The Cornell Basketball Blog

Wroblewski and Chemerinski Academic All District

2012-02-02T14:55:00.003-05:00

Cornell's Chris Wroblewski and Eitan Chemerinski have been named to the 2012 Capital One Academic All District Team. The Ivy League Office notes:

PRINCETON, N.J. -- Brown junior guard Matt Sullivan, Cornell junior forward Eitan Chemerinski and senior guard Chris Wroblewski and Yale seniors guard Austin Morgan and guard/forward Reggie Willhite were named to the 2011-12 Capital One Academic All-District® Men's Basketball Teams, selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).
Recognized among the nation's top student-athletes for their combined performance on the floor and in the classroom, these five Ivies were selected to the men's basketball first team in District 1 and have advanced to the national Capital One Academic All-America® Team ballot, where First, Second and Third Team All-America honorees will be selected later this month.

Cornell vs. Columbia Highlights

2012-02-02T12:56:00.001-05:00

Highlights from last Saturday's win over Columbia.

A Date in Cornell Basketball History: First Roadtrips to Dartmouth and Harvard

2012-02-02T10:42:00.004-05:00

Above, the January 15, 1901 issue of the Cornell Daily Sun previews Cornell's first ever meeting and trip to Hanover, New Hampshire to face Dartmouth on January 18, 1901.

The following 1901-1902 season was the first season that Cornell faced Harvard with the two teams meeting in Cambridge for the first time on January 18, 1902. Above, the January 15, 1902 issue of the Cornell Daily Sun previews the Big Red's roadtrip to Princeton and Harvard.

News and Notes: Thursday Edition

2012-02-02T09:38:00.006-05:00

(Photo Cornell Athletics)

Below, some news and notes for Thursday...

Previewing Columbia's weekend in New England, the Columbia Spectator writes in part:

"'Our home defense second half in the first two league games was really disappointing, but I thought we defended Cornell pretty well, even on their home court,' [Columbia head coach Kyle] Smith said. When hosting Cornell, the Lions took an early lead and prevented a successful comeback by the Big Red, but the second half was not without its scares. Thanks to senior guard Chris Wroblewski, the Big Red came within one point with 12:24 left. The Lions managed to re-establish a 10-point margin a few minutes later, but Wroblewski almost brought Cornell back in the final minute. He was unsuccessful only because of Columbia’s clutch free throws in the waning seconds... It was obvious that the Lions were struggling to follow through on the offensive end when they went to Ithaca for their fourth league game last weekend. Down by seven at halftime, the Lions were still very much in the game. Just a few minutes into the second half, five straight three-pointers boosted Cornell’s lead to 14, but even then the Light Blue found a way to tie it up, not just once, but twice. Each time, the Lions had the chance to take the lead and pull away for the win, but each time they failed to seize the opportunity."

Vote for Jeff Foote (Cornell '10) to appear in the NBA D-League All Star game by visiting the D-League Website. Foote and his Springfield Armor are back in action tonight when they host the Sioux Falls Skyforce. As always, all D-League games are broadcast free online via the D-League website.

Visit The Cornell Basketball Blog's updated profiles of Cornell's four committed recruits from the classes of 2012 and 2013, Braxston Bunce (Kelowna Secondary School) Kelowna, BC, Canada, 6-11, Holt Harmon (Plano West HS), Plano, TX, 6-9, F; Nolan Cressler (Plum HS) Plum, PA, 6-4, G (class of 2012); and Tim Higgins (Paul VI HS) Fairfax, VA, 6-10, C (class of 2013). In addition, a listing of the Ivy League's committed recruits in the class of 2012 is available by clicking here.

Committed Cornell recruit, Braxston Bunce is featured on the above promotional poster for the Interior Savings Western Canada Basketball Tournament which starts today at Kelowna Secondary School in Canada.

The Plum Advance Leader profiles committed Cornell recruit, Nolan Cressler and writes:

Plum's Cressler wants game tallies to help team earn key victories

On Jan. 20, Plum senior Nolan Cressler scored 30 points against Fox Chapel.
That in of itself wasn't groundbreaking, as he has scored more than 30 points in several games before the 65-46 victory over the Foxes.

The groundbreaking — or record-breaking — aspect of the big game against the Foxes was that it put Cressler at the top of the list of the best scorers in the history of Plum varsity boys basketball.

He passed 2003 Plum graduate Bobby Franklin Jr. (1,324 points) for the all-time scoring record. Franklin was in attendance, but he and Cressler were unable to connect after the game.

Cressler's older brother, 2009 graduate Andrew Cressler (1,234), and 2005 graduate Mike McKee (1,104) now are third and fourth, respectively, on the all-time list.

"(Bobby) tweeted congratulations and told me to keep working hard and never be satisfied," Nolan Cressler said.

"To pass great players like Bobby, Mike McKee and my brother is special."

The new record holder said he likes the way Franklin played when he wore the Plum colors.

"I was old enough to know he was a great player when he was at Plum," Cressler said.

"I've watched him on tape. You could tell he wasn't out there just to score points. He was a good passer, and he looked to set up his teammates. He could play up and down the court. He was a good defender."

Cressler passed another mark on Friday, as his 28 points, including five 3-pointers, in Plum's close 52-49 loss at McKeesport on Friday put him at more than 1,400 points for his career.

He said that while milestones are nice to achieve, winning always has been his focus.

"With me, it's definitely win first, whether I score 10 points or 30," Cressler said.

"I've had a couple of good scoring games this season, but they've come with the goal of helping the team do well. If we would win a WPIAL title and I only score 10 points, I would be more than happy as long as I do my part to the best of my ability.

"I never want to force shots. I don't want to go into any game thinking I have to score my average. I want to set my teammates up and score only when I have to. Efficiency with my shots has contributed a lot to my game."

Cressler leads WPIAL Quad-A in scoring at more than 25 points per game.

Plum was scheduled to host Woodland Hills in a Section 2 game on Tuesday, and despite three section losses by three points or less and a six-point overtime setback to the Wolverines, the Mustangs still entered the week 4-4 in section and in good shape for a playoff spot.

"It's been frustrating at times," Cressler said.

"We have to take care of business in close games. We need to put games away by avoiding mistakes and executing at both ends of the court. We know what we have left and what we need to do to make the playoffs."

Tuesday's game with Woodland Hills was to be completed past the deadline for this week's edition.

Senior Anthony Garofalo scored 10 points Friday at McKeesport, as a 3-point attempt by the Mustangs at the buzzer didn't fall.

