Game Notes (pdf) I Buy Tickets I Live Audio (RedCast) I Live Video I Live Stats I Text Updates I 2009-10 Cornell Information Center I 2008-09 Cornell Statistics I 2009-10 Cornell Roster I 2009-10 Cornell Schedule & Results
GAME INFORMATION
Game #1: Cornell vs. Alabama
Tip off: Saturday, Nov. 14, at 1:00 p.m. CT
Site: Coleman Coliseum (15,316), Tuscaloosa, Ala.
2008-09 Records: Cornell (21-10, 11-3 Ivy); Alabama (18-13, 7-9 SEC)
Series Record: Alabama leads 1-0
Last Meeting: Lost to Alabama 107-84, Dec. 1, 1972 at Twin City Classic (Winston-Salem, N.C.)
Radio: 93.5 WVBR-FM (Barry Leonard)
Alabama Web Site: www.RollTide.com
TV: None
Live Stats: Available at www.RollTide.com
Live Video: Available at www.RollTide.com
HEAD COACH STEVE DONAHUE
Cornell head coach Steve Donahue is in his 10th season at Cornell (117-133, .438) ... Donahue became the fourth Robert E. Gallagher ‘44 Coach of Men’s Basketball at Cornell on Sept. 6, 2000.
ITHACA, N.Y. — The two-time defending Ivy League champion Cornell men’s basketball team will attempt to knock off an SEC team for the first time in 37 years and spoil the debut of Alabama head coach Anthony Grant when the Big Red visit the Crimson Tide on Saturday, Nov. 14 at 1:00 p.m. CT in Coleman Coliseum. Barry Leonard will provide the call on 93.5 WVBR-FM, which can be heard live on the internet as part of the RedCast subscription service.
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.
Cornell returns three legitimate Ivy League Player of the Year candidates in seniors Louis Dale, Jeff Foote and Ryan Wittman. The trio are among the best to ever play their positions in the conference, with Dale capturing Player of the Year honors in 2007-08, Foote capturing the conference’s inaugural Defensive Player of the Year accolade in 2008-09 and Wittman earning two all-district mentions and a unanimous spot on the All-Ivy first-team each of the last two seasons. Along with three-year starter Alex Tyler at power forward and the tandem of senior Geoff Reeves and 2008-09 Ivy League Rookie of the Year Chris Wroblewski in the backcourt with Dale, Cornell is poised to make noise on the national scene this season.
ABOUT ALABAMA
• 2008-09 Record: 18-13 (7-9 SEC).
• Conference: Southeastern Conference.
• Head Coach: Anthony Grant (Dayton ‘87), first season.
• The Crimson Tide open the 2009-10 season with a new coach, as Anthony Grant takes over the program after a successful three-year run at VCU.
• Alabama returns four starters and eight letter winners from last year’s 18-13 team that placed fourth in the SEC West with a 7-9 record.
• Junior guard Senario Hillman is the team’s leading returning scorer. The 6-1 guard averaged 12.9 points.
• The team’s leading rebounder returns, as 6-9 sophomore JaMychal Green averaged 7.6 boards a year ago to go along with his 10.3 points and 1.6 blocks per game.
• Senior Mikhail Torrance, a 6-5 guard, also scored in double figures (10.0 ppg.).
• A stingy Crimson Tide defense allowed opponents to shoot just 41 percent overall and 31 percent from 3-point range, while the team outrebounded its foes by 2.5 per contest.
• Alabama has claimed seven SEC regular season and six tournament titles while making 18 NCAA tournament and 10 NIT appearances.
CORNELL VS. THE SEC
• Cornell is 2-8 all-time against current members of the SEC.
• Cornell is 0-1 against Alabama and has also faced Arkansas (1-0), Georgia (0-1), Kentucky (1-0), Louisiana State (0-3), South Caorlina (0-1) and Vanderbilt (0-2).
• The Big Red has never played Auburn, Florida, Mississippi, Mississippi State or Tennessee.
• This is the first and only scheduled meeting this season with a team from the SEC.
• Cornell’s last win against an SEC team came in 1972-73 when it defeated Arkansas, 78-77, in the first round of the Razorbacks’s own invitational in Fayetteville, Ark.
