was back on the court for the Feb. 18 matchup with Dartmouth. He finished with six points and five rebounds off the bench against the Big Green.

Sophomore G Sean McGonagill was back in the lineup last weekend after missing a pair of games the previous week after taking a hard fall against Penn. He tied for the team lead in scoring with 14 points against Dartmouth while also adding six assists.

Any notions of Brown pulling off an upset of Harvard were put away early on Feb. 17. After a Sean McGonagill layup got the Bears within 15-14, the Crimson rattled off the next 20 points in a row and wound up leading 37-16 by halftime.

This is the final home weekend for Brown, which will hold its Senior Day festivities before the Columbia game on Feb. 25. Basically, that means that Jean Harris gets the spotlight to himself, since the guard is the only senior on the roster.

Columbia

Though Columbia is near the bottom of the Ivy League standings, the frustrating thing for the team is how close it has been to contention. Literally. Six of the team’s seven losses in league play through Feb. 19 had been by five losses or fewer.

Sophomore G Meiko Lyles got a turn in the spotlight on Feb. 18 with his defensive effort on Penn G Zack Rosen. Rosen, second in the conference in scoring, finished with 14 points but went 5-for-16 from the floor. Lyles didn’t shirk on the offensive end either; he led the Lions with 17 points.

Junior G Brian Barbour scored 25 points when Columbia lost to Penn at home earlier in the season. The Quakers made him a focus of their defense the second time around, so Barbour spread the ball around. He finished with just six points but had eight assists.

Columbia’s defense let the team down over the weekend. The Lions allowed Princeton to shoot 51.1 percent from the floor, and Penn made 50 percent of its shots.

Cornell

Cornell is hoping to turn its road woes around in its final trip away from Newman Arena this season. Entering its games at Brown and Yale, the Big Red is 1-12 on the road, with the only victory coming at Dartmouth.

Coach Bill Courtney wasn’t pleased with his team’s effort out of the gate against Princeton. He made a mass substitution early, taking out all five starters four minutes into the game with the Big Red trailing 10-7.

The Big Red isn’t a team that can afford to give away possessions, as was proved in the loss to Princeton. Cornell turned the ball over 19 times against the Tigers.

Sophomore G Dominick Scelfo played 20 minutes against Princeton, his first time on the court since getting a single minute against Penn on Jan. 14. He made the most of that playing time, knocking down three 3-pointers.

Dartmouth

Freshman F Gabas Maldunas picked up his fourth Ivy League Rookie of the Week award for his work against Yale and Brown. He had a career-high 23 points to go with his 11 boards in the loss to the Bulldogs, and he had eight points, nine rebounds and four blocked shots in the team’s first Ivy League victory of the season against the Bears.

Dartmouth locked up its first conference win of the season by dominating Brown down the stretch. Trailing 50-43 with less than eight minutes to play, the Big Green held the Bears scoreless from the floor and finished on a 15-3 run.

The Big Green didn’t make a 3-pointer in the Feb. 17 loss to Yale, going 0-for-5 from beyond the arc. That marked the first time since a February 2010 game against Brown that Dartmouth didn’t hit a shot from long range.

Heading into the final two weeks of the season, Dartmouth’s top two scorers were both freshmen. Maldunas and F Jvonte Brooks each had 235 points through 26 games, averaging exactly nine points a night.

Harvard

Brandyn Curry led Harvard with 18 points against Yale, 14 of which came in the second half. Two of the points were particularly memorable, however. He threw down the first dunk of his college career with just under nine minutes to play.

Though it defeated Yale 66-51, Harvard lost a chance to blow the Bulldogs out of the water early. The Crimson jumped out to a 35-15 lead in the first half but took its foot off the accelerator enough to allow the visitors to score the next 11 points and get within 35-26 at the break.

Harvard’s blowout victory over Brown on Feb. 17 gave Tommy Amaker a chance to rest his starters prior to the next night’s game against a tougher Yale squad. No starter played more than 10 minutes after intermission against the Bears.

Senior F Keith Wright’s next blocked shot will give him the Harvard record for career rejections. He begins the week with 147, tied with Brian Cusworth atop the list.

