The Cornell Basketball Blog

Ithaca Journal Profiles Jeff Foote (Cornell '10)

2012-01-28T09:21:00.004-05:00

Well-traveled Foote still shooting for NBA
Seven-footer from Cornell, Spencer-Van Etten honing skills in D-League
The Ithaca Journal

ITHACA -- By any measure, professional basketball player Jeff Foote went through a lot during his college years.

From not being recruited out of high school, to walking on at St. Bonaventure University, to eventually transferring to Cornell and winning three Ivy League titles -- not to mention making a Sweet 16 appearance his senior year that thrust him and the Big Red into the national spotlight -- one could expect that Foote faced his fair share of obstacles along the way. And like many other college students and athletes around the country, Foote did his fair share of growing up and maturing.

But even all of that couldn't possibly have prepared the Spencer-Van Etten graduate and 7-foot, 265-pound giant for what would come following his time on East Hill. A testing journey through the ranks of international basketball took him, in barely over a year, to such faraway places as Israel, Morocco and Poland.

Forget worrying about handing a class assignment in on time, or making sure to get enough sleep before a big game. As a pro, Foote's daily challenges became making sure he got home from practice safely and figuring out how he was going to communicate with a coach or teammate who didn't speak English.

"I learned that you really get spoiled in college," said Foote, 24, who graduated from Cornell in 2010 and now plays for the Springfield Armor of the NBA Development League. "Everything is taken care of for you, whereas overseas you're really more responsible for yourself. You really have to act with your own best interest in mind, and you have to figure things out for yourself. You're not going to get a whole lot of help over there."

In June 2010, following three highly successful seasons at Cornell that saw the Big Red go 69-18 and win three straight Ivy championships, Foote signed a three-year contract with Maccabi Tel Aviv, a professional team in Israel and one of the most successful European clubs of the last decade.

Midway through the season, however, admittedly "more or less inexperienced in the overseas game" and after logging only four minutes with the Euroleague giants, Foote was sent to Spanish second-division team Melilla Baloncesto in November on a one-year loan.

Although technically a Spanish city, Melilla is in northern Morocco and serves as an African port city for mainland Spain. There, and despite gaining some valuable experience and averaging a solid 7.7 points, 6.6 rebounds and 2 blocks in 25 games, Foote would be exposed to some of the harsh realities of international pro basketball. It eventually led him back to the states.

"Maccabi Tel Aviv is a big-name team, so everything was really well-organized and well-run," said Foote, who describes his time in Israel as "by far the best" of his overseas adventures. "But Melilla was a pretty rough city. It was an awkward experience. There's a lot of poverty and drug-ridden areas. But overall, it was a good learning experience there."

His most loyal fans were particularly happy to see Foote home. His parents, Don and Wanda, had meticulously tracked their son's overseas career, albeit from half a globe away.

"As his parents, obviously our major concern was his safety and well-being," said Don Foote, who was the boys' JV basketball coach at Spencer-Van Etten while his son played for the Panthers. "With his being so far away, we really didn't get a whole lot of time to talk to him, but it was a great experience for him, to get to see the world and play basketball and do what he likes."

Big Red reunion

The following summer, Foote reconnected with three of his close friends, classmates and teammates from Cornell -- Louis Dale, Ryan Wittman and Jon Jaques. The gang all got a place together in New York, played basketball, explored their surroundings and generally caught up on lost time.

At summer's end, Foote gave the European circuit one final try, this time bringing his good friend Wittman along with him. The pair signed on with Polish club Zastal Zielona Góra of the Tauron Basket League, although the result was again a failed experiment.

"When we got there, things started off pretty well, but that's kind of the European standard and after we lost a couple of games in a row things got really rocky," said Foote. "They decided to let go of Ryan, and from there it became very uncomfortable for me, so I decided to come back, as well."

Since his stint in Poland, Wittman has landed a job with Morgan Stanley in Minneapolis, and according to Foote, "is pretty happy where he's at, and I don't blame him." Dale, on the other hand, is recovering from a torn ACL suffered while playing professionally in Germany, and after having his surgery done in Europe plans to return to his home state of Alabama in the next few months before living with Foote in New York again this summer to "figure out his next step."

Perhaps not surprisingly, considering his college experience, Foote says the biggest obstacle he faced overseas was adjusting to the difference in the attitudes of the players.

"The team game is more or less over," Foote said. "A lot of people are just looking out for themselves, looking to get what they want and advance their careers, and you can't really blame them. We had a very special thing at Cornell. We didn't really care how it got done as long as it did. That whole family aspect is more or less gone over there."

Even more worrisome, he said, are some of the structural issues he encountered, as well as the target he said he wore on his back as an American player.

"You have to learn how to deal with a lot of different things," Foote said. "They're going to be late on payments all the time, and they're going to give you a million different reasons why. And especially being an American, you're always going to kind of be the goat. If you play well and your team loses, it's going to be your fault. If you play well and your team wins, it's going to be because the national guys played well. You have to learn to take your lumps."

As if the odds weren't already stacked high enough, Foote says he was often held back by a language barrier that made communication with some of his coaches and teammates almost impossible. In Israel, where English is taught as a second language, the young center found himself under the tutelage of an American coach. But in Morocco, and especially in Poland, things were not so simple.

"In Poland, our coach spoke a bit of broken English, but after that there was literally nobody else who spoke English," Foote said. "So if you can't speak the language, good luck. If your coach mistranslates something and you go do it wrong, it's going to be your fault."

Since returning to the U.S. for the second time, a stronger and more seasoned Foote has made huge strides toward his goal of playing in the NBA. When the lockout ended, he was invited to the Portland Trail Blazers' training camp, where he rubbed shoulders with fellow big man Marcus Camby, a former Defensive Player of the Year and 14-year NBA veteran, before being one of the last players cut.

Determined to keep improving and continue pursuing his NBA dream, Foote signed last month with the Armor of the NBA D-League. In 17 games (16 starts) at center, he's averaging 15.4 points, 8.9 rebounds and 1.2 blocks while shooting 55 percent.

"I definitely think I'm right there, right on the cusp" Foote said. "It's just a matter of developing more and getting an opportunity."

Measuring Foote

» Career averages at Cornell: 11.0 points, 7.3 rebounds, 1.8 blocks (87 games)

» Career record at Cornell: 69-18 (34-1 home)

» Ivy League Defensive Player of the year (08-09, 09-10)

» First-team All-Ivy selection (09-10)

» Second-team All-Ivy selection (07-08, 08-09)

Cornell All-time Rankings:

» Defensive rebounds: 1st (454)

» Blocked shots: 3rd (159)

» FG percentage, season: 2nd (.625, 09-10)

Ithaca Journal Previews Columbia at Cornell

2012-01-28T09:15:00.002-05:00

Cornell men's basketball team needs to score more
The Ithaca Journal

ITHACA -- Yogi Berra is famously quoted as saying: "Baseball is 90 percent mental. The other half is physical."

One could say the same of basketball. The physical act of putting the ball through the basket can be practiced for hours, day after day, until it becomes a case of the muscles knowing exactly what to do, and the shots falling like rain.

In practice.

Ah, but introduce the pressure of the bright lights, a few thousand onlookers and a scoreboard that is judge and jury, and the shots that touch nothing but net in practice suddenly are drawn to the iron, the glass and a waiting rebounder.

Cornell men's coach Bill Courtney has seen this phenomenon with his Big Red (6-11 overall, 1-2 Ivy League), which will try to gain a split with Ivy travel partner Columbia when the Lions invade Newman Arena Saturday night for a 7 o'clock tip.

Cornell shot just 34 percent in dropping a 61-56 decision to the Lions last Saturday night in New York. Columbia didn't shoot much better (39.6 percent) but got a big game from 6-foot-9 junior center Mark Cisco, who nearly doubled his season average with 18 points and a Levien Gym-record 20 rebounds.