• The Big Red hasn’t played an SEC team since falling at LSU, 70-60, during the 1995-96 campaign.
A WIN OVER ALABAMA WOULD ...
• be the fifth straight season-opening victory for Cornell.
• even the all-time series at 1-1.
• be the first win for the Big Red over a Southeastern Conference team since topping Arkansas 78-77 to knock the Razorbacks from their own invitational during the 1972-73 campaign.
• give the senior class a 60-28 mark over their four seasons.
• be the 1,146th in school history.
THE SERIES
• The two programs have met just once, with Alabama claiming a 107-84 triumph on Dec. 1, 1972 at the Twin City Classic in Winston-Salem, N.C.
• This will be Cornell’s first visit to the state of Alabama.
THE LAST TIME THEY MET
• Alabama advanced to the championship game of the Twin City Classic in Winston-Salem, N.C. on Dec. 1, 1972 with a 107-84 victory over the Big Red.
• The Crimson Tide shot 47 percent from the field (46-of-98) with four players in double figures. Alabama’s current head women’s basketball coach Wendell Hudson led the way with 21 points and 13 rebounds, while Charles Cleveland notched 25 points.
• Gerry Newby led Cornell with a game-high 26 points. Both Brian Wright (22 points, 10 rebounds) and Stan Mason (13 points, 10 rebounds) had double-doubles.
• Then-Cornell head coach Tony Coma made his debut on the sidelines for the Big Red that night. It was his only full season as head coach.
• Cornell won the consolation game of the tournament the next night with a 71-69 victory over Florida Southern. Alabama lost to the host school, Wake Forest, in the championship game, 94-88. The Big Red ended that season 4-22 (1-13 Ivy, 8th), while Alabama was 22-8 (13-5 SEC, 2nd) and advanced to the NIT Final Four.
THE STORY LINE
• Two-time defending Ivy League champion Cornell opens a promising 2009-10 season at Alabama of the SEC.
• The game serves as a homecoming for senior guard Louis Dale, who hails from Birmingham. The 2007-08 Ivy League Player of the Year, two-time first-team All-Ivy selection and 2008-09 USBWA all-district pick ranked among the Ancient Eight leaders in scoring (13.0 ppg.), rebounding (4.2 rpg.) and assists (3.6 apg.), as well as in steals (1.2 spg.), field goal percentage (.463), 3-point field goal percentage (.370) and free-throw percentage (.837). The 5-11 guard was a first-team all-state selection by the Birmingham News as a senior at the Altamont School. His team also won a high school state track title and he took home the triple jump title with a leap of 45-4.
• Cornell head coach Steve Donahue served as a court coach for the U.S. Under-18 national team tryouts during July 2008. New Alabama head coach Anthony Grant, then the head coach at VCU, was an assistant coach on that squad.
• Alabama head coach Anthony Grant will be making his debut in charge of the Crimson Tide program.
ALL ABOUT THE 2008-09 BIG RED
• Finished 21-10 overall (11-3 Ivy League).
• The 2008-09 Ivy League champion (NCAA automatic bid).
• First team in Ivy League history other than Penn or Princeton to win consecutive outright conference crowns.
• The first team, men’s or women’s, to clinch an NCAA tournament bid for the second straight year when it earned its invitation on March 6.
• Perfect 13-0 record at home, matching a school record for home victories in a season.
• A 21-game home win streak at Newman Arena is the third-longest in the country.
• Fourth NCAA tournament appearance in school history.
• Louis Dale and Ryan Wittman were repeat selections on the All-Ivy first team, with Wittman earning the honor unanimously.
• Jeff Foote was a second-team All-Ivy pick as well as the first-ever league Defensive Player of the Year.
• Chris Wroblewski was named Ivy League Rookie of the Year, becoming the third Big Red player selected in the last four years (Adam Gore - 2006, Ryan Wittman - 2007, Wroblewski - 2009).
• Cornell set team records for points (2,222), 3-pointers (235) and blocked shots (121).
• Cornell led the Ivy League in 12-of-22 team statistical categories.
SEASON OPENERS
• The Big Red has posted a 71-41 all-time record in its previous 112 season openers.
• Cornell has won four consecutive openers, including a 79-69 victory over South Dakota at home in 2008-09.