Pennsylvania

Senior G Tyler Bernardini should move into the top 10 of the Quakers’ career scoring list this week. He enters the weekend with 1,435 career points, good for 11th place, eight behind Bruce Lefkowitz.

Jerome Allen’s team hasn’t been getting to the line in recent games. It had just six free throws on Feb. 18 against Columbia even with the overtime, and it had been held to fewer than 10 attempts four times in the past six games.

Sophomore G Steve Rennard came up huge off the bench against Columbia. He set a career high with 37 points, including three 3-pointers, and also saw the most minutes of his career. Rennard was on the court for 37 minutes in the overtime win.

Rob Belcore reached a milestone in the victory over Columbia. The senior forward recorded his 500th career point in the win at the Palestra.

Princeton

Sophomore G T.J. Bray paced the Tigers against Cornell by scoring a career-high 16 points. He did that unselfishly as well, dishing out five assists.

Princeton and Cornell had just 12 fouls apiece on Feb. 18. That clean affair was a rarity for the Tigers lately; in each of the team’s past three home games, there had been at least 35 total fouls called.

The Tigers-Big Red game was fast-paced, but it didn’t lead to one-on-one play. Princeton was credited with an assist on 20 of its 29 baskets.

Princeton has a tough weekend ahead of it, starting with a crucial Feb. 24 game at Yale, but the Tigers enter on a hot streak. Their four-game winning streak was their longest of the season.

Yale

This Feb. 25 game with Cornell is Senior Day at Yale, and it should be an emotional one at New Haven. Playing in their final home game will be F Greg Mangano, G/F Reggie Willhite, F Rhett Anderson and G Bryan Katz.

Though it lost for the second time this season to Harvard last weekend, Yale showed some improvement in its ball-handling. It turned the ball over 22 times when the teams met in New Haven, but the Bulldogs gave the ball away just seven times in the rematch.

Mangano needs a strong finish on the boards to finish this season averaging a double-double. Entering the final four regular-season games, he’s averaging 18.4 points and 9.9 rebounds.

Sophomore G Jesse Pritchard got the first start of his college career against Dartmouth on Feb. 17. he played 28 minutes and knocked down a pair of free throws in the victory. He also started the next night against Harvard, played 28 more minutes and did not score.


Weekend Predictions from the Sports Network and The Harvard Crimson

Get all the information you need about the Cornell Big Red's games at Brown (February 24, 7 pm) and at Yale (February 25, 7 pm) with The Cornell Basketball Blog's Game Preview Center. Below, predictions of Cornell's games this weekend from the Sports Network and the Harvard Crimson.....

The Sports Network writes:
Cornell (10-14) at Brown (7-20)

The Sports Network

DATE & TIME: Friday February 24th, 7:00 p.m. (et)

FACTS & STATS: Site: Pizzitola Sports Center (2,800) -- Providence, Rhode Island. Television: None. Home Record: Cornell 9-2, Brown 5-8. Away Record: Cornell 1-12, Brown 1-10. Neutral Record: Cornell 0-0, Brown 1-2. Conference Record: Cornell 5-5, Brown 1-9. Series Record: Cornell leads, 72-46.

GAME NOTES: The Cornell Big Red will begin their final road trip of the season tonight with an Ivy League bout against the Brown Bears at the Pizzitola Sports Center.

This will be the 119th meeting in all-time series between Cornell Brown. The Big Red hold a 72-46 advantage after their 72-63 victory on February 11th. Cornell was able to hit 47.1 percent of its field goals against the Bears the first time around, while Brown shot just 39 percent from the floor in the contest.

Bill Courtney has led the Big Red to a 10-14 overall record and a 5-5 mark in Ivy League action so far. Cornell comes in on a two-game losing skid after it dropped a 75-57 decision to Princeton last Saturday. The Tigers were the second team in a row to punish the Big Red from three-point range, as Cornell could not keep up with Princeton's 47.6 percent shooting from beyond the arc. The Big Red has been outscored by an average of 2.0 ppg this season.

Drew Ferry and Chris Wroblewski lead the balanced Big Red attack. Ferry is netting a team-high 11.5 ppg, while Wroblewski is scoring 10.8 points and dishing out 5.3 assists per game. Shonn Miller, Johnathan Gray, Galal Cancer, and Eitan Chemrinski all chip in above six ppg as well. Wroblewski paced the squad with 10 points, five rebounds, and three assists in its last outing versus Princeton.

