* 2009-10 Cornell Men's Basketball Schedule
ITHACA, N.Y. – Games against preseason No. 1 Kansas, as well as a pair of games at MadisonSquareGarden, highlight what may be the most challenging non-conference schedule in Cornell history as head coach Steve Donahue announced the 2009-10 slate on Friday afternoon. Including possible tournament opponents, Cornell has six non-conference foes that won at least 20 games a season ago and seven that earned at least 10 conference triumphs. Five opponents earned postseason invitations, including two NCAA tournament foes, and three claimed at least a share of their conference's regular season titles.
The Big Red will play eight of its 17 games against teams from BCS conference schools and the Atlantic 10, while 12 of the team's potential opponents earned winning records in 2008-09. Cornell will spend plenty of time on the road, as only five of the team’s non-conference games will be played at Newman Arena, though Seton Hall will become the first BCS conference school to visit Newman Arena since eventual national runner-up Georgia Tech opened the 2003-04 campaign in Ithaca. In all, the team will play 10 of its first 13 games away from home, including four against postseason teams with eight of those 10 road games against teams with winning records a season ago.
Big names litter the schedule, with contests against Alabama, Massachusetts, Seton Hall, Syracuse, Saint Joseph’s, Davidson, St. John’s, Kansas and Vermont. Additionally, perennial foe Bucknell, 20-game winners Hofstra from the Colonial Athletic Conference and independent South Dakota will challenge Donahue’s two-time defending Ancient Eight champion. Cornell will renew rivalries against Drexel (first meeting since 1988-89) and Toledo (first meeting since 1976-77), and will also meet independent Bryant and Division III foes Penn State-Behrend and Clarkson.
The 2008-09 Big Red posted a 21-10 mark, claimed its second straight Ivy League title with an 11-3 record and became the first Ivy League school other than Penn or Princeton to earn the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament in consecutive years. Cornell set team records for points (2,281), 3-pointers (241) and blocked shots (121) this past season. The Big Red will return all five starters, including two-time first-team all-league selections Louis Dale and Ryan Wittman and reigning Ivy League Defensive Player of the Year Jeff Foote, as well as eight of the team's top nine scorers for the 2009-10 campaign.
Cornell will open the 2009-10 season by visiting Alabama of the powerful Southeastern Conference on Saturday, Nov. 14. The Crimson Tide went 18-14 a season ago, finishing fourth in the SEC West with a 7-9 mark.
The Big Red will open competition at the Legends Classic when it visits regional host Massachusetts of the Atlantic 10 on Wednesday, Nov. 18 at the MullinsCenter. Regardless of the result, the Big Red will then move onto a pod that features a three-day round-robin that will see Cornell meet Drexel (Nov. 27), Vermont (Nov. 28) and Toledo (Nov. 29) at Drexel’s Deskalakis Athletic Center in Philadelphia.
In between the UMass game and the remainder of the Legends Classic schedule, Cornell will play a pair of high-profile Big East squads. The Big Red will host Seton Hall on Friday, Nov. 20, as Cornell will put its 21-game home win streak on the line in front of the Newman Nation fans. That mark enters the 2009-10 campaign as the third-longest in the country.
Next up will be the team’s annual game against Syracuse. The Big Red will attempt to snap a 31-game losing streak to the Big East power and Central New York rival in the process when it visits the Carrier Dome on Nov. 23. Last season, Cornell led by as many as 16 points in the first half before dropping an 88-78 contest to a team that eventually went to the NCAA Sweet 16.
With seven games in the rearview mirror before December begins, the Big Red will close out the first semester contests with games at Patriot League foe Bucknell on Dec. 2, followed by another big on-league home matchup, this time with Saint Joseph’s. The Hawks went 9-7 in a tough Atlantic 10 conference a year ago and 17-15 overall.
After a two-week break for final exams, the Big Red will accept an invitation to compete in the ECAC Holiday Festival for the first time since the 1970-71 campaign when it battles mid-major power Davidson on Dec. 20 at MadisonSquareGarden. Depending on the result of the first contest, Cornell will play either St. John’s, the tournament host, or Hofstra the following day in either the consolation or championship game. It will be the Big Red’s fourth appearance in the historic tournament.