Columbia won despite a sub-par performance from leading scorer, 6-foot-1 junior guard Brian Barbour, who scored 14 points on 4-for-15 shooting.

Courtney knows his players can shoot the ball well, because he sees them do it every day. But in the games, it's different: The Big Red is shooting 40.9 percent, and 32.5 percent from 3-point range, this season; both the lowest percentages in 10 years.

"It's funny because we tend to make shots all the time in practice," Courtney said Thursday. "We just need to carry it over to the game and shoot with confidence like we do in practice. It'll certainly help if we see a couple go down early in the game."

Despite its shooting woes, the Red was right there at the end of last week's game with a chance to win. With Cornell trailing by two points with 32 seconds left, Cisco nailed two free throws, then Red senior point guard Chris Wroblewski hit a jumper to pull the Red back to within a pair at 58-56, but the Lions made three foul shots in the final 15 seconds, Wroblewski missed a potential tying 3-pointer with nine seconds left, and Columbia held on.

Courtney is happy with the way his team stacks up against streaky Columbia, which started the season with four straight losses but has reeled off win streaks of seven and four games since.

"The match-ups are pretty good for us," he said, "but again the biggest thing is we have to make shots. When you hold you're opponent to 39 percent shooting and hold their best player (Barbour) to 4-for-15 shooting and force 18 turnovers, you have to win that game.

"And if you shoot just a little bit better, you do win the game," he said. "We have to take advantage of our opportunities when we get in transition and when we get open shots and when we get to the free-throw line."

Another area where Courtney wants to see improvement is rebounding, and limiting the second chances the Lions get.

"They got 13 offensive rebounds last time and that's just too much," he said. "We'll have to do a much better job of blocking out, and try to force the tempo. Columbia wouldn't mind to have the game be in the 50s, but we'll try to get in more in the 70s if we can."

To do that, the Red needs to hit those shots that have been falling in practice. Courtney is certain Barbour won't leave the door open again for the Red.

"I doubt he'll have as an ineffective a game as he did last time," the coach said. "(That was) a very good job on our end, but he's a very good player and I'm sure at some point he's going to get going."

Big Apple Buckets Profiles Cornell vs. Columbia

2012-01-27T13:23:00.003-05:00

SGOTW: Columbia vs. Cornell
Big Apple Buckets

Most of the Ivy League likes to get their home-and-home series between travel partners done early in the season. Thus on Saturday Cornell and Columbia will meet for the second time in as many games. This time the game is in Ithica, New York. The Big Red already beat Princeton at home, so they’re obviously dangerous and they’ll be looking to get revenge for the Lions’ 61-56 victory exactly a week ago. I asked The Cornell Basketball Blog to answer some questions about the team before the game to prepare for the epic rematch.

1. Last time these two teams met Columbia used the home court advantage to pull out the 61-56 as Mark Cisco dominated inside. How does Cornell adapt and contain him inside?

CBB: Cornell has struggled throughout the season defending the paint and rebounding. Cisco is a hard-nosed player and if the Big Red want to contain him, they will need to match his physicality and intensity. Critical will be hedging and denying him the interior entry pass and boxing out on the defensive glass.

2. Lions fans didn’t really see the best of freshman Galal Cancer in the last meeting. What does he do well?

CBB: Galal is still working on his decisions with the basketball and turnovers have been an issue. These are typical areas of needed improvement from freshmen point guards. But he excels both in transition and in the half court at getting himself into the lane and drawing contact. He is also very physical for a guard and from time to time has posted up smaller guards.

3. As the links to the 2010 Sweet 16 team graduate and the Ivy League continues to improve, how do you see Cornell fitting into the league in the near future? (I realize this is a little loaded, feel free to answer in whatever way you see fit.)

CBB: I think Cornell’s best basketball is still ahead and realistically expect this team to win a championship in the short term. The current freshmen class is loaded by Ivy standards and the incoming recruits in the class of 2012 also are each immediate impact types. The focal point of the class is Braxston Bunce, a 6’11′ 265 pound post player from Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada. Another big addition to the roster next season will be the return of junior Errick Peck who is sitting out this season with a knee injury. He was a member of the rotation on the Sweet 16 team.

4. Cornell is 6-11, 1-2. What would a successful finish to the season entail? Is this what you expected considering the inexperience of some of the starters?

CBB: Cornell is by far the most injured team in the Ivy League. Cornell has already lost 89 player games due to injury (Asafo-Adjei – 9; D.Cherry – 4; Gatlin – 17; Groebe – 2; LaMore – 3; Matthews – 17; Peck – 17; Sahota – 17; Scelfo – 3). When you lose so many veteran players to health and rely so heavily on inexperienced freshmen, you have to accept a roller coaster type of season.

Cornell is 1-2 in the Ivy League. I don’t think any of the players or the coaches have given up on winning the league and that still remains the primary objective.

The journey towards a league title continues for both Columbia and Cornell on Saturday night. The loser, with three losses, is probably out of the Ivy title race unless everything goes completely haywire – and even now they’ve got to be hoping for a Yale win against Harvard on Friday night – so this is obviously a big one. A big thanks to The Cornell Basketball Blog. You can follow on twitter too!

Keys to the game for Columbia:

Reestablish the post presence inside early. Sure Cornell is going to try to take away Cisco. Don’t let them. Feed him the ball. Also, Cisco has to make sure he stays out of foul trouble again. Often that’s what’s held him back from producing more than the opponents’ defense.
Understand that every possession won’t be perfect. Both of these teams are much more proficient on defense than offense. Mistakes and missed shots are going to happen. Which team is able to bounce back quickly from those mistakes and make plays consistently is going to pull out the win.
Hit some threes. I don’t know what’s up with Columbia right now, but the Lions are shooting 22.7% from three during Ivy play. That number is 34.0% for the season and the difference is a bunch of points. Meiko Lyles, Brian Barbour and Alex Rosenberg need to break the slump.

Columbia continues on the road in Ivy play next weekend, heading to Harvard and Dartmouth, so winning this one on the road would be a great step forward for the team if they intend to stay in the top half of the league this season. We’ll see if they’ve got what it takes on Saturday night at 7 p.m.

News and Notes: Friday Edition

2012-01-27T11:06:00.001-05:00

Get all the information you need about the Cornell Big Red's game vs. Columbia (Saturday, January 28, 7 pm, in Ithaca) with The Cornell Basketball Blog's Game Preview Center. Below, some news and notes for Friday...

Saturday's game in Ithaca vs. Columbia is Newman Nation Jersey Night.

In NBA D-League action last night, Jeff Foote (Cornell '10) finished with 12 points and 11 rebounds for the Springfield Armor in a win over the Idaho Stampede. See a game recap on ESPN's Nets Are Scorching. Vote for Foote to appear in the NBA D-League All Star game by visiting the D-League Website.

The Columbia Spectator writes, "This Saturday, the Columbia men’s basketball team will travel to Ithaca to face Cornell. Yet the basketball game is hardly the first competition that comes to mind when Columbia and Cornell are mentioned in the same sentence. If the city of New York could have had its way, the most important competition between Columbia and Cornell in the past months would have been the one over the city’s backing for a new engineering campus."

Check out 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.

Previewing the The 39th edition of the Interior Savings Western Canada Basketball Tournament the Kelowna Capital News notes, "Inside force Braxton Bunce gives the [Kelowna] Owls a bona fide big man with skills to match his size. At 6-foot-11, Bunce averages 20 points and 15 rebounds per game and can score from inside or outside."

The Pittsburgh Post Gazette considers Nolan Cressler the Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic League's (WPIAL) second best player behind Penn State commit, Geno Thorpe. The Post Gazette also writes:

At Plum... the last few standout guards the school has produced have worn No. 24. It started with 2005 graduate Mike McKee, who went on to play for Kent State. When he graduated, the number went to then-freshman Andrew Cressler, who went on to score more than 1,000 points for the Mustangs.