Head coach Jesse Agel has had a frustrating year at the helm of Brown as his squad enters tied for last place in the Ivy League at 1-9 and is 7-20 overall. The Bears lost their seventh in a row on Saturday as they suffered a 58-53 setback to Dartmouth. The Bears were beat 32-22 in the rebounding battle in their loss to the Big Green. Brown is being outscored by an average of 7.9 ppg, which is the worst margin in the Ivy League.

Brown's sophomore guard Sean McGonagill is having a promising season. McGonagill has been solid all-around as he carries averages of 13.9 points, 5.6 assists, and 4.2 boards per game. McGonagill and junior Matt Sullivan each scored 14 points to lead the Bears in the loss to Dartmouth. Sullivan was very efficient as he connected on 4-of-4 field goals, including 3-of-3 from behind the three-point line. Stephen Albrecht added 11 points for the Bears.

Cornell was able to shut down Brown's struggling offense to push to a victory in the first matchup, but McGonagill missed that contest. While neither team was expected to have a dominating season, both coaches have to be disappointed as the season nears its end. McGonagill and Wroblewski are two of the better guards in the league, and their battle in this one should provide an entertaining back and forth.

Sports Network Predicted Outcome: Brown 68, Cornell 64

The Harvard Crimson writes:

...Cornell is “Midnight in Paris,” with a man (Chris Wroblewski) realizing that the people he once admired are no longer with him, leaving him nostalgically wishing to return to the better days of the past...

***

CORNELL (10-14, 5-5) AT BROWN (7-20, 1-9)

Oh, Brown. You’re just so terrible. You’ve lost seven straight, with your only Ivy win coming against Dartmouth.

I would call you the Cubs since you don’t deserve to be called Bears, but there’s already a bad sports team named the Cubs. And I couldn’t really change your first name either, since there’s not much that represents crap better than the color brown. So, enjoy it, Brown. I’ve run out of jokes to make fun of you—that’s how bad you are.

Cornell, meanwhile, continues to be uninterestingly mediocre. Before lacrosse season gets into gear this weekend, perhaps the hoops team should give Rob Pannell a look. The Big Red could use any help it can get.

Pick: Cornell 62, Brown 58

***

CORNELL AT YALE

The Bulldogs came out flat in their biggest game of the season once again last Saturday, falling to Harvard by 14. Amazingly, that defeat didn’t even make Yale’s top three losses to the Crimson this year. For it would be tough to do much worse than football’s 45-7 thrashing, men’s basketball’s earlier 65-35 annihilation, and women’s hockey’s 8-0 demolition of the Bulldogs, all of which occurred in New Haven.

In fact, sprinkle in this year’s other disasters—the Patrick Witt and Tom Williams scandals, the 2010-2011 No. 1 men's hockey team’s fall to the middle of the 2011-2012 ECAC pack, Reggie Willhite’s mohawk, the men’s squash team’s epic playoff collapse, and the women’s hockey team’s worst-palindrome-ever 1-27-1 season—and what do you get?

In the eyes of the YDN, only one of the best seasons in the history of Bulldog athletics, of course!

For if beauty is in the eye of the beholder, Yale is currently the beholder, and it’s a drunken, blind pirate who doesn’t know what beauty is.

But we shouldn’t be too hard on our New Haven friends. Because when you’re always finishing behind two other schools, it’s only natural to develop a different definition of success.

So go ahead, Yale, be proud of yourself. You’re doing just great. Hopefully you won’t beat the Big Red and put a dint on all your aforementioned achievements this year.

Pick: Yale 70, Cornell 64


Previewing the regular season finale at VCU

TV: ESPN2, 6 p.m.

The Patriots finish up the regular season in Richmond against VCU, where they will be headed right back to in a week for the CAA tournament.  The loss to Northeastern on Wednesday night prevented Mason from any chance of getting the #1 seed in the tournament and now the winner of tomorrow night's game will determine the #2 and #3 seeds. Keep in mind that the #2 and #3 seeds can meet in the semifinals if both win their games on Saturday during the tournament, so it's very likely the Patriots will yet again face VCU in the semis. 