The game was close throughout, as the Tigers led by two at halftime and by three at the end of three quarters.

Plum beat McKeesport at home at the beginning of January, and the split of the season series could figure into the chase for the playoffs.

The Mustangs go for the sweep of Penn Hills on Friday at the home of the Indians.

The game is the final one for Plum at the current Penn Hills High School gym, as the Indians will move to the gym at their new high school for the start of the 2012-13 season.

The Indians haven't had the season in Section 2 play they had hoped to achieve, but they did rise up to score a 72-62 victory over Franklin Regional on Friday to improve its section record to 2-6.

Penn Hills also beat the Panthers to open January.

The Indians were slated to play at Fox Chapel on Tuesday, as the unpredictable section season wraps up a week from tomorrow.

Game Recaps-Below are links to our game recap sections from each of Cornell's games this season.

November 11, 2011 at St. Bonaventure L 58-79
November 14, 2011 vs. Binghamton W 76-61
November 16, 2011 at Buffalo L 59-68
November 20, 2011 vs. Boston University W 71-66
November 22, 2011 at Delaware L 68-76
November 27, 2011 vs. American L 63-65
December 3, 2011 vs. Lehigh W 81-79 (OT)

December 17, 2011 vs. Albany W 85-82 (OT)
December 19, 2011 at Illinois L 60-64
December 21, 2011 at Penn State L 67-74
December 28, 2011 at Stony Brook L 58-69 (OT)
December 31, 2011 at Bucknell L 60-63
January 3, 2012 at Maryland L 62-70
January 7, 2012 vs. Albright W 78-60
January 13, 2012 vs. Princeton W 67-59
January 14, 2012 vs. Penn L 52-64
January 21, 2012 at Columbia L 56-61
January 28, 2012 vs. Columbia W 65-60

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 2 is No. 209 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. 192 in the nation, while the USA Today Sagarin rankings have Cornell at No. 201 Both sites are predominantly used by fans and the media.

Here is a look at Ivy League results and upcoming games. A full Ivy composite schedule may viewed by clicking here.

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 at Brown, 7 pm
*Columbia at Dartmouth, 7 pm
*Cornell at Harvard, 7 pm
*Penn at Yale, 7 pm

Saturday, February 4
*Penn at Brown, 6 pm
*Columbia at Harvard, 7 pm
*Cornell at Dartmouth, 7 pm
*Princeton at Yale, 7 pm

A Date in Cornell Basketball History: Collectibles from 1904-1905

2012-02-01T15:50:00.006-05:00

Continuing our series, A Date in Cornell Basketball History, below some collectibles from the 1904-1905 season. Above, the December 9, 1904 issue of the Cornell Daily Sun features the basketball team on the front page and previews the team's game in the old Armory against Dartmouth.

Above and below, pages from Cornell Basketball's 1904-1905 season program. The team's funding was an issue for most of the campaign.

Below, the Cornell Daily Sun on April 19, 1905 advertises a benefit to help raise money for the young Cornell Basketball program.

Below, a ticket stub to the Cornell Basketball and Fencing benefit scheduled for April 20, 1905 at Sibley Hall.

Harvard Athletics Game Notes for Cornell

2012-02-01T10:30:00.003-05:00

No. 23 Harvard Men's Basketball Set to Host Cornell, Columbia
Harvard Athletics

The Particulars
No. 23 Harvard (18-2, 4-0 Ivy) sits in a first-place tie in the Ivy League (Penn, 3-0) and will host Cornell (7-11, 2-2) Friday evening at Lavietes Pavilion.

The Crimson is off to the best start of an Ivy League school since Princeton in 1997-98 (19-1). Harvard's 18-2 start is also the best for the program since going 19-1 to begin the 1945-46 campaign. With a win tonight, Harvard would tie the 1980-81 Crimson team with the best conference start in program history (5-0).

Game Coverage
Live video will be available both both games this weekend for a subscription at GoCrimson.com. WHRB's James Yoon and Scott Reed will have the audio call on GoCrimson.com. Live statistics will also be available for the game at GoCrimson.com.

Series History (Cornell)
The Crimson holds a 90-70 advantage in the all-time series against the Big Red since the teams first met in 1901-02. Harvard has taken the last two meetings between the schools after Cornell won five of the previous six encounters. Last year, the Crimson picked up a 78-57 win at Lavietes Pavilion on Jan. 29, 2011. In that victory, Keith Wright recorded a double-double, scoring 21 points and coming down with 11 rebounds, while Brandyn Curry and Laurent Rivard each drained three 3-pointers.

Series History (Columbia)
Saturday's game marks the 167th meeting between Harvard and Columbia, with the Lions owning a 93-73 advantage in the series that started back in 1900-01. The Crimson has taken the last five games against the Lions, including a season sweep in each of the last two years.

Harvard's Last Time Out
After defeating Yale, 65-35, for the widest margin of victory in the all-time series against the Bulldogs Jan. 27, Harvard earned a 68-59 win at Brown Jan. 28. Kyle Casey tallied 20 points, making nine field goals, while Brandyn Curry added 15 points in a winning effort. Keith Wright (nine points) grabbed 11 rebounds, while Steve Moundou-Missi collected a career-high 10 boards.

Cornell's Last Time Out
The Big Red improved to 2-2 in the Ancient Eight by topping Columbia by a score of 65-60 Jan. 28. Chris Wroblewski paced Cornell with 19 points, draining four treys, while Jonathan Gray (14 points) and Shonn Miller (10 points) also reached double figures in scoring. Cornell held Columbia to 18.2 percent shooting from beyond the arc (4-of-22), while making nine triples of its own (9-of-26, .346).

Harvard Against The Ivy League
Over the last two seasons, the Crimson boasts a 16-3 (.842) against Ivy League opponents. During that stretch, the Crimson is 8-2 (.800) against Ancient Eight opponents on the road and 8-0 at home (1.000). This season, Harvard is 4-0 in conference games, having swept Dartmouth and defeated Yale and Brown in road contests.

Stepping Up On D
The Crimson is allowing only 53.4 points per game this season, good for third in the nation in scoring defense. Wisconsin paces the nation, surrendering only 49.6 points per contest, while Virginia sits second (50.6 points allowed per game). Harvard has only allowed 70 points once and surrendered 50 or less points in 10 games and less than 40 points twice.