Now, No. 24 for Plum is Nolan Cressler, Andrew's younger brother, who last week became the school's all-time leading scorer. Nolan played on the varsity with his older brother for one season, so he wore No. 34 his freshman year before switching to No. 24.

"It's been in the Plum program as kind of the guard's number," Nolan said. "Plus, 24 is just a good number. It's Kobe [that's Kobe Bryant's new number after switching from No. 8]."

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

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 27 is No. 233 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. 196 in the nation, while the USA Today Sagarin rankings have Cornell at No. 208 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 at Brown, 7 pm
*Harvard at Yale, 7 pm

Saturday, January 28
*Harvard at Brown, 6 pm
*Columbia at Cornell, 7 pm
*Dartmouth at Yale, 7 pm

Mastbaum: Can the Big Red Stop Cisco?

2012-01-27T08:00:00.002-05:00

Can Cornell Stop Mark Cisco?

By Jake Mastbaum (Cornell '11), Ivy Hoops Online

The first thought Columbia’s second year head coach, Kyle Smith, expressed after defeating Cornell, 61-56 Saturday night was how true to form the play was of a typical Ivy League game. The biannual matchup between Cornell and Columbia takes the classic Ivy League mold Coach Smith was referring to and brings it to the next level. Every season for two weeks, Bill Courtney and Kyle Smith have nothing to worry about except game planning against its travel partner. There is so much film and so much time, that by game day, it’s nearly impossible to surprise or sneak up on the other. So was it really a surprise that round one of the Cornell-Columbia series ended up being a three point game with just twelve seconds to play? To Kyle Smith, not at all.

We didn’t see the back-and-forth affair that Smith’s comment may have implied. In fact, from the opening tip to the final buzzer, Columbia didn’t give up the lead even once. Both Cornell and Columbia came out trying to control the pace. The Lions are a team that likes to play half-court basketball. They excel when they can set up their offense and run sets that were designed specifically for the opponent’s defense. The Red on the other hand, are more of a run-and-gun team. Cornell shines in transition and speeding up the game would take Columbia out of its comfort zone (and not allow Mark Cisco to set up shop in the paint). While early, Cornell won the battle of pace, the Big Red was as cold shooting the ball as the Ithaca winters. Mid-way through the first half, Cornell was just 2-15 from the floor. Despite failing to slow Cornell down early, Columbia was able to cling to its lead for the duration Saturday night due to its ability to execute its game plan of utilizing matchup advantages to a ‘T’.

“I think they were like -7 in rebounds, so I made myself think I was going to go in and get every rebound,” said junior center, Mark Cisco. Cisco made it clear that Cornell’s unfavorable rebounding differential this season was emphasized in the Columbia scouting report. He certainly took advantage of the Big Red’s weakness, scoring a career high 18 points, and grabbing a career high and Levien Gymnasium record 20 rebounds. Cornell only managed 26 rebounds as a team, losing the battle of the boards by 15. When you allow a guy to control the paint on both ends the way Cisco did and struggle to shoot the ball the way Cornell did, it is almost impossible to come away victorious, and Cornell didn’t. The only reason this one stayed as close as it did was because Cornell’s frantic full-court pressure forced the Lions into 18 turnovers, while the Big Red only gave the ball up 10 times.

What is important now is that Bill Courtney and his staff have a full week to prepare yet again for the Lions, this time with the hope of stopping Mark Cisco. What makes Cisco so difficult to face both offensively and defensively is that he’s not only big, but wide, and does a good job of throwing his weight around.

Courtney discussed how to limit Cisco next week in Ithaca. “We must do a better job of blocking out. We put a body on him, but he’s such a big strong player, so he kind of just knocked us out of the way. We have to be much more physical with our bigs.” That’s definitely one way to limit Cisco, but any way you slice it, Cisco will out-body and out-muscle any big Cornell throws down there.

How do you better utilize undersized bigs to defend and limit bigger, bulkier bigs? If I knew, I’d be coaching this team rather than writing about it. Maybe it’s as simple as doing a better job blocking out, as Coach Courtney mentioned. Maybe it’s giving Josh Figini a few more minutes and levering his ability to shoot the basketball on pick-and-pops to draw Cisco out of the paint. Maybe it’s something completely different. Whatever it is, Cornell needs to do something to make life difficult for Cisco. Saturday night, he just looked way too comfortable.

Dropping one to Columbia at Levien is a loss that I can live with. Two middle of the pack Ivy teams playing early in the conference season is a tossup. However, being one down in the loss column to its travel partner, and sitting at 1-2 in conference play, this upcoming game is one that Cornell needs to win. Cornell must protect its home floor and pick up its first win against the Lions in the Bill Courtney era. All eyes are on Coach Courtney and his staff to see what they draw up with a week to prepare for this Lions team.

Former Cornell Assistant Settles in at B.C.

2012-01-27T07:58:00.004-05:00

Graham Happy at BC
EagleAction.com

Many people think college basketball coaches have it made. The casual college hoops fan thinks that an assistant coach's job description is to watch basketball 24/7 and get paid for it. What's better than that? While the job certainly has its perks--- especially once your reach a BCS-level school---few people ever hear about the work that's put in to try and get to a high level of coaching. Some never even break past the low-level DI jobs. BC Assistant Head Coach Nat Graham, is one of the fortunate coaches out there who worked his way up through the ranks, and eventually landed a high profile job at the Heights.

Graham played college ball himself, lettering at Penn for two years whenSteve Donahue was an assistant there, and then finishing up at the University of Western Ontario. After graduating, Graham spent two years playing ball overseas until he decided to give coaching a try.

"My wife is Canadian, so I was living up there while she was going to school. I had been coaching everything. I did high school for a while but that got frustrating because of the commitment level. It wasn't like coaching St. Benedicts or something. I started coaching college ball up in Canada and the year before I went to Cornell I was coaching at University of Toronto," explained Graham. "Steve and I stayed in touch for a long time. I made mild overtures about being an assistant coach a few times to him. He brought me down and interviewed me one or two times before he gave me the job."

Graham got the job as Donahue's third assistant at Cornell. While Graham was ecstatic to get a chance at coaching at the DI level it came with a price. In the Ivy League, the third assistant receives exactly $0.00, a price that shows which coaches really are driven to coach. Often times the third assistant in the Ivy League has to pick up a part-time job to get by, and Graham was no exception.

"I was opening a fitness center at 5:30AM, and then I'd come in to the office at noon. There were some late nights coaching so I'd be falling asleep at the desk at the health center sometimes," laughed Graham reminiscing. "Steve was always good about it though. He's very consciences' of the coaches in that situation."

Graham admits that it was a grind at times.

"My wife was finishing up school and living just outside of Toronto, so she was working part time. I was living in New York so we weren't making a lot of money and living in two different places. It was tough but I knew at that point this is what I wanted to do. I knew I was going to get paid eventually but the question was when," said Graham.

Shortly after Graham's first year at Cornell he caught a break. One of Donahue's assistants and now the Director of Basketball Ops at BC, Izzy Metz, ended up becoming a head coach for his alma mater at Hobart, and Graham got bumped up. Six years is now in his 7th year working for Donahue, and enjoys every moment.

Odds and Ends

Did you have any fear that you wouldn't come to BC with Donahue when he took the job?

Graham: I knew he was going to take me if he went somewhere. I also knew he wasn't going to leave for a lot of places and wasn't sure if he'd ever leave Cornell. Steve wants a certain type of environment and he wants to coach a certain type of kids. In a lot of ways he's not right for a school where you need a slick salesmen type and might need to recruit kids with a lot of issues. He's just not the right guy for that. He also didn't want to take the middle step up for a job that's considered a little better league, but might still be an only one bid league. We had a good thing going at Cornell

Once I heard BC got involved I had a feeling we would be going there if Steve got the job. It fit the description of what he was looking for.

How much has your job changed since getting bumped to Assistant Head Coach?