Mason played of their better games of the season against VCU and you have to think they will be "up" for this one after coming off an embarrassing loss to Northeastern on the road. Last season they stunned the Rams at the Siegel Center with a 71-51 win but then got manhandled by them in the conference tournament a few weeks later. The situation of seeing them again in the CAA tournament is very likely and at least this year we will have more tape on the teams against each other. The result of the game might not mean that much considering they will most likely need to beat them again in a week but a win would certainly give them some much needed confidence heading into the conference tournament.  

To win on the road against VCU the Patriots will need to do what they did in Fairfax last week plus a little more.  The Rams still forced a lot of turnovers but Mason didn't let them go on any sort of run.  Ryan Pearson did a great job on the boards and they will really need that again.  Mike Morrison wasn't much of a factor and that is something they just can't afford on the road.  The one positive from that Northeastern game was how Morrison looked assertive in the paint, let's hope he's pumped up for this one.  

With that said here are the keys to the game for George Mason:

Keep the turnovers to around 10-13:  I don't think Mason can win turning over the ball 16 times again against the Rams. They got away with it at home but on the road in a packed house against the thieving Rams defense is a totally different story.  There were some awful turnovers, a lot by Bryon Allen, on Wednesday night and it will be interesting to see if Corey Edwards handles the ball a bit more in this one.  Allen's been getting more minutes at the point but he and Edwards both have questionable decision making late in games.  The Rams will attack this and how the Patriots respond could be the difference in the game.  Getting the ball out of their hands quickly and into the post or to shooters on the wing should a focus for them.

Win the battle at the free-throw line: The Patriots definitely lost this battle on Wednesday night and let dumb, ticky-tack fouls prevent them from getting into any sort of rhythm on offense.  Usually they are better than that and make their opponents pay for sending them to the free-throw line.  They didn't do enough of this against VCU last week. Sherrod Wright and Ryan Pearson only combined for seven FT attempts in that game and they need to get there more to slow down the momentum the Rams can get while playing at home.   With Paris Bennett playing more recently, the Patriots have a deeper bench and getting the Rams into foul trouble could be a huge advantage for Mason in this one.

Get Sherrod Wright involved early: The Huskies provided VCU with a great blueprint for slowing down Ryan Pearson. They frustrated Mason all game long and the Rams are even more capable of doing this.  Pearson often gets off to slow starts early in road games and Mason needs to make sure other players are getting involved.  Too often this year Sherrod Wright hasn't gotten going til the second half, especially when Pearson is getting a lot of attention.  Andre Cornelius has not been much of a factor on offense recently and Vertrail Vaughns has been a streaky shooter all year.  They need to run plays, set screens, and do whatever they need to get Sherrod Wright more looks.  This is going to Mason's toughest road game of the season, and the Rams have a way of forcing a team out of their usual flow, making Wright's impact even more important for the Patriots.

[Photo by John Powell]

News and Notes: Friday Edition

Get all the information you need about the Cornell Big Red's games at Brown (February 24, 7 pm) and at Yale (February 25, 7 pm) with The Cornell Basketball Blog's Game Preview Center. Below, some news and notes for Friday...

  • After Cornell researches invented a robot that could shoot a basketball with accuracy, the Cornell Daily Sun noted that the robot might someday make an appearance at a basketball game at Newman Arena. Errick Peck told the Cornell Daily Sun, "I cannot picture it. Although it may be interesting to watch."
  • Jeff Foote (Cornell '10), an NBA D-League All Star, and his Springfield Armor are not back in action until March 2, following the All-Star Weekend break. The Armor's next game is at Maine. All D-League games are broadcast online via Futurecast on the league website. The D-League All Star game is February 25 at 2 pm and will be broadcast on NBA TV. Heading into the All Star weekend, the NBA D-League website previews the game and writes, "[A] few of the guys who stuck around have sent their stocks skyward. The biggest boost has come from Jeff Foote, the Springfield Armor’s 7-foot center. Over the past two months, Foote – the anchor in those Cinderella Cornell teams – has revealed an edge that he didn’t show a whole lot of when he was in Trail Blazers camp. Now, he’s turned into one of the league’s best rebounders, and he’s made better than 50 percent of his shots in 17 straight games. He’ll be suiting up for the East alongside Sioux Falls’ Charles Garcia, who remains the most athletic big man in the league." The D-League website also lists Foote as one of the D-League's top prospects for the NBA and writes, "When Foote came back from Trail Blazers camp, the rap on him was that he had the height to play in the NBA and the game to play on his couch. But then he turned a corner. He’s shown more ferocity on the low block day-by-day, and his able hands and agility are shining through, too. Foote’s looking to become a lawyer if this basketball thing doesn’t work out, but right now, it looks like he’s got a shot to make it to basketball’s version of the Supreme Court." Below, a feature on Foote's All Star appearance.