• Both times Cornell has faced Alabama have been in season openers. The Big Red lost the first meeting 107-84 in the first round of the Twin City Classic in Winston-Salem, N.C.
• Cornell is 10-19 on the road to open a year, 53-16 at home and 8-6 in neutral site/unknown site games.
• Head coach Steve Donahue’s teams are 5-4 in season openers (2-2 at home, 2-2 on the road, 1-0 at neutral sites)
IVY LEAGUE CHAMPION BIG RED
• The Big Red won its second consecutive Ivy title in 2008-09, becoming the first Ivy school other than Penn or Princeton to claim consecutive outright titles since the inception of the Ancient Eight.
• It was the third Ivy League title (1987-88, 2007-08, 2008-09) in school history.
• Cornell has captured six conference titles all together, with three coming in the now defunct Eastern Intercollegiate Basketball League (EIBL).
• One of eight teams outside of perennial champions Penn and Princeton to have won outright championships in the 54 years of Ivy basketball, with Cornell capturing the crown three times (1987-88, 2007-08 and 2008-09). Other non-P champions include the 1955-56 Dartmouth, 1956-57 Yale, 1957-58 Dartmouth, 1961-62 Yale and 1985-86 Brown squads.
• Over the last three seasons, Cornell’s 34-8 record is the best among Ivy League teams in conference action. Penn, who claimed the 2006-07 title, is second at 28-14, followed by Yale (25-17), Columbia (21-21) and Brown (20-22). Other Ivy teams include Dartmouth (14-28), Harvard (14-28) and Princeton (13-29).
HEAD COACH STEVE DONAHUE NOTES
• Cornell head coach Steve Donahue was on the sidelines for his 250th career game during the NCAA first round loss to Missouri in 2008-09.
• He ranks third at Cornell in games coaches (250) and fourth in career wins (117).
• Donahue enters the 2009-10 campaign with the second-longest tenure at the helm of their current team in the Ivy League. Only James Jones at Yale (11th year) has been at his current school longer than Donahue has directed the Big Red (10 years).
• He won his 65th Ivy League contest with a 60-51 victory over Princeton on March 7, 2009, good for 13th place on the all-time Ivy League coaching wins list. He ranks second among Cornell coaches, with only Sam MacNeil’s 77 wins from 1959-68 ranking ahead.
• Donahue picked up his 100th career coaching victory with a 67-54 triumph over Eastern Michigan in the final contest of the 2008 NIT Preseason Tip-Off on Nov. 25.
• Was the 2007-08 USBWA and NABC District Coach of the Year
• Has posted a 59-28 (.678) record in his last three seasons, including consecutive Ivy League titles.
• His teams matched or surpassed its win totals overall and in league play in six straight seasons (only school in the country from 2002-03 to 2007-08).
• His teams have finished in the top three of the Ancient Eight standings for five straight years.
• Donahue spent a week in July 2008 as a court coach for the U.S. Under-18 national team tryouts in Washington, D.C. The team, under the direction of Davidson’s head coach Bob McKillop, also featured Alabam’s Anthony Grant and Georgetown’s John Thompson III as assistant coaches. The team won the silver medal at the 2008 FIBA U18 championship in Formosa, Argentina, falling to the host team 77-64 in the gold medal game.
THE RANKINGS
• Of the 18 major statistical team categories ranked by the NCAA, Cornell ended the 2008-09 campaign in the top 100 in all but three (among 330 schools).
• Cornell was ranked in the top 50 in eight categories, and in the top 20 in 3-point field goal percentage (fourth, .411) and 3-point field goal percentage defense (19th, .305).
• Cornell was first among Ivy teams in 10 of the 18 categories and second in four others.
• In Ivy play only, Cornell dominated some of the categories at nearly unprecedented levels. The Big Red outscored second place Harvard by more than nine points per game, shot 15 percentage points better than the second place team (.488), held opponents’ shooting percentage 19 points below the second-best squad (.395), hit 3-pointers at a 13-percent clip better than anyone else (.410), outrebounded the next-best squad by 3.7 rebounds per game and assisted on 2.4 more baskets per game than anyone else.
• Ryan Wittman was ranked 51st nationally in scoring (18.5 ppg.) and 24th in both 3-point percentage (.416) and 3-point field goals per game (3.1).