Another week break for Christmas, this time an eight-day hiatus, will end when the two-time defending Ivy champs close out the 2009 calendar with games at La Salle on Dec. 29 in Philadelphia and at home against Penn State-Behrend on New Year’s Eve in Newman Arena.
Cornell opens the 2010 portion of its schedule at home when it meets Bryant on Jan. 2 at Newman Arena. The Big Red won the first-ever meeting with the Bulldogs a season ago despite playing without head coach Steve Donahue, who was attending a family funeral. Ryan Wittman had 18 points in the 69-46 triumph.
A visit to Allen Fieldhouse in Lawrence, Kansas will provide Cornell its stiffest test of the year. The Big Red will face a team many have ranked No. 1 in various preseason polls. Returning All-Americans Cole Aldrich and Sherron Collins and national title-winning head coach Bill Self return all five starters from a team that went 27-8, won the Big 12 with a 14-2 conference mark, and lost to eventual Final Four participant Michigan State in the Sweet 16. The Jayhawks enter the year with the longest homecourt win streak in the country at a robust 41 games.
The team will close out non-conference play when it visits South Dakota on Jan. 8 in the team’s first-ever visit to the state, then turns around looking to extend its win streak over non-Division I opponents when it meets Clarkson on Jan. 11 at Newman Arena.
The Big Red will have a chance to get off to a great start in conference action, as it will play five of its first six league contests at Newman Arena. Cornell will open defense of its Ancient Eight title against Columbia on Saturday, Jan. 16. A return trip to New York City on Jan. 23 is followed by consecutive home weekends against Dartmouth and Harvard on Jan. 29-30, and Yale and Brown on Feb. 5-6.
Consecutive road weekends will test the Big Red, starting with the annual trip to Penn and Princeton on Feb. 12 and 13. Cornell will attempt to sweep the weekend for the second time in three years after never sweeping the duo on the road previously. Harvard and Dartmouth will host Cornell the following weekend.
February will end with Cornell’s final home weekend and the final home games for seniors Louis Dale, Jeff Foote, Jon Jaques, Geoff Reeves, Pete Reynolds, Alex Tyler, Andre Wilkins and Ryan Wittman as Princeton and Penn challenge the Big Red on Feb. 26-27. The regular season will end the following weekend when it meets Brown and Yale on the road to open March competition on March 5-6.
The Big Red will play eight of its 17 games against teams from BCS conference schools and the Atlantic 10, while 12 of the team's potential opponents earned winning records in 2008-09. Cornell will spend plenty of time on the road, as only five of the team’s non-conference games will be played at Newman Arena, though Seton Hall will become the first BCS conference school to visit Newman Arena since eventual national runner-up Georgia Tech opened the 2003-04 campaign in Ithaca. In all, the team will play 10 of its first 13 games away from home, including four against postseason teams with eight of those 10 road games against teams with winning records a season ago.
Big names litter the schedule, with contests against Alabama, Massachusetts, Seton Hall, Syracuse, Saint Joseph’s, Davidson, St. John’s, Kansas and Vermont. Additionally, perennial foe Bucknell, 20-game winners Hofstra from the Colonial Athletic Conference and independent South Dakota will challenge Donahue’s two-time defending Ancient Eight champion. Cornell will renew rivalries against Drexel (first meeting since 1988-89) and Toledo (first meeting since 1976-77), and will also meet independent Bryant and Division III foes Penn State-Behrend and Clarkson.
The 2008-09 Big Red posted a 21-10 mark, claimed its second straight Ivy League title with an 11-3 record and became the first Ivy League school other than Penn or Princeton to earn the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament in consecutive years. Cornell set team records for points (2,281), 3-pointers (241) and blocked shots (121) this past season. The Big Red will return all five starters, including two-time first-team all-league selections Louis Dale and Ryan Wittman and reigning Ivy League Defensive Player of the Year Jeff Foote, as well as eight of the team's top nine scorers for the 2009-10 campaign.
Cornell will open the 2009-10 season by visiting Alabama of the powerful Southeastern Conference on Saturday, Nov. 14. The Crimson Tide went 18-14 a season ago, finishing fourth in the SEC West with a 7-9 mark.