Graham: I don't know how much it has changed. There's not necessarily a hierarchy you feel when you work with coach. Being with him for so long I feel like I understand the type of kids he wants, the way he wants to defend, the way he wants to play offense, everything. In some ways I was kind of leaned on more because of that history. I think the biggest thing was Joe having been a head coach was extremely vocal in practice so I'm working on that.

Fans have noticed that you are pretty vocal during the game, even more so than many other assistants out there. Coach Donahue seems to be comfortable with you doing that

Graham: Our basketball philosophies are extremely similar. In the game situations there are rarely any times where Coach Donahue surprises me in what he's thinking because I've been with him for a few years. I might see some stuff that he's not seeing because he's so involved and so invested, or it might be a situation where he's talking to the refs and I notice something going on.

It's no secret that some of the best recruits are sitting in your backyard playing ball at local prep schools. How big of an advantage is this for you

Graham: There's absolutely an advantage if for nothing else than we can see these kids so much easier. You get 7 times to evaluate and contact and those are easy evaluations and contacts for us. That's a huge advantage. Cornell was so hard because it was like 4 hours from anything. You were spending a whole day going to a game. Here you can go to your team's practice and still get out and go to a prep game or two. Trying to get guys to your campus is a lot easier when they are right here and that's a big deal as well. There seems to be a good amount of local talent staying home and playing at the local prep schools, and that's huge as well because this is where they are from.

Cornell Daily Sun Previews Columbia and Spotlights Chemerinski, Cancer and Figini

2012-01-27T07:54:00.002-05:00

Chemerinski, Cancer, Figini Excel in Limited Play Time
Cornell Daily Sun

In the 17 games that the Red has competed in this season, the team has played an average of 12 players in each game. However, its opponents have averaged less than 10. Although consistent offensive production has been a struggle for the team this year, the Red has been able to find solace in its bench play, which has accounted for an average of 22 points per game. Three players in particular — junior forward Eitan Chemerinski, junior forward Josh Figini and freshman guard Galal Cancer — have emerged as sparks for the Red offense.

“We’re really deep,” Chemerinski said. “Everyone can make a contribution to help us win games.”

Chemerinski has played an important role in providing this depth. Although he has been a starter for 12 contests this year, he has only averaged about 16.4 minutes per game. The 6-8 forward is often used off the bench during games as a defensive threat in the paint, but he is also adding offensive strength to the Red, picking up 6.8 points per game. Chemerinski, though, does not dwell on whether his team contribution comes from off-the-bench or from a starting role.

“For me, the approach is the same,” Chemerinski said. “You always want to bring as much energy to the court as you can and it doesn’t matter when you do it.”

Chemerinski leads the team in field goal percentage at 65.8, but his big frame and formidable presence on the defensive and rebounding ends are especially important to the Red. The team has struggled with rebounding all season, being out-rebounded in 14 of its games.

“I know I have a responsibility because we’re not the biggest team,” Chemerinski said. “Rebounding has been a point of emphasis and we always have to find a way to do it even when we know we are guarding bigger and stronger guys.”

The Red has only three players taller than Chemerinski, including freshmen forward/centers Dave LaMore and Deion Giddens. Both players have gained experience on the court as the season has progressed.

Cancer is another rookie on the Cornell roster that has taken on an important role on the team. The 6-2 guard only averaged 14 minutes through the first two games of the season, but after his 7 point, 4 assist and 5 rebound performance against Boston University on Nov. 20, Cancer saw a significant increase in playing time. He now averages slightly less than 24 minutes per game and is fourth on the team in scoring with 6.9 points per game. He recently had a 17 point game in a win against Princeton on Jan. 13.

“[Cancer] has actually been starting recently,” Chemerinski said. Cancer has started four of the last five games the Red has played, and will likely continue in that role.

“He brings an offensive intensity to the team,” Chemerinski said. “He penetrates and dribble drives well and kicks it out to get our shooters open looks.”

Cancer’s ability to penetrate and kick has made him second on the team in assists, behind senior point guard and co-captain Chris Wroblewski. In the Red’s six wins so far this season, Cancer is averaging 8.2 points and 3.7 assists.

Junior forward Josh Figini has also been a source of offensive production off the bench for the Red. The tallest player on the team at 6-9, Figini has averaged 5.9 points, 2.4 rebounds and l5.8 minutes per game. He has started in only five contests thus far, but his offense has played an integral role in a few of the Red’s wins. In two straight overtime victories against Lehigh and Albany, Figini averaged 12.5 points and 6 rebounds in 28 minutes. Figini also dropped in 14 points against once-nationally-ranked Illinois while being guarded by 7-1 center Meyers Leonard.

Being juniors, Chemerinski and Figini expect even more playing time in the future. Both players saw their minutes increase dramatically from last year, a trend which will likely continue into their senior seasons. Their leadership responsibilities will also increase as they step into the graduating seniors’ footsteps.

“Next year, I think we’ll definitely have to take on a bigger leadership responsibility,” Chemerinski said. “We’ll have to help the freshman to work hard and get better.”

However, the Red is focused on the present now. Cornell will face Ancient Eight foe Columbia tomorrow night at Newman and will attempt to avenge last weekend’s 61-56 loss at the hands of the Lions.

Columbia Spectator Previews Trip to Cornell

2012-01-27T07:51:00.004-05:00

Two-game sweep of Big Red in sight for Columbia
Looking for a repeat of last weekend's 61-56 victory over Cornell, the men's basketball team travels to Ithaca on Saturday in hopes of taking down the Big Red once again
Columbia Spectator

One week after knocking off Cornell 61-56 last Saturday in Levien Gymnasium, Columbia will make the return trip to Ithaca in an attempt to sweep the Big Red for the second year in a row.

In a league where the schedule most often features back-to-back Friday and Saturday games, the format of these two games—the only contests for both teams in a two-week stretch—is a little bit of an oddity.

What does the extended rest mean for this Saturday? According to head coach Kyle Smith, a lot of defense and not a lot of points.

“It’s tough because both teams will be scouted so well,” Smith said. “A lot of thought goes into every possession.”

When the Light Blue does score, expect that production to come in large part from junior point guard Brian Barbour and his classmate, center Mark Cisco. Barbour has averaged 21.3 points per game, and Cisco is the reigning Ivy League Player of the Week after contributing 18 points and 20 rebounds in Saturday’s win. Cisco’s 20 rebounds set a single-game record for Levien.

On the other end of the court, Columbia has reason to feel confident. Defense will likely be the story this weekend, as it has been all year for Columbia. The Lions are ranked 18th nationally in scoring defense this season (out of 345 Division I schools), allowing 59 points per game on 39.3 percent shooting from the field. Last Saturday they held the Big Red to just 33.9 percent shooting.

For Cornell, its threats from beyond the arc will likely lead the charge. Seniors Drew Ferry and Chris Wroblewski lead the Big Red with 12.6 and 9.4 points per game, respectively, while four-time Ivy Rookie of the Week honoree Shonn Miller averages 9.1 points and a team-high 6.3 rebounds. How Columbia matches up with the speed of players like Ferry and Wroblewski, though, may be the key to Saturday’s game.

“I think they’re going to try to spread the ball and go after us a little bit,” Smith said.

Cornell will try to use the speed of its backcourt on defense, too.

“They’re so small and quick and want to press,” Smith said. Breaking that press late in the first matchup when Columbia was fighting to keep the lead proved to be a tall order for the Lions. The Light Blue had 18 turnovers on the night.

“It’s been an Achilles heel for us,” Smith said. “It’s a good thing to have a lead, but we get a little tentative. We have to be more aggressive. I expect them to be more aggressive. At home they’re good, so we’re expecting to see a lot of that. They get you playing a little faster than you want.”

Saturday, Cornell primarily employed the press in the second half, but Smith doesn’t expect the Big Red to wait that long at home, where it’s 6-2 this year, compared to 0-9 on the road.

“I was a little surprised they didn’t come in here and press us at home,” Smith said. “But they played us pretty straight. At home they’re usually a team that gets pretty aggressive on defense. They like to get the pace of the game in their favor and control the tempo by making it chaotic.”