Free-Throw Defense
Entering the weekend, Harvard was fifth in the nation in free throw shooting defense, as opponents are only making 60.9 percent of attempts (185-of-304). South Carolina State (.602) sits in first in the county, followed by Coppin State (.606) and Northern Arizona (.608).

Rejection List
With 33 blocks this season, Keith Wright now ranks second in program history with 139 rejections. Brian Cusworth '07 holds the Harvard record with 147 career blocks. Wright's 54 blocks last year also stand second in Harvard history for a single season. Brian Banks '78 had 59 rejections during the 1977-78 campaign.

Kyle Casey has rejected 78 blocks in his career, including 23 this season, ranking him seventh in program history in rejections.

Handing Out Dishes
Brandyn Curry has handed out 372 assists in his career, ranking the junior seventh in program history. Curry needs 19 more helpers to tie Mike Gielen '89 (391) for sixth in the Harvard record books.

Coming Down With It
With his 11-rebound performance at Brown Jan. 28, Keith Wright now has 21 double digit rebound games in his career. Wright also has three double-doubles this season and has led Harvard in rebounding in 15 of 20 contests. Wright stands ninth in program history with 648 career rebounds. Harvard has outrebounded 10 of its last 11 opponents.

Casting Ballots
The Crimson is ranked No. 23 in this week's ESPN/USA Today coaches poll. Earlier this season, the Crimson became the first Ivy team ranked in the AP poll since Princeton was rated No. 8 in the final poll of the 1997-98 season. On Jan. 2, Harvard was No. 21 in the coaches poll and No. 22 in the AP poll, the highest rankings in program history.

Harvard is the only Ivy League team to have received at least one vote in a major national poll this season. The Crimson has appeared in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches poll in each of the last six weeks.

Harvard As a Ranked Team
The Crimson is 10-2 as a ranked team in program history with wins this season over Boston University, Florida Atlantic, Boston College, Saint Joseph's, Dartmouth (twice), Monmouth, George Washington, Yale and Brown. Harvard is 4-0 at home as a ranked squad, while boasting a 6-2 record on the road when ranked nationally.

Double-Double Show
Keith Wright leads the Crimson with three double-doubles (at Holy Cross Nov. 15, Florida Atlantic Dec. 22 and at Monmouth Jan. 10), while Kyle Casey (Saint Joseph's Dec. 31) and Jonah Travis (Seattle Dec. 4) have recorded one apiece this year. Wright has amassed 16 double-doubles over the course of his career in Cambridge.

Lavietes Is The Place To Be
Harvard is riding a 23-game win streak at home, a program record. The current win streak at home is the longest for Harvard at Lavietes Pavilion and is the fourth longest current streak in the NCAA. Kentucky is enjoying the longest current streak with 47 straight home wins.

Nation's Current Longest Home Win Streaks
Through (Jan. 30)
Kentucky 47
Ohio State 37
North Carolina 29
Harvard 23
Oral Roberts 20
Long Island 19
Florida 18
Syracuse 18

RPI Watch
Harvard currently sits at No. 40 in the RPI, according to collegerpi.com. The Crimson earned the highest ranking in program history, No. 14, Dec. 2, 2011.

Harvard/Amaker Against Cornell and Columbia
The Crimson is 3-5 against Cornell under head coach Tommy Amaker. Harvard swept the Big Red last year and has won the last two games in the series.

The Crimson boasts a 5-3 mark against Columbia under coach Amaker. After losing the first three games against the Lions under Amaker, Harvard has reeled off five consecutive victories since the 2008-09 season.

Takeaways
Entering the week, Brandyn Curry ranked 50th in the country and second in the Ivy League with 2.0 steals per game.

Hitting Baskets
Keith Wright stands second in the Ivy League in field-goal percentage, hitting 58.8 percent of his attempts this season (90-of-157).

Iron Horse
Oliver McNally has played in 107 games during his Harvard career, tying him for fourth most in program history. McNally is just eight games shy of tying Jeremy Lin '10 for the most games played in Harvard history (115). Keith Wright has played in 98 games, placing him 15th in program history.

Sold Out Lavietes
Harvard has had four sellout crowds at Lavietes Pavilion already this season (MIT, Saint Joseph's, Dartmouth and George Washington). In addition, the upcoming games against Cornell, Columbia, Brown, Yale, Princeton and Penn are all sold out. The Crimson is going to sell out 10 of its 12 home games this season, a program record.

Defense Wins Games
The Crimson enters the week fourth in the country in scoring defense (53.4 points allowed per game).

Harvard had not allowed more than 49 points in four straight games (Nov. 24-Dec. 1) for the first time since the 1946-47 season, which was prior to the invention of the shot clock and the 3-point line.The Crimson also surrendered 38 or less points in two straight games (Jan. 21-27) for the first time since 1946-47. Harvard has only allowed more than 60 points in six of 20 games this year and has held opponents to less than 60 points in four straight contests.

On The Big Screen
The Crimson will play at least seven games on national or regional television this season.

Harvard is 5-1 on TV this year after earning wins over Utah (HDNet), No. 20/22 Florida State (Versus) and Central Florida (Versus) at the Battle 4 Atlantis. The Crimson also defeated Boston University (NESN) and Boston College (ESPN3), but fell on the road at No. 9/9 Connecticut (ESPN2).

Road Warriors
The Crimson, which currently owns a 12-2 record in road/neutral sites, will play a total of 18 road/neutral games this winter. Harvard's 12 road/neutral sites wins this year is a new program record, surpassing 10 victories during the 2009-10 campaign. The Crimson is 9-2 on the road and 3-0 in neutral sites in 2011-12.

Head Coach Tommy Amaker
Tommy Amaker (Duke '87) is in his fifth season as head coach of the Harvard men's basketball team. He registered his 250th career coaching victory Dec. 4, 2011 against Seattle at Lavietes Pavilion. Amaker has guided Harvard to its national ranking, as the Crimson was rated No. 25 in the AP poll and No. 24 in the ESPN/USA Today coaches ranking Dec. 5, 2011. Amaker also led the Crimson to its first Ivy League title as well as the program's first appearance in the NIT. In addition, the Crimson established a program record with 23 victories in 2010-11.

He brings a 260-192 (.575) career head coaching record into today's game, including a 84-53 (.613) mark at Harvard, a 108-84 (.563) record at Michigan and a 68-55 (.553) record at Seton Hall.

Monthly Consistency
In the months of November, December and January, Harvard won six games. The Crimson went 6-0 in November, 6-1 in December and 6-1 in January.