  • Not a member of Twitter? See what The Cornell Basketball Blog is tweeting and retweeting each day by visiting our Twitter Timeline.
  • The Pittsburgh Tribune previews committed Cornell recruit, Nolan Cressler's showdown on Saturday in the second round of the WPIAL playoffs against Penn State recruit, Geno Thorpe.

  • Game Recaps-Below are links to our game recap sections from each of Cornell's games this season.
  1. November 11, 2011 at St. Bonaventure L 58-79
  2. November 14, 2011 vs. Binghamton W 76-61
  3. November 16, 2011 at Buffalo L 59-68
  4. November 20, 2011 vs. Boston University W 71-66
  5. November 22, 2011 at Delaware L 68-76
  6. November 27, 2011 vs. American L 63-65
  7. December 3, 2011 vs. Lehigh W 81-79 (OT)
  8. December 17, 2011 vs. Albany W 85-82 (OT)
  9. December 19, 2011 at Illinois L 60-64
  10. December 21, 2011 at Penn State L 67-74
  11. December 28, 2011 at Stony Brook L 58-69 (OT)
  12. December 31, 2011 at Bucknell L 60-63
  13. January 3, 2012 at Maryland L 62-70
  14. January 7, 2012 vs. Albright W 78-60
  15. January 13, 2012 vs. Princeton W 67-59
  16. January 14, 2012 vs. Penn L 52-64
  17. January 21, 2012 at Columbia L 56-61
  18. January 28, 2012 vs. Columbia W 65-60
  19. February 3, 2012 at Harvard L 60-71
  20. February 4, 2012 at Dartmouth W 68-59
  21. February 10, 2012 vs. Yale W 85-84 OT
  22. February 11, 2012 vs. Brown W 72-63
  23. February 17, 2012 at Penn L 66-73
  24. February 18, 2012 at Princeton L 57-75
  • 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. Cornell's RPI rank as of February 24 is No. 190 out of 344 total Division I teams. While neither the Ken Pomeroy or Jeff Sagarin rankings are used by the NCAA Tournament Selection Committee, the KenPom.com site ranks Cornell No. 187 in the nation, while the USA Today Sagarin rankings have Cornell at No. 198 Both sites are predominantly used by fans and the media.
IVY LEAGUE COMPOSITE SCHEDULE

Friday, November 11
Johnson & Wales 66 Brown 86 (Box Score - Recap)
Columbia 57 Connecticut 70[ESPNU] (Box Score - Recap)
Cornell 58 St. Bonaventure 79 (Box Score - Recap)
MIT 49 Harvard 76 (Box Score - Recap)
Dartmouth 56 Rutgers 62 (Box Score - Recap)
Penn 59 Maryland-Baltimore County 45 (Box Score - Recap)
Yale 73 Central Connecticut State 69 (Box Score - Recap)

Saturday, November 12
Wagner 73 Princeton 57 (Box Score - Recap)

Monday, November 14
Albany 77 Brown 68 (NIT Tip-Off-1st Round@Syracuse, N.Y.)[ESPN3] (Box Score - Recap)
Temple 73 Penn 67 OT (Box Score - Recap)
Furman 58 Columbia 62 (Box Score - Recap)
Binghamton 61 Cornell 76 (Box Score - Recap)

Tuesday, November 15
Harvard 73 Holy Cross 64 (Box Score - Recap)
Yale 62 Quinnipiac 68 [SNY] (Box Score - Recap)
Brown 52 Manhattan 54 NIT Tip Consolation@Syracuse, N.Y. [ESPN3] (Box Score - Recap)