That means that the Lions will have to rely on a fleet of ball handlers to break that press and maintain a slower tempo more suited to Columbia’s low-scoring style. Cornell will likely make it difficult for Barbour to get the ball, meaning guards like junior Meiko Lyles, freshman Noah Springwater, senior Steve Egee, and junior Dean Kowalski will all be called upon to bring the ball up the court.
Freshman Alex Rosenberg, a 6-feet-9-inch forward who can put the ball on the floor, may also need to help break Cornell’s press.

If this cadre of ball handlers succeeds in getting the ball upcourt, Columbia’s size may prove decisive. Cisco’s 20 boards last Saturday highlighted a dominant team effort in which the Lions outrebounded Cornell 45-29.

Tipoff against the Big Red is scheduled for 7 p.m. in Ithaca.

News and Notes: Thursday Edition

2012-01-26T11:08:00.001-05:00

Next Saturday's game in Ithaca vs. Columbia is Newman Nation Jersey Night.

The Philippine Star is the latest media outlet in the Philippines to note that the Rain or Shine club is planning on recruiting Jeff Foote (Cornell '10) from the NBA D-League. Vote for Foote to appear in the NBA D-League All Star game by visiting the D-League Website. Foote and his team the Springfield Armor host Idaho tonight. Watch the game online via the D-League website.

Check out 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 Pittsburgh Tribune notes that Cornell recruit, Nolan Cressler scored 33 points last night (the third time he has topped 30 points this season) in a win over Latrobe. See also the Plum Advance Leader for recaps of recent Plum games and Cressler's performance.

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

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 26 is No. 235 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. 198 in the nation, while the USA Today Sagarin rankings have Cornell at No. 208 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.

Columbia Athletics Game Notes for Visit to Cornell

2012-01-26T10:14:00.001-05:00

Men's Basketball Clashes with Cornell for Second Consecutive Weekend

Columbia Athletics

Listen Live | Live Stats | The Lion Store

NEW YORK - Columbia will meet Cornell for the second straight weekend on Saturday, January 28 in Ithaca, N.Y. Game time is at 7 p.m. The Lions have won five of their last seven games and are winners of 12 of the last 15.

The Lions won the first game 61-56 at Levien Gymnasium on Saturday, January 21, behind a monster game by junior Mark Cisco, who totaled 18 points and 20 rebounds, a gym record. The Lions held Cornell to 33.9 percent shooting and made clutch free throws down the stretch to seal the victory.

Fans can listen live to Saturday's game via SideLION Pass, no subscription required, with Jerry Recco (@JerryRecco) and Dalen Cuff (@DCuff21) on the call. Columbia's student radio station, WKCR 89.9 FM, will also broadcast the game. Live stats and game notes are also available.

CISCO NAMED IVY LEAGUE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Mark Cisco earned his first career Ivy League Player of the Week honor after he posted 18 points and 20 rebounds last time out vs. Cornell. Cisco set a Levien Gym record for rebounds in a single game and the 18 points also matched Cisco’s career high. It was Cisco’s second straight double-double and his third of the season. He was dominant in the game, playing a season-high 36 minutes, shooting five of nine from the field and eight of nine from the foul line. Two of those free throws came with Columbia ahead by two points and with 21 seconds on the clock. Stepping to the line in a one-and-one situation in a two-point game (56-54) with 21 seconds remaining in the game, Cisco calmly sank both free throws to give the Lions a four-point advantage and two-possession lead.

BARBOUR RUNNING THE SHOW
Junior guard Brian Barbour has scored in double figures in each of the last five games and is averaging 21.3 points per game during Ivy League action, which is tops in the league. In Columbia’s last game vs. Cornell, Barbour scored 15 points and added six rebounds, five assists and two steals. The weekend before, Barbour scored 25 points in each of Columbia’s games against Penn and Princeton to begin Ivy League play. Barbour currently leads the squad in scoring, assists, steals, free throw percentage and minutes played.

THE DEFENSE NEVER RESTS
Columbia’s defense ranks 18th in the nation in scoring defense. The Lions yield an average of 59 points per game to opponents and are allowing teams to shoot 39.3 percent from the field. That number ranks 36th in the country out of 345 Division I schools. Columbia has also improved at defending the three, as teams shoot 32.2 percent from long distance against the Lions.

THE HISTORY NOTE - CORNELL
Columbia leads the all-time series with Cornell 121-96 in one of the most played rivalries in college basketball. The Lions have won three straight games in the series after Cornell had won the previous nine meetings. Columbia has a chance to sweep the season series for the second straight year.

COACHES VS. CANCER SUITS AND SNEAKERS
The Columbia coaching staff, along with all the other coaching staffs around the Ivy League, will participate in Coaches vs. Cancer® Suits and Sneakers® Weekend, Jan. 27-29. The Columbia coaches will wear sneakers with their suits to demonstrate their support for the American Cancer Society and its vision of a world with less cancer and more birthdays.

ROAD WARRIORS
Away from home, Columbia is 6-3 on the season, including two neutral-site games. The Lions won their last two road games, at Colgate and at Elon, to end their non-conference schedule.

LIFE BEGINS AT 60
The number 60 has been a significant one during Columbia’s 2011-12 season. The Lions are 10-0 when holding opponents to 60 points or fewer. Columbia also has an 10-1 record when scoring 60 points or more.

SENIOR MOMENTS
Columbia’s senior class has won 50 games during its four years on the court. The group has a chance to combine for the most wins over a four-year period since the class of 1979, headlined by Alton Byrd and Ricky Free, which won 56 games from the 1975-76 season to 1978-79.

COLUMBIA CONTROLLING THE GLASS
In 12 of its first 19 games, Columbia has totaled more rebounds than its opponents. In the game vs. Cornell on January 21, the Lions outrebounded the Big Red 45-29.

MARGIN CALL
Columbia’s last five games have been decided by seven points or fewer.

THEY WALK THE LINE
The Lions have been getting it done at the free throw line lately, shooting better than 78 percent in each of their last six games. During that span, Columbia has made 90 of 109 free throw attempts (82.6 percent).

FINAL FIVE
In the last five minutes of games, Columbia shoots 76.3 percent from the free throw line, an upgrade over its average of 73.2 percent this season.

THE FIRST TWO SEASONS OF THE KYLE SMITH ERA
Over the last two seasons with Kyle Smith as the Lions’ head coach, Columbia has won 27 games. That is the largest total in a head coach’s first two seasons since Buddy Mahar won 27 games over the 1978-79 and 1979-80 seasons. Lou Rossini (1950-58) won 37 games over his first two seasons as head coach, including Columbia’s magical 23-1 campaign in 1950-51.

BALL DON'T LYE
Sophomore guard Meiko Lyles ranks second on the team in scoring this season with 10.5 points per game and is second in steals with 21. Lyles has scored in double figures in five of the last seven games and is averaging 14.4 points per game during that span.

THE BLOOM IS ON ROSENBERG
Rookie Alex Rosenberg has had a strong start to his first collegiate campaign. Named Ivy League Rookie of the Week earlier this season, Rosenberg is averaging 8.4 points per game over the last seven games. He also has contributed at least two assists and at least two rebounds in each of those contests.

GO, JOHNNY, GO
Junior forward John Daniels has provided a big lift recently in Columbia’s frontcourt. In the game vs. Cornell on January 21, Daniels had six rebounds, two assists and a big basket during the second half after Cornell had made it a one-point game. He ranks second on the team in rebounds at 6.1 per game.

BLAISE OF GLORY
Senior forward Blaise Staab provided a boost in the game vs. Princeton on January 14. In 21 minutes, Staab pulled down seven rebounds, tying a team high.

CROCKETT ROCKS IT
Senior guard Chris Crockett has provided instant offense off the Columbia bench early this season. In the win against North Texas on Dec. 3, Crockett scored a career-high 12 points on four three-pointers. A day later vs. La Sierra, Crockett matched his career best with four assists and added eight points.