Making The Most Of It
Oliver McNally made all eight free throws at Monmouth, went 7-of-7 at the foul line at Holy Cross Nov. 15 and shot 6-of-6 at Loyola Marymount Nov. 19 and is shooting 88.0 percent from the line this season (44-of-50). Christian Webster is Harvard's career leader in free-throw shooting, making 88.6 percent of his attempts (178-of-201) over his first three seasons, while McNally is fourth in team history at 85.6 percent (250-of-292).

Last season, the Crimson ranked second in the nation as a team with an 80.8 percent success rate from the charity stripe (just behind Wisconsin's 81.8 shooting percentage). Harvard owns the NCAA record for team free-throw percentage for a season (82.2 percent in 1983-84). Harvard is currently shooting 74.6 percent from the line this season, ranking 25th in the country.

Non-Conference Victories
The Crimson has won 14 non-conference games this season, a program record. Harvard won 11 non-league games in 2009-10 and 11 non-conference contests again in 2010-11.

Historic Defensive Display
Harvard surrendered only 38 points in a win at Dartmouth Jan. 21, and followed by allowing only 35 points in a victory at Yale Jan. 27. The 35 points was the least allowed by a Crimson team since a 41-35 win at Dartmouth Jan. 11, 1992.

Night and Day
Harvard owns a 11-2 record in night games and a 7-0 mark in day contests in 2011-12.

One-Sided Victory
Harvard defeated Yale, 65-35, in New Haven, Conn., Jan. 27. The 30-point win marked the widest margin of victory for the Crimson over the Bulldogs in the series history (183 meetings since 1900-01).

Deep Bench
Harvard has played at least 10 players in 19 of 20 games this season, including a season-high 17 players in the win over Utah Nov. 24. The Crimson also played 15 players in the victory at Yale Jan. 27, the most for Harvard in a conference game this season.

Defense, Offense
Entering the week, the Crimson ranked first in the Ivy League in defense (53.4 points allowed per game) and third in scoring offense (65.8 points per contest). Harvard was also first in scoring margin (+12.4). The Crimson paces the league in shooting percentage (.466), foul shooting (.746), 3-point shooting (.369), rebounding defense (28.6) and blocked shots per game (4.7).

Four-Point Play
Laurent Rivard earned two four-point plays in the Crimson's 69-48 win over George Washington Jan. 14. Rivard also was fouled a third time attempting a 3-pointer and hit all three ensuing foul shots.

Assists, No Turnovers
Harvard's starting backcourt duo of Oliver McNally and Brandyn Curry has combined to hand out 167 assists, while only committing 69 turnovers between them (2.4 assist/turnover ratio).Curry (2.5) and McNally (2.4) rank first and second in the Ivy League, respectively in assist/turnover ratio.

Up By 20
Harvard has won six games by 20 or more points this season, having downed MIT, Utah, Boston University, Boston College, George Washington and Yale. Under head coach Tommy Amaker, the Crimson has won 23 games by 20 or more points.

Comeback Kids
Harvard trailed by as much as 14 points in the first half and was in a 10-point hole at halftime against Saint Joseph's Dec. 31. The Crimson outscored the Hawks, 36-21, in the second half, holding Saint Joseph's to just 29.6 percent shooting to earn a 74-69 comeback victory. The Crimson also trailed by as much as seven in the second half before pulling out a win in the Ivy opener against Dartmouth Jan. 7

Staying On The Court
Oliver McNally paces the Crimson with 30.8 minutes played per game and is the only Harvard player to average more than 30 minutes per contest this season.

Ivy Openers
With the 63-47 win over Dartmouth Jan. 7, Harvard improved to 5-0 in Ivy League openers under head coach Tommy Amaker. The Crimson is also off to a 4-0 start in conference play for the second consecutive season under coach Amaker.

Harvard Down The Stretch
The Crimson is 79.1 percent (72-of-91) from the line in the final five minutes of games this season. Harvard is shooting 43.8 percent from long distance (14-of-32) during the last five minutes. Brandyn Curry has made all 13 of his foul shots in the final five minutes of games and is first with 36 points during this time frame ahead of Oliver McNally (33 points). Kyle Casey also has six rejections and has grabbed 14 rebounds during the final five minutes of contests.

Crimson Runs Deep
With 19 players on its roster, Harvard is tied for the sixth largest team in the country entering the season, trailing only Air Force (22), Cornell (21), Army (20), Syracuse (20) and Navy (20). Columbia also has 19 players.

Dunk Tally - 2011-12
Kyle Casey 17
Steve Moundou-Missi 10
Keith Wright 9
Wesley Saunders 3
Dee Giger 1
Jonah Travis 1

Harvard had a season-high five dunks at Holy Cross Nov. 15, and at Boston University Dec. 10.

News and Notes: Wednesday Edition

2012-02-01T09:41:00.010-05:00

(Photo Cornell Athletics)

Below, some news and notes for Wednesday...

The Cornell Daily Sun writes, "On Jan. 24, the Washington Wizards fired head coach Flip Saunders after the team recorded the worst start in the league, 2-15. Assistant coach Randy Wittman — the previous Minnesota Timberwolves’ head coach and father of former Cornell basketball forward Ryan Wittman ’10 — has been named Saunders’ replacement through the end of the season... John Wall, the 2010 No. 1 NBA draft pick, is in his sophomore season with the Wizards. The former Kentucky guard, who played against the Red in the 2010 Sweet 16, has seen his shooting percentage regress since last season — dropping from .409 to .379 from the field. The poor team record and Wall’s underperformance were speculated to be factors contributing to Saunders’ dismissal. "

The Cornell Rebounders Club has photos from some of the Player Dinners during the holiday break. The Club's next luncheon is February 21.

Vote for Jeff Foote (Cornell '10) to appear in the NBA D-League All Star game by visiting the D-League Website. Foote and his Springfield Armor are back in action on Thursday when they host the Sioux Falls Skyforce. As always, all D-League games are broadcast free online via the D-League website.

Visit The Cornell Basketball Blog's updated profiles of Cornell's four committed recruits from the classes of 2012 and 2013, Braxston Bunce (Kelowna Secondary School) Kelowna, BC, Canada, 6-11, Holt Harmon (Plano West HS), Plano, TX, 6-9, F; Nolan Cressler (Plum HS) Plum, PA, 6-4, G (class of 2012); and Tim Higgins (Paul VI HS) Fairfax, VA, 6-10, C (class of 2013). In addition, a listing of the Ivy League's committed recruits in the class of 2012 is available by clicking here.

