Cornell Basketball in the News/Schedule Update

Below is a small piece on the Legends Classic from the NWTimes.com:

Valparaiso heading to Purdue/Michigan State?

...I’ve heard rumblings, both in Valparaiso and in the College Basketball Blogosphere, that the game against the Spartans will be part of the Legends Classic. Take the following with a grain of salt, but here is what I can piece together from various sites I’ve read. Big assist to The Cornell Basketball Blog for helping to spell this all out.

The Crusaders will play Michigan State as well as Toledo in East Lansing. Regardless of the outcomes, Michigan State will advance to Newark, New Jersey for the “semifinals” along with other pod hosts which include Florida, Rutgers and UMass. Obviously a rematch of the 2000 National Championship game is what people are looking for.

Again, regardless of outcome, Valparaiso will be placed into a “consolation” tournament with the other eight teams (Vermont, Drexel, Cornell and three unknown teams). Even if the Crusaders go undefeated, it doesn’t appear that they can “win” the tournament. Interesting concept and it shouldn’t come as any surprise that there is a corporation running the tournament. Yep, the Gazelle Group, of Collegiate Basketball Invitational fame, hosted the tournament last year and their fingerprints are all over this one.

As a reporter, I’m not supposed to cheer, but here’s for Valparaiso, Vermont, Drexel and Cornell upsetting the host teams and crashing the party. Regardless, it should be a nice early-season lesson for the Crusaders in a large Big Ten environment. — Paul Oren