EVEN STEVEN
Senior Steve Egee has given Columbia a boost off the bench in recent games. In the league-opening weekend vs. Penn and Princeton, Egee averaged 5.0 points and 6.5 rebounds. The 13 total rebounds were the most by a Columbia player during the two-game weekend.

SPRING FORWARD
Rookie Noah Springwater has seen increased court time in recent games and stepped up in Columbia’s 66-59 win at Colgate on January 4. In that game, Springwater made a number of terrific defensive plays and hit two big three-pointers in the game. He played a season-high 26 minutes vs. the Raiders.

DEAN’S LIST
Junior Dean Kowalski has given Columbia solid minutes off the bench recently. For the season, Kowalski has dished out 11 assists with just three turnovers. Last time out vs. Cornell, Kowalski played a season-high 11 minutes.

OSETKOWSKI’S BLOCK PARTY
Rookie center Cory Osetkowski leads Columbia with 15 blocked shots this season. In the game at Elon, Osetkowski scored five consecutive points in the second half, helping Columbia tie the game and eventually hold a lead.

CISCO AMONG TOP OFFENSIVE REBOUNDERS
Junior Mark Cisco ranks fourth all-time in offensive rebounds at Columbia after more than two and a half seasons. Offensive rebounds were kept as a separate stat beginning in the 1990-91 season.

1.	John Baumann	2004-08	189
2.	Chris Wiedemann	1999-03	166
3.	Ben Nwachukwu	2004-08	164
4.	Mark Cisco	2009-pres.	157
5.	Jim Tubridy	1992-96	150
6.	Boris Piskun	1992-96	145
7.	Asenso Ampim	2007-11	144
8.	Gary Raimondo	1995-99	143
9.	Matt Preston	2001-05	138
10.	Jason Miller	2005-09	112

CISCO ALSO RANKS IN TOP TEN IN BLOCKS
Not only is Cisco one of Columbia’s top offensive rebounders in recent history, he now ranks among the top ten shot blockers in program history. Blocked shots were first kept as an official statistic beginning in 1984-85.

1.	Chris Wiedemann	1999-03	187
2.	Dane Holmes	1988-92	148
3.	Tom Casey	1989-93	137
4.	Jamal Adams	1990-94	101
5.	Joe Case	1998-02	66
6.	Ben Nwachukwu	2004-08	62
7.	Justin Namolik	1995-99	50
8.	Steve Marusich	1990-94	48
9.	Jim Tubridy	1992-96	47
10.	Mark Cisco	2009-pres.	42
	Craig Austin	1998-02	42

COLUMBIA AMONG NATIONAL LEADERS
Through January 22, Columbia was ranked among the nation’s top 100 teams in several different categories:

Category	Rank	Actual
Scoring Defense	18th	59.0
Field Goal Pct Defense	36th	39.3
Three-Pointers Per Game	87th	7.2
Three-Point FG Pct Defense	93rd	32.2
Free Throw Pct	50th	73.2
Rebound Margin	95th	+3.1
Turnovers Per Game	92nd	13.0
Personal Fouls Per Game	43rd	16.2

Category	Player	Rank	Actual
Free Throw Pct	Brian Barbour	18th	89.6

COLUMBIA ON TV
Columbia will have two upcoming games shown on national television. The February 17 game at Princeton will be shown live on ESPNU and the February 24 game at Yale will be televised on the YES Network.

COLUMBIA BASKETBALL ON THE AIR
For the sixth straight season, every Columbia men’s basketball game will be broadcast live on gocolumbialions.com with a professional broadcast team. Jerry Recco will call the play-by-play while former men’s hoops standout Dalen Cuff ‘06 provides color commentary. WKCR 89.9 FM will also call every Columbia home game and select road games.

News and Notes: Wednesday Edition

2012-01-25T10:13:00.000-05:00

Get to know the Ithaca Journal's basketball beat writer, Ed Boulat.

Next Saturday's game in Ithaca vs. Columbia is Newman Nation Jersey Night.

An Ithaca Journal contributing columnist is rooting for Jeff Foote (Cornell '10) to make the NBA. Foote finished with 19 points, 8 rebounds and 3 blocks last night in the NBA D-League as his Springfield Armor defeated the Canton Charge. See the recaps in the Springfield Republican, Nets Daily, the Canton Reporter, and the Times-Reporter. Also read about Foote's 26 points and 10 rebounds performance over the weekend in the Bismarck Tribune and Springfield Republican. His performance over the weekend landed him on the D-League's weekly honor roll. Vote for Foote to appear in the NBA D-League All Star game by visiting the D-League Website. Also in the news with respect to the former Big Red center, a Philippines basketball club is reportedly considering pursuing Foote, although there is no report of Foote wanting to play overseas in Asia.

The Washington Wizards have named Randy Wittman as the team's interim head coach as Flip Saunders was fired on Tuesday. Below, Randy Wittman on the baseline (right) alongside his son Ryan Wittman (Cornell '10) (#21 left) during the Wizards player prospect workouts during the spring of 2010.

The Columbia Spectator writes:

Lions look for bench presence, despite strong starters
Compared to benches of other Ivy League teams, Columbia's substitutes have seen rapidly diminished minutes, and subsequently reduced productivity.

The 61-56 victory over Cornell on Saturday was an important step forward for the Columbia men’s basketball team, proving it could stave off the Big Red’s second-half comeback.

But as has been the case recently, nearly all the Light Blue’s points came from its starting five, with the Columbia bench contributing just one basket—a three-pointer by freshman guard Noah Springwater.

In contrast, Cornell’s bench tallied 17 points with nine players contributing to the team’s total.

While the discrepancy between Cornell’s and Columbia’s bench production may have been insignificant to Saturday’s result, it is part of a larger trend. In Columbia’s three conference games this year, the bench has been responsible for only 19 of the team’s 183 points.

According to head coach Kyle Smith, part of the reason the Light Blue bench only accounts for 10 percent of the team’s league points is that the Lions’ starters have been dominating the minutes on the floor.

“I think there are four guys that have emerged that I’d like to get a steady 27 to 30 minutes each game,” he said.

Against Cornell, junior guard Brian Barbour, junior center Mark Cisco, and sophomore guard Meiko Lyles all played more than 35 minutes, and in total, only seven Lions saw more than 10 minutes on the court.

Though those three starters carried the team with their double-digit scoring, fatigue will be a bigger factor in future weekends when Columbia has back-to-back games. In those games, the bench will need to play a much larger role than it did against the Big Red.

Other Ancient Eight schools boast benches that have had a much larger role in their respective Ivy League games.

Harvard’s bench has provided 48 of the team’s 117 points (40 percent) while Yale’s bench accounts for 27 of the Bulldogs’ total 141 (19 percent)—and both the Crimson and the Bulldogs have only played two conference matches.

Even Cornell—the only Ivy other than Columbia to have already played three league games—has had more activity from the bench, with its substitutes providing 48 of the Big Red’s 175 points (27 percent).

Despite the lack of points made by Columbia’s bench relative to others in the Ancient Eight, Smith argues that the Lions’ substitutes have made an impact in less noticeable ways.

“We played our depth a little bit more against Cornell as far as helping with the ball handling,” Smith said. “It’s not going to show up much on the stat sheet in terms of points. We were really good defensively. We stayed fresher and Dean gave us a lot of ball pressure.”

Junior guard Dean Kowalski may have only recorded one assist and one rebound during his 11 minutes against Cornell, but Kowalski took the ball down the court in transition and kept constant defensive pressure on the Big Red’s shooters.

In effect, Kowalski relieved Barbour of some of the ball-handling burden that the junior captain has borne almost exclusively since the injury to Noruwa Agho at the beginning of the season.

Substitutes also made an impact against Princeton, when senior guard Steve Egee and senior forward Blaise Staab each tallied seven rebounds for the Lions.