Nolan Cressler, a committed Cornell recruit, scored 16 points and grabbed 16 rebounds in a big win last night for his Plum High School team in Pennsylvania. See the recaps in the Pittsburgh Post Tribune and Pittsburgh Post Gazette.

The Washington Post has the game logs for committed Cornell recruit, Tim Higgins, a junior on national top 25 team, Paul VI High School out of Fairfax, Virginia. Higgins did not play in last night's contest against conference rival Gonzaga. Paul VI, which boasts more than a half dozen future Division I players, attracted coaches such as Jay Wright (Villanova) and Jamie Dixon (Pitt) to last night's game.

Game Recaps-Below are links to our game recap sections from each of Cornell's games this season.

November 11, 2011 at St. Bonaventure L 58-79
November 14, 2011 vs. Binghamton W 76-61
November 16, 2011 at Buffalo L 59-68
November 20, 2011 vs. Boston University W 71-66
November 22, 2011 at Delaware L 68-76
November 27, 2011 vs. American L 63-65
December 3, 2011 vs. Lehigh W 81-79 (OT)

December 17, 2011 vs. Albany W 85-82 (OT)
December 19, 2011 at Illinois L 60-64
December 21, 2011 at Penn State L 67-74
December 28, 2011 at Stony Brook L 58-69 (OT)
December 31, 2011 at Bucknell L 60-63
January 3, 2012 at Maryland L 62-70
January 7, 2012 vs. Albright W 78-60
January 13, 2012 vs. Princeton W 67-59
January 14, 2012 vs. Penn L 52-64
January 21, 2012 at Columbia L 56-61
January 28, 2012 vs. Columbia W 65-60

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 1 is No. 212 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. 194 in the nation, while the USA Today Sagarin rankings have Cornell at No. 202 Both sites are predominantly used by fans and the media.

Here is a look at Ivy League results and upcoming games. A full Ivy composite schedule may viewed by clicking here.

Cornell Athletics Game Notes for Visit to Harvard

2012-01-31T14:35:00.003-05:00

Nationally Ranked Harvard First Up For Men's Hoops This Weekend
Cornell Athletics

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CORNELL INFORMATION
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HARVARD INFORMATION
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DARTMOUTH INFORMATION
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GAME INFORMATION
Game #19: Cornell at No. --/23 Harvard
Tip off: Friday, Feb. 3, at 7:00 p.m.
Site: Lavietes Pavilion (2,050), Cambridge, Mass.
2011-12 Records: Cornell (7-11, 2-2 Ivy League); Harvard (18-2, 4-0 Ivy League)
Series Record: Cornell leads 90-70
Last Meeting: Harvard won 73-60, Feb. 18, 2011 in Ithaca, N.Y.

Game #20: Cornell at Dartmouth
Tip off: Saturday, Feb. 4, at 7:00 p.m.
Site: Leede Arena (2,100), Hanover, N.H.
2011-12 Records: Cornell (7-11, 2-2 Ivy League); Dartmouth (4-16, 0-4 Ivy League)
Series Record: Dartmouth leads 102-100
Last Meeting: Cornell won 96-76, Feb. 19, 2011 in Ithaca, N.Y.

Radio: HITS 103.3 FM (Barry Leonard)
TV: None
Live Stats: check availability at www.CornellBigRed.com
Live Video: check availability at www.CornellBigRed.com
Tickets: check availability by calling (607) 254-BEAR

HEAD COACH BILL COURTNEY
Cornell head coach Bill Courtney is in his second season at Cornell (17-29, .370) ... Courtney became the fifth Robert E. Gallagher '44 Coach of Men's Basketball at Cornell on April 23, 2010.

ITHACA, N.Y. — After evening its Ivy League record last weekend, the Cornell men's basketball team will face a pair of road challenges when it visits No. 23 Harvard and Dartmouth this weekend. The Big Red meets the Crimson on Friday, Feb. 3 at 7 p.m. at Lavietes Pavilion, then vists the Big Green on Saturday, Feb. 4 at 7 p.m. at Leede Arena. Barry Leonard will provide the call on HITS 103.3 FM and you can listen live audio of the game on RedCast. Additionally, both Harvard and Dartmouth will provide live video on their web sites for a fee.

Cornell and Harvard have combined to win the last four Ivy League titles, with the Big Red the last Ancient Eight team to be nationally ranked before the Crimson this year (rising as high as No. 17 in 2009-10). Harvard is off to an 18-2 start and has signature wins over Florida State and Boston College. Dartmouth is rebuilding with one of the youngest teams in the Ivy League, including leading freshman rebounder Gabas Maldunas. Ten of the team's 16 losses have come by single digits.

Chris Wroblewski, a senior co-captain, became the school's 24th 1,000-point scorer earlier this season. He enters the weekend averaging 9.9 points, 5.4 assists, 4.5 rebounds and 1.7 steals per game and runs an offense that has seven players averaging 5.6 points per game or better. Senior Drew Ferry is posting a team-high 12.2 points and ranks eighth nationally in 3-pointers made per game (3.2), while Miller is scoring 9.2 ppg. and leads the team in rebounding (6.3 rpg.) and blocked shots (1.8 bpg.). Freshman Galal Cancer is averaging 7.1 ppg., 3.1 apg., 2.9 rpg. and 1.4 spg. and ranks third on the team in scoring in Ivy games (9.8 ppg.).

ABOUT HARVARD
* 2011-12 Record: 18-2 (4-0 Ivy League).
* Head Coach: Tommy Amaker (Duke '87), 84-53, fifth season at Harvard; 261-191, 15th season overall.
* Harvard brings a six-game win streak and an 18-2 overall record into Friday's conference matchup with the Big Red. Opponents haven't scored more than 61 points in a game in seven contests.
* Harvard has been one of the top defensive teams in the country and has limited opponents to 40 percent shooting from the floor and 53.4 points per game.
* Offensively, the Crimson haven't been slouches either. Harvard is shooting 47 percent from the floor as a team and 37 percent from 3-point range.
* The Crimson feature three double figure scorers (Kyle Casey - 11.0 ppg.; Laurent Rivard - 10.6 ppg.; Keith Wright - 10.6 ppg.) and three other players scoring six points per game or more. Wright, the reigning Ivy League Player of the Year, is also averaging 7.8 rebounds per game. As a team, the Crimson outrebound opponents by +4.4 rpg.
* Fifth-year head coach Tommy Amaker has helped the Crimson to unprecedented success, including the program's first-ever Ivy League championship in 2010-11. Harvard has made consecutive postseason tournament for the first time ever.