Wednesday, November 16
Cornell 59 Buffalo 68 (Box Score - Recap)
Vermont 65 Dartmouth 53 (Box Score - Recap)
Princeton 58 North Carolina State 60 [ESPNU] (Box Score - Recap)

Thursday, November 17
Penn 78 Rider 72 OT (Box Score - Recap)
Lyndon State 37 Yale 101 (Box Score - Recap)

Saturday, November 19
Buffalo 53 Princeton 61 (Box Score - Recap)
Hartford 52 Brown 59 (Box Score - Recap)
American 66 Columbia 58 (Box Score - Recap)
Bryant 62 Dartmouth 66 (Box Score - Recap)
Robert Morris 60 Penn 66 (Box Score - Recap)
Harvard 77 Loyola Marymount 67 (Box Score - Recap)

Sunday, November 20
Boston University 66 Cornell 71 (Box Score - Recap)

Sunday, November 20
Boston University 66 Cornell 71 (Box Score - Recap)

Monday, November 21
Brown 48 George Mason 74 (NIT Consolation Fairfax, VA) (Box Score - Recap)

Tuesday, November 22
Brown 79 Monmouth 71 (NIT Consolation Fairfax, VA) (Box Score - Recap)
Columbia 53 Stony Brook 67 (Box Score - Recap)
Cornell 64 Delaware 72 (Box Score - Recap)
Wagner 71 Penn 65 (Box Score - Recap)
Elon 56 Princeton 55 (Box Score - Recap)
Yale 62 Seton Hall 73 (Box Score - Recap)

Thursday, November 24
Dartmouth 69 San Francisco 71 (Great Alaska Shootout) (Box Score - Recap)
Harvard 75 Utah 47 [HDNet] (Battle 4 Atlantis Bahamas) (Box Score - Recap)

Friday, November 25
Dartmouth 64 vs. Alaska-Anchorage 52(Great Alaska Shootout) (Box Score - Recap)
Harvard 46 Florida State 41 [VERSUS] (Battle 4 Atlantis Bahamas) (Box Score - Recap)
Princeton 56 Bucknell 62 (Legends Classic, Lewisberg, PA) (Box Score - Recap)
Pittsburgh 78 Penn 58 [TCN] (Box Score - Recap)

Saturday, November 26
Yale 84 Army 75 (Box Score - Recap)
Columbia 59 Manhattan 41 (Box Score - Recap)
Princeton 56 Morehead State 68 (Legends Classic, Lewisberg, PA) (Box Score - Recap)
James Madison 60 Penn 58 [TCN] (Philly Hoop Group Classic) (Box Score - Recap)
Dartmouth 48 Western Michigan 65 (Great Alaska Shootout) (Box Score - Recap)
Harvard 59 Central Florida 49 [VERSUS] (Battle 4 Atlantis Bahamas) (Box Score - Recap)

Sunday, November 27
Brown 64 Sacred Heart 77 (Box Score - Recap)
Princeton 66 West Alabama 66 (Legends Classic, Lewisberg, PA) (Box Score - Recap)
American 65 Cornell 63 (Box Score - Recap)

Monday, November 28
Swarthmore 42 Columbia 104 (Box Score - Recap)

Tuesday, November 29
Manhattan 72 Penn 75 (Box Score - Recap)
Yale 74 Hartford 69 (Box Score - Recap)

Wednesday, November 30
Dartmouth 50 New Hampshire 53 (Box Score - Recap)
Lafayette 69 Princeton 54 (Box Score - Recap)
Rhode Island 56 Brown 65 [myRITV] (Box Score - Recap)

Thursday, December 1
Harvard 55 Vermont 48 (Box Score - Recap)

Friday, December 2
Columbia 69 Loyola Marymount 61 (LA Westside Centennial Classic) (Box Score - Recap)

Saturday, December 3
Vermont 52 Yale 68 (Box Score - Recap)
Brown 54 Iowa 75 (Box Score - Recap)
Lehigh 79 Cornell 81 (OT) (Box Score - Recap)
Penn 65 Villanova 73 [ESPN3] (Box Score - Recap)
Columbia 72 North Texas 57 (Box Score - Recap) (LA Westside Centennial Classic)