Still, many of the Light Blue players have seen limited minutes since conference play began, most significantly freshman center Cory Osetkowski and senior guard Chris Crockett, both of whom played much more earlier in the season.

According to Smith, players like Osetkowski haven’t been getting time on the floor because the Lions have had to rely on certain lineups to contend with the playing styles of their opponents.

“I think it’s mostly situational,” the second-year head coach said. “It’s tough for those guys. They’ve been told, ‘Hey, you’ve got to hang in there.’ They’ve had great attitudes about it and they’re practicing well.”

Smith hopes that these players will have their opportunities in coming games, but regardless of which substitutes get floor time, success will be difficult if the Columbia bench does not increase its point production.

“We need some production there for sure and we’ll hopefully find it,” he said.

Columbia will have another shot to break the Big Red’s full-court pressure when they head to Ithaca this weekend.

Check out 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 Pittsburgh Tribune notes that February 7 will be "Nolan Cressler's last home game, [against Gateway] and the atmosphere will be unbelievable." Meanwhile, the Plano Star reports on Plano West's defeat last night to Marcus High School. Holt Harmon was held to 8 points.

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

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 25 is No. 238 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. 201 in the nation, while the USA Today Sagarin rankings have Cornell at No. 208 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 Team Report from YahooSports/SportsXChange

2012-01-25T09:39:00.005-05:00

Below, an excerpt of the Cornell Team Report from YahooSports/Sports XChange:

Cornell Team Report

GETTING INSIDE

...Columbia also travels for its rematch with Cornell this weekend. It’s hard to say that any game is a must-win with 10 games remaining in the conference season, but the loser will find itself at 1-3 and three games out of first in a league where 11-3 probably won’t be good enough to win. It’s no exaggeration to say that either the Lions or the Big Red will be effectively eliminated from the title race before the end of January...

NOTES, QUOTES

• Mark Cisco was selected Ivy League Player of the Week for his efforts in Columbia’s 61-56 victory over Cornell. The junior center set a Levien Gym record with 20 rebounds against the Big Red, and he tied his career high with 18 points. Two of those points came when he went to the line with 21 seconds left in a game the Lions led by two and knocked down both ends of a one-and-one.

***

• Cornell was in search of its outside shooting stroke. Through its first three Ivy League games, the Big Red was 9-for-47 from 3-point range in conference play.

STRATEGY AND PERSONNEL

Key Games To Watch:

***

Jan. 28

Columbia at Cornell

The Lions won the opener between these teams behind a huge game from Mark Cisco and a poor shooting night from the Big Red. One of those will have to change for Cornell to take the rematch.

Around The League

***

Columbia

• Sophomore G Meiko Lyles continued his every-other-game streak when he scored 15 points in the Lions’ victory over the Big Red. He had scored four points in his previous game against Princeton, and that came a day after he scored 11 against Penn. The same pattern held true in his previous two games, when he scored 21 against Colgate and followed that out with four against Elon.

• One red flag for the Lions against Cornell was their lack of poise against pressure defense. The Big Red forced 18 Columbia turnovers, 12 in the second half, including a pair in the final two minutes that got Cornell within two points with less than 30 seconds to play.

• Freshman G Noah Springwater got 20 minutes off the bench against Cornell, by far his most in Ivy League play. He finished with three points and a steal, and he only turned the ball over once against the Cornell pressure.

• Junior G Brian Barbour made all four of his free-throw attempts against Cornell, putting him at 89.6 percent for the season. Though that’s impressive, it’s actually worse than he managed last season, when he shot 91.7 percent from the line.

Cornell

• Freshman F Shonn Miller had a brilliant opening weekend in Ivy League play, scoring 12 points against Princeton and 19 against Pennsylvania. However, the freshman had more trouble finding his shot against Columbia, missing all four shots from the field against the Lions.

• One thing Cornell will have to do in its rematch with Columbia is find an answer for Lions big man Mark Cisco. In the first meeting between the teams last weekend, Cisco dominated to the tune of 18 points and 20 rebounds. The Big Red as a team managed just 29 boards to Columbia’s 45.

• Senior G Chris Wroblewski entered the week in a tremendous shooting slump. He went 3-for-13 from the floor in the loss to the Lions, including an 0-for-7 performance from 3-point range, though he did make all eight free-throw attempts. Over the past three games through Jan. 22, he was shooting 6-for-25 from the floor.

• Junior G Jonathan Gray was a bright spot off the bench against Columbia. He scored 12 points and also added four rebounds and a steal.

Cornell Athletics Game Notes for Columbia

2012-01-24T16:18:00.002-05:00

Men's Basketball Out To Even Ivy Record When Columbia Comes To Town
Cornell Athletics

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COLUMBIA INFORMATION
Roster I Schedule & Results I Statistics

GAME INFORMATION
Game #18: Columbia at Cornell
Tip off: Saturday, Jan. 28, at 7:00 p.m.
Site: Newman Arena (4,473), Ithaca, N.Y.
2011-12 Records: Columbia (12-7, 1-2 Ivy League); Cornell (6-11, 1-2 Ivy League)
Series Record: Columbia leads 121-96
Last Meeting: Columbia won 61-56, Jan. 21, 2012 in New York, N.Y.
Radio: HITS 103.3 FM (Barry Leonard, Eric Taylor)
TV: None
Live Stats: available at www.CornellBigRed.com
Live Video: available at www.CornellBigRed.com
Tickets: available by calling (607) 254-BEAR

HEAD COACH BILL COURTNEY
Cornell head coach Bill Courtney is in his second season at Cornell (16-29, .356) ... Courtney became the fifth Robert E. Gallagher '44 Coach of Men's Basketball at Cornell on April 23, 2010.

ITHACA, N.Y. — Cornell will attempt to cause the first split of the home-and-home travel partner series with Columbia since the 2005-06 campaign when the two teams square off on Saturday, Jan. 28 at at 7 p.m. at Newman Arena in Bartels Hall. Barry Leonard will provide the call on HITS 103.3 FM and you can watch live video of the game on RedCast.

After five consecutive sweeps in the season series (four by Cornell, one by Columbia), Cornell will attempt to avoid a sixth after dropping a 61-56 decision to the Lions last Saturday night at Levien Gymnasium. The Big Red shot just 34 percent from the floor in the loss and couldn't overcome a monster game from Mark Cisco, who had 18 points and 20 rebounds.

To get to 2-2 in Ivy play, the Big Red will need to continue its success at home, where Cornell is 6-2 already this season. Among the wins were Patriot League contender Lehigh and defending Ivy League champion Princeton.

Chris Wroblewski, a senior co-captain, became the school's 24th 1,000-point scorer earlier this season. He enters the weekend averaging 9.4 points, 5.5 assists, 4.4 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 12.6 points and ranks fifth nationally in 3-pointers made per game (3.4), while Miller is scoring 9.1 ppg. and leads the team in rebounding (6.3 rpg.) and blocked shots (1.8 bpg.). Juniors Eitan Chemerinski (6.8 ppg.) and Josh Figini (5.9 ppg.) combine for 12.7 points, 5.3 rebounds and 1.6 steals per game in 32.2 minutes per game at center.

ABOUT COLUMBIA
• 2011-12 Record: 12-7 (1-2 Ivy League).
• Head Coach: Kyle Smith (Hamilton '92), 27-20, second season at Columbia.
• After opening the season with four straight losses, Columbia responded by winning seven straight games and 11 of 12 prior to being swept at home by Penn and Princeton to open Ivy play last weekend. The Lions bounced back with last weekend's 61-56 triumph over the Big Red in New York City.
• Junior Brian Barbour is the team's leading scorer at 15.4 ppg. while adding 3.5 apg. and 3.0 rpg. Sophomore Meiko Lyles (10.5 ppg.) and junior Mark Cisco (9.6 ppg., 7.2 rpg.) are also at or near double figures in scoring.
• Columbia is limiting foes to 39 percent shooting (.393) and are outrebounding foes by +3.0 per game.
• The success has come despite the loss of leading returning scorer Noruwa Agho to a season-ending injury. Agho was a first-team All-Ivy selection a year ago.
• Second-year head coach Kyle Smith is in his second season a year removed from leading the Lions to a 15-13 overall mark. Columbia won 10 games at home a year ago, matching a school record.