THE SERIES: Cornell leads the series 90-70 dating back to the first meeting between the teams in the 1901-02 season. The Big Red is 11-7 in the last 18 contests and has won five of the last eight meetings, though Harvard swept last season's contests. Cornell's last four wins in the series have come by an average of 24.8 points, though the Crimson took a pair of easy victories over the Big Red a season ago by an average of 17.0 points.

LAST TIME VS. HARVARD: Cornell turned the ball over just eight times, outrebounded Harvard and outscored the talented Harvard frontcourt 30-16 in the paint, but a 35-6 free-throw disparity in the favor of the visitors proved too much for the Big Red to overcome in a 73-60 loss at Newman Arena. Drew Ferry hit four 3-pointers for his team-high 12 points, while Max Groebe added 10 as the lone Big Red players in double figures. Chris Wroblewski chipped in with eight points and three assists, while Adam Wire had eight points, five rebounds and three assists. Mark Coury had six points and seven rebounds, including five of the team's 15 offensive boards. Cornell held a 32-29 advantage on the glass and was credited with 14 assists to just eight turnovers. Harvard got balanced scoring with five players in double figures, led by Christian Webster with 20 points and five rebounds. The player that made it all go was point guard Brandyn Curry, who stemmed off at least three Cornell runs with shots at big times en route to 18 points and five assists. Kyle Casey chipped in 11 points and seven rebounds, while Keith Wright had a double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds. Laurent Rivard scored 10 points off the bench to round out the double figure scorers. The Crimson connected on 29-of-35 shots from the free-throw line (83 percent), while Cornell was perfect in six attempts.

ABOUT DARTMOUTH
* 2011-12 Record: 4-16 (0-4 Ivy League).
* Head Coach: Paul Cormier (New Hampshire '74), 96-134, ninth season at Dartmouth; 182-245, 16th season overall.
* Dartmouth has lost three straight and nine of the last 10 to enter Friday's contest against Columbia with a 4-16 record. That mark is a bit deceiving, as 10 of those losses have come by single digits.
* Freshman Gabas Maldunas leads the team in scoring (8.8 ppg.), rebounding (7.1 rpg.) and blocked shots (20). In all, six different players are averaging between 6.7 and 8.8 points.
* The Big Green is shooting 39 percent from the floor overall and 35 percent from 3-point range while allowing opponents to connect on 41 percent of their shots and an equal 35 percent from beyond the arc.
* In his second go-round on the Dartmouth bench, Paul Cormier directed the Big Green to some of its greatest successes in the 1990s. Now, he is facing a rebuilding job with some of the top young talent in the Ancient Eight.

THE SERIES: Dartmouth leads 102-100 overall in a series that dates back to the 1900-01 campaign. Cornell has had the best of the series recently despite having its 10-game win streak in the series snapped last year. The Big Red has still captured wins in 14 of the last 16 meetings, including eight straight at Newman Arena.

LAST TIME VS. DARTMOUTH: For the second time this Ivy League season, the Cornell men's basketball hit 16 3-pointers and put six scorers in double figures, shooting 57 percent from the floor overall en route to a 96-76 win over Dartmouth at Newman Arena. Sophomore Errick Peck had a career-high 22 points, classmate Johnathan Gray posted his first career double-double (10 points, 11 rebounds) and junior Chris Wroblewski narrowly missed his second of the season (19 points, nine assists) as Cornell took control early and never let its foot off the pedal in a fast-paced effort. Four different players (Wroblewski, Peck, Max Groebe and Drew Ferry) each hit at least three 3-pointers as the team connected on 16-of-29 shots from beyond the arc (.552) as a group. Both Groebe and Ferry had 14 points each, while freshman Jake Matthews scored a career-high 10 points, including eight in the first half. Dartmouth shot 54 percent from the floor and made 7-of-14 from 3-point range, but couldn't overcome its 17 turnovers or the Big Red's hot shooting. R.J. Griffin led the team with 18 points and five rebounds, while Tyler Melville and Ronnie Dixon each had 11. Jabari Trotter rounded out the Big Green's four double figure scorers with 10 points.

NOTES TO KNOW:
* Though it hasn't been able to break through on the road (0-9), Cornell has had great success at home (7-2).
* Thirteen of the team's last 14 games against Division I teams have been decided by single digits.
* Three of Cornell's games have gone to overtime, with the Big Red going 2-1. It is the ninth time Cornell has played in at least three overtime games in a single season. The school record for OT contests in a year is four, done in 1962-63, 1979-80 and 1999-2000.

CORNELL VS. RANKED OPPONENTS: Cornell enters its contest against No. 23 Harvard with a 5-66 record all-time against teams ranked in the top 25. Cornell snapped an 18-game skid against ranked teams by dispatching of No. 12/13 Temple in the NCAA first round and No. 16/19 Wisconsin in the second round of the 2009-10 tournament. The Big Red's previous win was a 74-54 triumph over then-No. 19 California, at the 1992 Seton Hall/Meadowlands Tournament. That team featured Jason Kidd (who sat out the game) and former NBA player Lamond Murray. The Big Red's other wins came against then-No. 17 Syracuse in 1957 (60-54), then-No. 3 Princeton in 1967 (62-56) and a win by forfeit against No. 15 Minnesota in a game vacated by the Gophers after using an ineligible player in 1976.

TALL IVY: Over the last six seasons, Cornell's 55-19 record is the best among Ivy League teams in conference action. Penn, who claimed the 2006-07 title, is second at 43-30, followed by Yale (42-32), and 2010-11 Ivy champions Harvard (40-34) and Princeton (37-36). Rounding out the field is Columbia (33-41), Brown (30-44) and Dartmouth (16-58).

CORNELL IN OVERTIME:
* Cornell is 2-1 this season in overtime in 2011-12.
* In two seasons under head coach Bill Courtney, the Big Red is 3-1.
* All-time, dating back to the first overtime game against Penn way back in 1922, Cornell is 37-45 in games that go an extra period.
* Cornell is 5-9 in multiple overtime games.
* The longest game for the Big Red was a five overtime contest against Princeton, won by the Tigers 66-61 on Feb. 24, 1979 at Barton Hall.
* Cornell is 28-15 in home overtime games, 2-2 in neutral contests and 8-27 in road games.