Sunday, December 4
Columbia 78 La Sierra 56 (Box Score - Recap) (LA Westside Centennial Classic)
Seattle 70 Harvard 80 (Box Score - Recap)

Monday, December 5
Brown 49 Providence 80 [ESPN3/SNY] (Box Score - Recap)
Yale 73 Sacred Heart 71 (Box Score - Recap)

Tuesday, December 6
Holy Cross 45 Columbia 46 (Box Score - Recap)

Wednesday, December 7
Delaware 60 Penn 69 (Box Score - Recap)
New Hampshire 69 Brown 56 (Box Score - Recap)
Princeton 59 Rutgers 57 (Box Score - Recap)
Bryant 59 Yale 76 (Box Score - Recap)

Thursday, December 8
Harvard 53 Connecticut 67 [ESPN2] (Box Score - Recap)

Saturday, December 10
Central Connecticut State 80 Brown 90 (Box Score - Recap)
Long Island 53 Columbia 63 (Box Score - Recap)
Harvard 76 Boston University 52 (Box Score - Recap)
Princeton 60 Drexel 64 (Box Score - Recap)
Penn 73 UCLA 77 [DirecTV] (Box Score - Recap)
Dartmouth 47 Notre Dame 65 [ESPN3] (Box Score - Recap)

Tuesday, December 13
Dartmouth 51 IPFW 56 (Box Score - Recap)

Wednesday, December 14
Princeton 72 Rider 71 OT (Box Score - Recap)

Saturday, December 17
Elon 54 Dartmouth 62 (Box Score - Recap)
Albany 82 Cornell 85 OT (Box Score - Recap)

Sunday, December 18
Princeton 71 Northeastern 62 (Box Score - Recap)
Yale 68 Rhode Island 65 [COX RI] (Box Score - Recap)

Monday, December 19
Cornell 60 Illinois 64 [ESPN3] (Box Score - Recap)
Dartmouth 55 Colgate 61 OT (Box Score - Recap)

Wednesday, December 21
Dartmouth 64 Army 67 (Box Score - Recap)
Cornell 67 Penn State 74 [Big Ten Network] (Box Score - Recap)

Thursday, December 22
Florida Atlantic 51 Harvard 63 (Box Score - Recap)
Princeton 59 Siena 63 (Box Score - Recap)

Friday, December 23
Maine 71 Brown 58 (Box Score - Recap)
Dartmouth 74 Albany 82 (Box Score - Recap)
Marist 71 Penn 84 (Box Score - Recap)

Wednesday, December 28
Columbia 59 Marist 79 (Box Score - Recap)
Cornell 59 Stony Brook 68 OT [Cablevision] (Box Score - Recap)

Thursday, December 29
Brown 49 St. Francis (N.Y.) 66 (Box Score - Recap)
Harvard 67 Boston College 46 [ESPN3] (Box Score - Recap)
Penn 70 Davidson 75 (Box Score - Recap)
Yale 71 Wake Forest 72 (Box Score - Recap)

Friday, December 30
Princeton 75 Florida State 73 (3OT) [ESPN3] (Box Score - Recap)
Lafayette 67 Columbia 77 (Box Score - Recap)

Saturday, December 31
Cornell 60 Bucknell 63 (Box Score - Recap)
Holy Cross 65 Dartmouth 61 (Box Score - Recap)
Yale 70 Florida 90 [ESPNU] (Box Score - Recap)
Saint Joseph’s 69 Harvard 74 (Box Score - Recap)

Sunday, January 1
Princeton 76 Florida A&M 61 (Box Score - Recap)
Penn 55 Duke 85 [ESPNU] (Box Score - Recap)

Monday, January 2
American 70 Brown 61 (Box Score - Recap)
Fairleigh Dickinson 52 Columbia 67 (Box Score - Recap)

Tuesday, January 3
Bucknell 67 Dartmouth 59 (Box Score - Recap)
Harvard 54 Fordham 60 (Box Score - Recap)
Holy Cross 67 Yale 82 (Box Score - Recap)
Cornell 62 Maryland 70 [ESPN3] (Box Score - Recap)