THE SERIES: Columbia leads the all-time series between the programs 121-96, though Cornell has won 14 of the last 19 meetings between the squads. The Lions snapped a nine-game Big Red win streak with a season sweep a year ago and won this year's contest at Levien Gymnasium last weekend, 61-56. The Big Red had won the previous five contests by double figures, including by an average margin of 23.5 points in 2009-10. Cornell's last win came during that season, a 77-51 triumph at Levien Gymnasium.

LAST TIME VS. COLUMBIA: The Cornell men's basketball team couldn't get an offensive rhythm going and Columbia did just enough against a stout Big Red defense to pull out a 61-56 victory at Levien Gymnasium. Senior Chris Wroblewski led the Big Red with 14 points, six rebounds, five assists and two steals, while Drew Ferry (13 points) and Johnathan Gray (12 points) also reached double figures in scoring. Cornell allowed Columbia to shoot just 39.6 percent from the floor in the loss, including 29 percent from 3-point range (4-of-14), but struggled shooting the ball plenty itself. The Big Red made just 34 percent of its shots overall, including just 4-of-19 from beyond the arc for 21 percent. Mark Cisco had a dominant night in the post for the Lions with 18 points, 20 rebounds, three assists and two blocked shots. Meiko Lyles added 15 points and Brian Barbour notched 14. Columbia held a decisive 45-29 advantage on the glass and overcame 18 turnovers.

NOTES TO KNOW:
• Though it hasn't been able to break through on the road (0-9), Cornell has had great success at home (6-2).
• The Big Red is 24-11 against Columbia dating back to the 1995 season, including 14-5 since the 2003 campaign.
• Twelve of the team's last 13 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.

TALL IVY: Over the last six seasons, Cornell's 54-19 record is the best among Ivy League teams in conference action. Penn, who claimed the 2006-07 title, is second at 42-30, followed by Yale (41-31), and 2010-11 Ivy champions Harvard (38-34) and Princeton (37-35). Rounding out the field is Columbia (33-40), Brown (29-43) and Dartmouth (16-56).

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 87-50 in the last five seasons.
• The Big Red is 45-14 in its last 59 Ivy League contests over the last five years.
• Cornell is 52-11 over its last 63 home games, including 35-9 in the last four seasons and 47-10 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 28 percent shooting from beyond the 3-point arc (92-of-330), with opponents making just 5.4 per game. Only twice has a team shot better than 33 percent against Cornell.
• Six of Cornell's last eight opponents have shot under 40 percent from the floor (.392 over last eight games).
• The Big Red has been outrebounded in 14 of the team's first 17 contests.
• Cornell has made at least seven 3-pointers in 13 of its first 17 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 31 percent (110-of-352) in its last 14.
• Over its last three contests, the Big Red has made just 9-of-47 from 3-point range (.191).
• The Big Red has blocked at least five shots in four straight games for the first time since 2008-09.
• Cornell has at least eight steals in five straight games for the first time since the 2009-10 campaign.
• Cornell has already lost 89 player games due to injury (Asafo-Adjei - 9; D.Cherry - 4; Gatlin - 17; Groebe - 2; LaMore - 3; Matthews - 17; Peck - 17; Sahota - 17; Scelfo - 3).

MILLER CHALLENGING ROOKIE RECORDS: Freshman Shonn Miller has already set a freshman record for blocked shots in a season (31, good for 15th 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 155 points scored. Next on the list is Ken Bantum with 184 points. To reach the top 10, Miller would need to average .8.2 ppg. over the remaining 11 regular season contests. His 107 rebounds is just 32 shy of Lenny Collins' school freshman record of 139 set during the 2002-03 campaign.

FRESHMEN LEADING THE WAY IN SCORING: In the first three conference games this season, the Big Red has been led in the scoring column by a pair of freshmen. Shonn Miller stands first on the team at 11.0 ppg., while classmate Galal Cancer is second at 10.0 ppg. The last time a pair of Big Red freshmen paced Cornell in scoring in Ivy League play was the 2006-07 season when Ryan Wittman (15.3 ppg.) led the way and Louis Dale (13.4 ppg.) was second on the squad.

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 four 3-pointers at Columbia on Jan. 21, its 644th 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 692 of 696 games, connecting on 4,330 treys, an average of 6.2 per game. Cornell has hit at least 10 3-pointers in a game 34 times in 78 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.

HOW TO FOLLOW CORNELL
• Men's basketball games will be broadcast on HITS 103.3 FM for the 2011-12 season. Longtime voice of the Big Red Barry Leonard returns on the call with the play-by-play, while former All-Ivy center Eric Taylor'05 is on board to do color analysis. A half-hour pregame show and postgame analysis will enable Big Red fans to follow Coach Bill Courtney's team throughout the season. The audio of all games will also be available as part of the RedCast subscription service.
• The Big Red's home contests will all be broadcast live with streaming video as part of the RedCast subscription service. Visit www.CornellBigRed.com/showcase for all the latest information on Cornell broadcasts.
• Cornell will use SIDEARM Live Stats for each of the Big Red's home games in 2010-11. Visit www.CornellBigRed.com for all of the official statistics.
• You can follow the team on YouTube, Facebook and Twitter. Highlights, interviews and features on all 36 of Cornell's varsity sports can be found at www.youtube.com/cornellathletics, www.facebook.com/cornellathletics or www.twitter.com/cornellsports.

RED-WHITE SCRIMMAGE: Senior Drew Ferry scored 19 points and Chris Wroblewski finished just two rebounds shy of a triple-double to help White top Red 76-41 on Oct. 22 at Newman Arena in Bartels Hall in the annual Red-White Scrimmage. Ferry connected on five 3-pointers and had three assists and two steals without a turnover, while backcourt mate Wroblewski controlled the game with 17 points, 10 assists and eight rebounds. The duo led four double figure scorers, as Dwight Tarwater chipped in with 17 points and Josh Figini notched 10. Both players also recorded five rebounds. Freshman Galal Cancer also had a strong debut with seven rebounds and five assists. The White team posted 21 assists and just six turnovers in picking up the win for assistant coach Marlon Sears. The Red team's lone double figure scorer was Johnathan Gray with 10 points. Miles Asafo-Adjei scored nine points and had five assists and four rebounds. Jake Matthews scored eight points for assistant coach Mike Blaine's squad.

WHAT WAS LOST: Cornell said goodbye to three seniors last spring, as Mark Coury, Aaron Osgood and Adam Wire closed out their Big Red careers.
• Coury was one of the team's top post players in his two seasons on the court at Cornell, first as a reserve on last year's Sweet 16 squad in 2009-10, and last year as a regular in the rotation. A transfer from the University of Kentucky, Coury's biggest highlight came when he beat the shot clock to hit the game-winning basket with 35 seconds left at the Palestra to help Cornell sweep Penn a year ago.
• A team captain in 2010-11, Osgood was expected to be a major factor in the post, and was when healthy. One of the team's top scorers (7.3 ppg.) and rebounders (4.5 rpg.), Osgood played in 43 career games with eight starts, shooting 52 percent from the floor and averaging 3.0 points and 2.0 rebounds.
• Another team captain, Wire was a four-year letter winner who ranked among the top 20 all-time in steals and field goal percentage in school history. He totaled more that 100 steals and 100 assists and set career highs in scoring, rebounding and assists in his final season.

NEXT UP: The Big Red will hit the road to face preseason Ivy League favorite Harvard on Friday, Feb. 3 at 7 p.m., then heads to Dartmouth on Saturday, Feb. 4 at 7 p.m.