THE STREAKS
* Cornell is 88-50 in the last five seasons.
* The Big Red is 46-14 in its last 60 Ivy League contests over the last five years.
* Cornell is 53-11 over its last 64 home games, including 36-9 in the last four seasons and 48-10 in the last five years.
* In non-conference games, the Big Red is 42-36 over the last five seasons.

TEAM NOTES:
* The Big Red has limited opponents to 27 percent shooting from beyond the 3-point arc (96-of-352), with opponents making just 5.3 per game. Only twice has a team shot better than 33 percent against Cornell.
* Seven of Cornell's last nine opponents have shot under 40 percent from the floor (.389 over last nine games).
* The Big Red has been outrebounded in 15 of the team's first 18 contests.
* Cornell has made at least seven 3-pointers in 14 of its first 18 contests this season, while only allowing as many as seven five times (seven vs. Boston University, at Illinois, at Stony Brook and 10 at Penn State, vs. Penn).
* Cornell shot 43 percent from 3-point range in its first two games (18-of-42), but has connected on just 32 percent (119-of-378) in its last 16.
* Over its last four contests, the Big Red has made just 18-of-73 from 3-point range (.247).
* Cornell has at least eight steals in six straight games for the first time since the 2009-10 campaign.
* Cornell has already lost 94 player games due to injury (Asafo-Adjei - 10; D.Cherry - 4; Gatlin - 18; Groebe - 2; LaMore - 3; Matthews - 18; Peck - 18; Sahota - 18; Scelfo - 3).

MILLER CHALLENGING ROOKIE RECORDS: Freshman Shonn Miller has already set a freshman record for blocked shots in a season (33, good for 12th best in school history), breaking the previous record of 22 by Jeffrion Aubry during the 1995-96 campaign. Miller sits 16th on the school's freshman scoring chart with his 165 points scored. Next on the list is Ken Bantum with 184 points. To reach the top 10, Miller would need to average 8.0 ppg. over the remaining 10 regular season contests. His 114 rebounds is just 25 shy of Lenny Collins' school freshman record of 139 set during the 2002-03 campaign.

CORNELL HAS FOUR IVY LEAGUE ROOKIE OF THE WEEK AWARDS:
Nov. 14 — Shonn Miller's first varsity appearance was enough to catch the eye of the league after a solid opening effort at St. Bonaventure. Miller connected on all three of his field goals, including a 3-pointer, and added a team-high four rebounds in Cornell's 79-58 loss to the Bonnies. He added a blocked shot and a steal.
Nov. 21 — Shonn Miller averaged 12.3 points, 5.3 rebounds, 1.0 blocks and 0.7 steals in just 23.3 minutes per game in helping Cornell go 2-1. He shot 46 percent from the floor and 71 percent from the free-throw line. He reached double figures in two of the three contests. Miller opened the week with career highs of 19 points and eight rebounds to go along with a block and a steal in a win over Binghamton. He eight points and two rebounds against Buffalo and notched 10 points, six rebounds and two blocked two shots against reigning America East champion and preseason favorite Boston University.
Nov. 28 — Shonn Miller averaged 8.5 points, 8.5 rebounds, 2.0 blocks and 1.5 steals in two games for the Big Red, including earning his first career starts. He had eight points, 10 rebounds, three blocked shots and two steals against an athletic Delaware frontcourt. He answered that performance with nine points, seven rebounds, a block and a steal against American.
Dec. 19 — Galal Cancer scored 11 points, dished seven assists, snatched five rebounds and picked up four steals in an 85-82 overtime victory over the Great Danes. He made 5-of-10 field goals while collecting career highs in assists and steals. He was also just two points off his career scoring high. Cancer had four points, two rebounds, two assists, a steal and a block in the final minute of regulation for the Big Red, who overcame a 10-point deficit with nine minutes to play to force an extra session.

CORNELL BEYOND THE ARC — 600 AND COUNTING: The Big Red hit nine 3-pointers against Columbia on Jan. 28, its 645th consecutive game with a made trey. With five 3-pointers at Seton Hall on Nov. 14, 2010, Cornell extended its streak of games with at least one 3-pointer to 600. 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 693 of 697 games, connecting on 4,339 treys, an average of 6.2 per game. Cornell has hit at least 10 3-pointers in a game 34 times in 79 games over the last three years, including an Ivy League single-game record 20 at Brown in 2009-10.

BOMBS AWAY: Cornell made 251 3-pointers in 28 contests during the 2010-11 campaign. The 9.0 3-pointers per game ranked second all-time in a season for the Big Red (behind only the 9.6 per game in 2009-10) and ranked sixth among all Division I teams a season ago. Last season, Cornell ranked first nationally in 3-point percentage (.430) and third in 3-pointers made per game in 2009-10, and ranked in the top 20 nationally in 3-point percentage in 2008-09 (fourth, .411), 2007-08 (fourth, .409) and 2006-07 (18th, .396).

STATING THE STATES: Members of the Cornell basketball team represent 16 states and one Canadian province.

BIG RED CAPTAINS: Cornell's senior backcourt of Drew Ferry and Chris Wroblewski will serve as co-captains for the 2011-12 season. Wroblewski is in his second year as team captain, becoming the 13th player to serve as captain for at least two years.

WROBLEWSKI NAMED FINALIST FOR LOWE'S SENIOR CLASS AWARD: Senior guard Chris Wroblewski has been named one of 30 finalists for the Lowe's Senior Class Award it was announced today by the committee. To be eligible for the award, a student-athlete must be classified as an NCAA Division I senior and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence – community, classroom, character and competition. He joins Penn's senior guard Zack Rosen as the only Ivy League players on the list. Wroblewski was a third-team Capital One Academic All-American as a junior and has twice been named to the academic all-district team. The two-year team captain has been involved in numerous charitable endeavors and has been a four-year starter on the court. His teams have won two Ivy titles and he is a two-year member of the Bob Cousy Award Watch List as the nation's top point guard. A second-team All-Ivy pick as a junior, he was the conference's leader in steals and was second in assists and assist-to-turnover ratio and sixth in scoring. He has twice led the conference in 3-point field-goal percentage.

NEXT UP: Cornell returns home for a weekend set against Yale on Friday, Feb. 10, then Brown on Saturday, Feb. 11 at Newman Arena. Both games will tip at 7 p.m.