Wednesday, January 4
Columbia 66 Colgate 59 (Box Score - Recap)
Penn 78 Lafayette 73 (Box Score - Recap)

Saturday, January 7
*Dartmouth 47 Harvard 63 (Box Score - Recap)
Albright 60 Cornell 78 (Box Score - Recap)

Sunday, January 8
Columbia 65 Elon 60 (Box Score - Recap)
The College of New Jersey 68 Princeton 79 (Box Score - Recap)
St. Joseph’s (N.Y.) 86 Yale 101 (Box Score)

Tuesday, January 10
Harvard 70 Monmouth 61 (Box Score - Recap)
La Salle 68 Penn 57 (Box Score - Recap)

Wednesday, January 11
Longwood 79 Brown 77 (Box Score - Recap)

Friday, January 13
*Penn 66 Columbia 64 (Box Score - Recap)
*Princeton 59 Cornell 67 (Box Score - Recap)

Saturday, January 14
*Brown 64 Yale 68 (Box Score - Recap)
Longwood 67 Dartmouth 83 (Box Score - Recap)
George Washington 48 Harvard 69 (Box Score - Recap)
*Princeton 62 Columbia 58 (Box Score - Recap)
*Penn 52 Cornell 64 (Box Score - Recap)

Saturday, January 21
*Yale 73 Brown 60 (Box Score - Recap)
*Cornell 56 Columbia 61 (Box Score - Recap)
*Harvard 54 Dartmouth 38 (Box Score - Recap)
Saint Joseph’s 80 Penn 84 (Box Score - Recap)

Monday, January 23
Brown 67 Bryant 60 (
Box Score - Recap)

Friday, January 27

*Dartmouth 59 Brown 66 (
Box Score - Recap)
*Harvard 65 Yale 35 (
Box Score - Recap)

Saturday, January 28

*Harvard 68 Brown 59 (
Box Score - Recap)
*Columbia 60
Cornell 65 (Box Score - Recap)
*Dartmouth 52 Yale 62 (
Box Score - Recap)

Monday, January 30
*Princeton 67 Penn 82 (Box Score - Recap)

Friday, February 3
*Princeton 77 Brown 63 (Box Score - Recap)
*Columbia 64 Dartmouth 62 (Box Score - Recap)
*Cornell 60 Harvard 71 (Box Score - Recap)
*Penn 53 Yale 60 (Box Score - Recap)

Saturday, February 4
*Penn 65 Brown 48 (Box Score - Recap)
*Columbia 52 Harvard 57 (Box Score - Recap)
*Cornell 68 Dartmouth 59 (Box Score - Recap)
*Princeton 54 Yale 58 (Box Score - Recap)

Friday, February 10
*Brown 60 Columbia 86 (Box Score - Recap)
*Yale 84 Cornell 85 (OT) Box Score - Recap
*Harvard 56 Penn 50 (Box Score - Recap)
*Dartmouth 47 Princeton 59 (Box Score - Recap)

Saturday, February 11
*Brown 63 Cornell 72 (Box Score - Recap)
*Yale 59 Columbia 58 (Box Score - Recap)
*Dartmouth 55 Penn 58 (Box Score - Recap)
*Harvard 62 Princeton 70 [ESPNU] (Box Score - Recap)

Friday, February 17
*Brown 42 Harvard 69 (Box Score - Recap)
*Columbia 66 Princeton 77 [ESPNU] (Box Score - Recap)
*Cornell 66 Penn 73 (Box Score - Recap)
*Yale 70 Dartmouth 61 (Box Score - Recap)

Saturday, February 18
*Brown 53 Dartmouth 58 (Box Score - Recap)
*Columbia 59 Penn 61 OT (Box Score - Recap)
*Cornell 57 Princeton 75 (Box Score - Recap)
*Yale 51 Harvard 66 (Box Score - Recap)

Friday, February 24
*Cornell at Brown, 7 pm
*Columbia at Yale, 7 pm [YES]
*Penn at Dartmouth, 7 pm
*Princeton at Harvard, 7 pm

Saturday, February 25
*Columbia at Brown, 6 pm
*Cornell at Yale, 7 pm
*Princeton at Dartmouth, 7 pm
*Penn at Harvard, 7 pm [ESPN3]

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