By Billy Witz
New York Times
BOISE, Idaho — Missouri’s Leo Lyons, a jumping jack of a forward with a name fit for an astrologer, seemed to rise to the heavens each time he saw the basketball bounce off the rim.
Midway through the second half, Lyons missed a shot near the basket, but he leaped high to snatch the rebound. With persistence, Lyons went up again, but once more the ball bounced off the rim. Not to be denied, he again powered his way up over Cornell defenders and grabbed the ball. This time, he put it through the basket.
The sequence highlighted the difference in athletic ability between Missouri and its first-round opponent, Ivy League champion Cornell.
For at least a half, the Big Red relied on smarts and skills of its own to stay close. But a team that gave the appearance of an intramural squad in nice-looking uniforms was finally made to play like one by Missouri, the Big 12 tournament champion, in the Tigers’ 73-57 victory.
The third-seeded Tigers will play sixth-seeded Marquette on Sunday in a second-round West Region game.
“When you play against teams at this level, athleticism is huge,” Cornell Coach Steve Donahue said. “They took over physically when they needed to.”
Lyons had 23 points and 10 rebounds for Missouri, which also got 13 points off the bench from the freshman guard Kim English, 10 in a second-half run in which Missouri pulled away.
“We had a little quickness advantage when it came to the rebounding,” Lyons said. “I just tried to stay close around the rim and get a lot of those loose balls.”
Cornell was making its second consecutive N.C.A.A. tournament appearance. The Big Red not only looked as if it was better prepared, but it also got a much better matchup.
A year ago, if Cornell was not overwhelmed by the experience, its players were overwhelmed by Stanford’s twin 7-footers, Brook and Robin Lopez, now both in the N.B.A., and a Cardinal team that was not quick on the perimeter but was very long. This bothered Cornell’s 3-point shooters in what turned out to be a 77-53 trouncing.
Missouri (29-6) came at Cornell with its frenetic pace, dictated by Coach Mike Anderson, a disciple of Nolan Richardson and his “40 minutes of hell.” But hell hath no fury like a well-timed pump fake, and Cornell used those often to send Missouri players flying upward, only to move around them for an open jumper or one for a teammate.
Cornell led late in the half and although Missouri had a 29-25 lead at halftime, Cornell carried a little momentum thanks to Chris Wroblewski’s baseline jumper at the buzzer.
But soon Missouri sped up the pace and began leaving its feet only when the ball was up on the rim. Cornell turned the ball over only nine times — a manageable number against the full-court press, Donahue said. But Cornell’s shots would not fall.
Soon, the Big Red was overwhelmed.
Kim English made two long 3-pointers, including one from the wing that put Missouri ahead, 58-41. After Cornell came within 60-48, Lyons bumped the lead to 16 with his three-rebound sequence. Moments later, he scored on another putback of his own miss.
“When you do play defense, force him into a tough shot, and not come up with that big rebound, that can be a back breaker for some teams,” Wittman said. “It was tonight.”
Cornell (21-10) was led by Wittman, the son of the former Timberwolves coach Randy Wittman, who had 18 points. The 7-foot center Jeff Foote had 12 points and 10 rebounds, but missed two shots near the basket when Cornell was trying to mount a comeback. Point guard Louis Dale made just 1 of 11 shots from the field.
On this day, a monumental upset was not going to happen for Cornell, which was unable to make a leap of faith — or any other kind — against the Tigers.
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