Game Preview Center: Cornell at Harvard (2.3.12) and Dartmouth (2.4.12)

2012-01-31T10:17:00.003-05:00

Get all the information you need about the Cornell Big Red's games at Harvard (February 3, 7 pm) and Dartmouth (February 4, 7 pm) right here with The Cornell Basketball Blog's Game Preview Center. As the games approaches, we will be adding relevant links to this space. Let us know your thoughts on the upcoming games by either leaving a comment to this post, sending us an email (CornellBigRedFan@gmail.com), or posting a message on The Cornell Basketball Blog's Community Forum (click here, free membership).

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News and Notes: Tuesday Edition

2012-01-31T09:15:00.006-05:00

Below, some news and notes for Tuesday...

WHRB, the student radio at Harvard, quoted Tommy Amaker back on January 23 as saying, "What Cornell did a couple of years ago and what we are doing right now and being ranked, these are the kinds of things that are going to give more credibility to our league as a whole."

Previewing the Cornell at Harvard game on Friday, SBNation of Boston writes, "Cornell (7-11, 2-2 Ivy League) @ Harvard (18-2, 4-0 Ivy League) 7 p.m. The only ranked team in New England makes it's first appearance at home in over two weeks, when they take on a Cornell program that is still rebuilding after the departure of Steve Donahue. Harvard earned a big win Friday night in blowout fashion over Yale, before putting away Brown Saturday on the road, moving them to 4-0 in the Ivy League. Cornell shouldn't pose any great threat to the Crimson, but Tommy Amaker might have a few more kind words than usual for Cornell head coach Bill Courtney, after the Big Red knocked off Princeton in their Ivy League opener. Significance: 4 of 5, Quality: 2 of 5, Overall: 6 of 10."

The Commercial Appeal of Memphis notes that a future Cornell football lineman nailed a three pointer in his coach's win No. 1000.

Vote for Jeff Foote (Cornell '10) to appear in the NBA D-League All Star game by visiting the D-League Website. Foote and his Springfield Armor are back in action on Thursday when they host the Sioux Falls Skyforce. As always, all D-League games are broadcast free online via the D-League website.

Visit The Cornell Basketball Blog's updated profiles of Cornell's four committed recruits from the classes of 2012 and 2013, Braxston Bunce (Kelowna Secondary School) Kelowna, BC, Canada, 6-11, Holt Harmon (Plano West HS), Plano, TX, 6-9, F; Nolan Cressler (Plum HS) Plum, PA, 6-4, G (class of 2012); and Tim Higgins (Paul VI HS) Fairfax, VA, 6-10, C (class of 2013). In addition, a listing of the Ivy League's committed recruits in the class of 2012 is available by clicking here.

The Kelowna Capital News writes, "It's been 30 years since the home team celebrated its first and only championship at the Interior Savings Western Canada Basketball Tournament. There may be no collection of talent better equipped to end the three-decade dry spell than the 2012 edition of the Kelowna Owls. Anchored by blue chip seniors Braxston Bunce and Mitch Goodwin—and aided by a solid supporting cast—KSS heads into this week's 39th annual tourney as the No. 1-ranked AAA team in the province. The Owls are 18-3 overall and haven't lost to a B.C. opponent in nearly two months."

Game Recaps-Below are links to our game recap sections from each of Cornell's games this season.

November 11, 2011 at St. Bonaventure L 58-79
November 14, 2011 vs. Binghamton W 76-61
November 16, 2011 at Buffalo L 59-68
November 20, 2011 vs. Boston University W 71-66
November 22, 2011 at Delaware L 68-76
November 27, 2011 vs. American L 63-65
December 3, 2011 vs. Lehigh W 81-79 (OT)

December 17, 2011 vs. Albany W 85-82 (OT)
December 19, 2011 at Illinois L 60-64
December 21, 2011 at Penn State L 67-74
December 28, 2011 at Stony Brook L 58-69 (OT)
December 31, 2011 at Bucknell L 60-63
January 3, 2012 at Maryland L 62-70
January 7, 2012 vs. Albright W 78-60
January 13, 2012 vs. Princeton W 67-59
January 14, 2012 vs. Penn L 52-64
January 21, 2012 at Columbia L 56-61
January 28, 2012 vs. Columbia W 65-60

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 January 31 is No. 212 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. 194 in the nation, while the USA Today Sagarin rankings have Cornell at No. 202 Both sites are predominantly used by fans and the media.

Here is a look at Ivy League results and upcoming games. A full Ivy composite schedule may viewed by clicking here.

Ivy Awards

2012-01-30T13:18:00.005-05:00

The Ivy League Office named Chris Wroblewski to the weekly honor roll for the second consecutive week and notes of his play last week:

Chris Wroblewski, Cornell, Senior, Guard (Highland Park, Ill.)
19 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists vs. Columbia

IVY LEAGUE AWARD WINNERS 2011-2012

PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
Week 1 November 14-Zack Rosen, Penn/Greg Mangano, Yale
Week 2 November 21-Zack Rose, Penn
Week 3 November 28-Keith Wright, Harvard
Week 4 December 5-Meiko Lyles, Columbia
Week 5 December 12-Kyle Casey, Harvard (Cornell not eligible)
Week 6 December 19-Ian Hummer, Princeton
Week 7 December 26-Tyler Bernardini, Penn
Week 8 January 2-Greg Mangano, Yale
Week 9 January 9-Greg Mangano, Yale
Week 10 January 16-Keith Wright, Harvard
Week 11 January 23-Mark Cisco, Columbia
Week 12 January 30-Andrew McCarthy, Brown

ROOKIES OF THE WEEK
Week 1 November 14-Shonn Miller, Cornell/Jvonte Brooks, Dartmouth
Week 2 November 21-Shonn Miller, Cornell/Gabas Maldunas, Dartmouth
Week 3 November 28-Shonn Miller, Cornell/Alex Rosenberg, Columbia
Week 4 December 5-Jonah Travis, Harvard
Week 5 December 12-Gabas Maldunas, Dartmouth (Cornell not eligible)
Week 6 December 19-Galal Cancer, Cornell/John Golden, Dartmouth
Week 7 December 26-Jvonte Brooks, Dartmouth
Week 8 January 2-Denton Koon, Princeton
Week 9 January 9-Gabas Maldunas, Dartmouth
Week 10 January 16-Shonn Miller, Cornell

Week 11 January 23-Corbin Miller, Harvard
Week 12 January 30-Steve Moundou-Missi, Harvard