• Jeff Foote was 38th in blocked shots per game (2.1 bpg.).
CORNELL BEYOND THE ARC
• The Big Red has hit at least one 3-pointer in 564 straight games.
• Cornell surpassed the 500-game plateau when the Big Red connected on six treys at Princeton on Feb. 16, 2007.
• 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 614 of 618 games, connecting on 3,615 treys, an average of 5.85 per game.
• The Big Red has hit a 3-pointer in all 250 games coached by Steve Donahue.
• The 2007-08 Big Red set a school record with 228 treys, which was broken again last year when Cornell connected on 241 shots from beyond the arc despite the line being moved back.
• As a team, Cornell has hit .410 from beyond the arc in the last two seasons.
• The Big Red has ranked fourth nationally in 3-point field goal percentage each of the last two years: 2007-08 (.409) and 2008-09 (.411).
• The Big Red hit double figures in 3-point field goals seven times a season ago, including a single-game school record of 18 against Ursinus.
NON-CONFERENCE NOTES
• The Big Red posted its third consecutive non-conference season with at least a .500 record with a 10-7 mark in 2008-09.
• The last time the Big Red at least broke even in non-league play in more consecutive years was the 1959-60 to the 1967-68 campaign, a span of nine straight seasons.
• Cornell won 10 non-conference contests in 2008-09 for just the fourth time in program history and the first time since the 1950-51 season when it also won 10 games. The Big Red won a program-best 11 games out of the league in 1949-50 and also took home 10 decisions in the 1919-20 campaign.
CROSS OFF ANOTHER STATE
• Cornell’s game against Alabama is the first-ever for the Big Red men’s basketball team in the state of Alabama.
• It is the 40th state that Cornell has played in all-time.
• Cornell will hit No. 41 in January when it travels to South Dakota to take on the University of South Dakota.
• After the 2009-10 campaign, Alaska, Arizona, Delaware, Idaho, Nevada, North Dakota, Mississippi, Texas and Wyoming will have never hosted a game involving Cornell.
• The Big Red has also played games in Cuba, Puerto Rico, Australia and France.
SCHEDULE NOTES
• 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.
• 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.
TOP 25 VOTES
• Cornell earned three votes in the preseason USA Today/ESPN Coaches poll to sit tied for 48th nationally.
• Also receiving three votes were Memphis, Mississippi, Utah State and Southern Illinois.
• Since 1948, Cornell has spent three weeks in the Associated Press Top 25 poll. During the 1950-51 season, the Big Red climbed as high as No. 14 on Jan. 3,1951. The two previous weeks the team was ranked No. 19 (12/19/1950) and No. 18 (12/26/1950).
• The Big Red most recently received votes in the AP poll in 2007-08 campaign, peaking with three votes heading into the NCAA tournament loss to Stanford.
• The Big Red has never been in the top 25 of the coaches poll.
NEWMAN NOTES
• Cornell closed the 2008-09 season with a 21-game win streak at Newman Arena, ranking as the third-longest in Division I. Utah State’s streak is second at 34 games, while Kansas has the longest active home win streak at 41 games. The Big Red visits Kansas on Jan. 6.
• The Big Red was extremely impressive in its undefeated 13-0 run at Newman Arena in 2008-09. As a team, Cornell outscored its foes by 18.9 points (80.7-61.8) while hitting at a .523 clip from the field and .471 from 3-point range. The team had a 1.5:1 assist:turnover ratio and defended at an outstanding pace, limiting opponents to .386 shooting from the floor and .297 from 3-point range.
• Cornell is riding a 15-game home Ivy league win streak as well.
• All-time, the Big Red is 145-101 (.589) in Newman Arena since the building opened in 1990.
TRANSFER NOTES
• The Big Red has four Division I transfers on its roster, three of whom are eligible.
• Seniors Jeff Foote (St. Bonaventure University) and Mark Coury (University of Kentucky) and juniors Anthony Gatlin (Centenary College) and Max Groebe (University of Massachusetts).
• Foote, who has developed into the Ivy League’s Defensive Player of the Year and a two-time second-team all-conference selection, was a walk-on for the Bonnies out of the Atlantic 10 conference and is in his final season with the Big Red. He will have played 2 1/2 seasons.