The Big Red will open competition at the Legends Classic when it visits regional host Massachusetts of the Atlantic 10 on Wednesday, Nov. 18 at the MullinsCenter. Regardless of the result, the Big Red will then move onto a pod that features a three-day round-robin that will see Cornell meet Drexel (Nov. 27), Vermont (Nov. 28) and Toledo (Nov. 29) at Drexel’s Deskalakis Athletic Center in Philadelphia.
In between the UMass game and the remainder of the Legends Classic schedule, Cornell will play a pair of high-profile Big East squads. The Big Red will host Seton Hall on Friday, Nov. 20, as Cornell will put its 21-game home win streak on the line in front of the Newman Nation fans. That mark enters the 2009-10 campaign as the third-longest in the country.
Next up will be the team’s annual game against Syracuse. The Big Red will attempt to snap a 31-game losing streak to the Big East power and Central New York rival in the process when it visits the Carrier Dome on Nov. 23. Last season, Cornell led by as many as 16 points in the first half before dropping an 88-78 contest to a team that eventually went to the NCAA Sweet 16.
With seven games in the rearview mirror before December begins, the Big Red will close out the first semester contests with games at Patriot League foe Bucknell on Dec. 2, followed by another big on-league home matchup, this time with Saint Joseph’s. The Hawks went 9-7 in a tough Atlantic 10 conference a year ago and 17-15 overall.
After a two-week break for final exams, the Big Red will accept an invitation to compete in the ECAC Holiday Festival for the first time since the 1970-71 campaign when it battles mid-major power Davidson on Dec. 20 at MadisonSquareGarden. Depending on the result of the first contest, Cornell will play either St. John’s, the tournament host, or Hofstra the following day in either the consolation or championship game. It will be the Big Red’s fourth appearance in the historic tournament.
Another week break for Christmas, this time an eight-day hiatus, will end when the two-time defending Ivy champs close out the 2009 calendar with games at La Salle on Dec. 29 in Philadelphia and at home against Penn State-Behrend on New Year’s Eve in Newman Arena.
Cornell opens the 2010 portion of its schedule at home when it meets Bryant on Jan. 2 at Newman Arena. The Big Red won the first-ever meeting with the Bulldogs a season ago despite playing without head coach Steve Donahue, who was attending a family funeral. Ryan Wittman had 18 points in the 69-46 triumph.
A visit to Allen Fieldhouse in Lawrence, Kansas will provide Cornell its stiffest test of the year. The Big Red will face a team many have ranked No. 1 in various preseason polls. Returning All-Americans Cole Aldrich and Sherron Collins and national title-winning head coach Bill Self return all five starters from a team that went 27-8, won the Big 12 with a 14-2 conference mark, and lost to eventual Final Four participant Michigan State in the Sweet 16. The Jayhawks enter the year with the longest homecourt win streak in the country at a robust 41 games.
The team will close out non-conference play when it visits South Dakota on Jan. 8 in the team’s first-ever visit to the state, then turns around looking to extend its win streak over non-Division I opponents when it meets Clarkson on Jan. 11 at Newman Arena.
The Big Red will have a chance to get off to a great start in conference action, as it will play five of its first six league contests at Newman Arena. Cornell will open defense of its Ancient Eight title against Columbia on Saturday, Jan. 16. A return trip to New York City on Jan. 23 is followed by consecutive home weekends against Dartmouth and Harvard on Jan. 29-30, and Yale and Brown on Feb. 5-6.
Consecutive road weekends will test the Big Red, starting with the annual trip to Penn and Princeton on Feb. 12 and 13. Cornell will attempt to sweep the weekend for the second time in three years after never sweeping the duo on the road previously. Harvard and Dartmouth will host Cornell the following weekend.
February will end with Cornell’s final home weekend and the final home games for seniors Louis Dale, Jeff Foote, Jon Jaques, Geoff Reeves, Pete Reynolds, Alex Tyler, Andre Wilkins and Ryan Wittman as Princeton and Penn challenge the Big Red on Feb. 26-27. The regular season will end the following weekend when it meets Brown and Yale on the road to open March competition on March 5-6.
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