• Coury and Groebe are eligible this fall after sitting out a season in residence due to NCAA transfer regulations. Coury will have two seasons of eligibility, while Groebe will have three.
• Gatlin will sit out the 2009-10 campaign and will be eligible in 2010-11 with two seasons remaining. He is able to practice with the team, but will not travel.
• Additionally, junior forward Andre Wilkins started his playing career at Blinn College in Texas before transferring to Cornell.
YOUR 2009-10 CAPTAINS
• Three members of Cornell’s vaunted senior class will serve as tri-captains for the 2009-10 season. Seniors Jeff Foote, Jon Jaques and Alex Tyler will share leadership duties for the season.
• It will be the first year as team captain for each player.
COACHING STAFF
• Assistant coaches Nat Graham (fifth season) and Woody Kampmann (third season) return to the sidelines for the Big Red.
• Former Big Red basketball captain Kevin App ‘07 returns as an assistant coach replacing Zach Spiker, who was with Donahue for five seasons. Spiker accepted the head coaching position at Army in October of 2009.
• Graham played for three seasons when Donahue was an assistant coach at Penn and previously served on the staffs at the University of Toronto and Western Ontario University.
• Kampmann served a season as an assistant coach under former Donahue assistant Izzi Metz at Hobart in 2006-07 before joining the Big Red. Cornell is 43-16 overall and 25-3 in Ivy League play since Kampmann joined the staff.
• App is the first Cornell alum to work the sidelines under Donahue and the first since Greggory Morris in 1971-72. App was an assistant coach at Williams College in 2008-09.
HOW TO FOLLOW CORNELL
• Men’s basketball games return to 93.5 WVBR-FM for the 2009-10 season. Longtime voice of the Big Red Barry Leonard returns on the call with the play-by-play. A half-hour pregame show and postgame analysis will enable Big Red fans to follow Coach Steve Donahue’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 for all the latest information on Cornell broadcasts.
• Cornell will use SIDEARM Live Stats for each of the Big Red’s home games in 2009-10. Visit www.CornellBigRed.com for all of the official statistics.
• Two Big Red games will be broadcast on TIme Warner Cable Sports (channel 26 in Ithaca), as the Big Red plays host to Seton Hall on Nov. 20 and Columbia on Jan.16, 2010.
• Cornell athletics launched a new YouTube channel this summer. Highlights, interviews and features on all 36 of Cornell’s varsity sports can be found at www.youtube.com/cornellathletics.
NEXT UP
• Cornell will stay on the road to face the University of Massachusetts on Wednesday, Nov. 18 at 7:30 p.m. in the first round of the Legends Classic at the Mullins Center.
• Regardless of the outcome of that game, the Big Red will advance for a three-game set from Nov. 27-29 at Drexel University in Philadelphia, Pa., where it will meet Toledo, Vermont and Drexel on consecutive days.
• The Big Red will play its home opener when Seton Hall of the Big East attempts to snap Cornell’s 21-game home streak on Friday, Nov. 20 at 7 p.m.
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.
Cornell returns three legitimate Ivy League Player of the Year candidates in seniors Louis Dale, Jeff Foote and Ryan Wittman. The trio are among the best to ever play their positions in the conference, with Dale capturing Player of the Year honors in 2007-08, Foote capturing the conference’s inaugural Defensive Player of the Year accolade in 2008-09 and Wittman earning two all-district mentions and a unanimous spot on the All-Ivy first-team each of the last two seasons. Along with three-year starter Alex Tyler at power forward and the tandem of senior Geoff Reeves and 2008-09 Ivy League Rookie of the Year Chris Wroblewski in the backcourt with Dale, Cornell is poised to make noise on the national scene this season.
ABOUT ALABAMA
• 2008-09 Record: 18-13 (7-9 SEC).
• Conference: Southeastern Conference.
• Head Coach: Anthony Grant (Dayton ‘87), first season.
• The Crimson Tide open the 2009-10 season with a new coach, as Anthony Grant takes over the program after a successful three-year run at VCU.
• Alabama returns four starters and eight letter winners from last year’s 18-13 team that placed fourth in the SEC West with a 7-9 record.
• Junior guard Senario Hillman is the team’s leading returning scorer. The 6-1 guard averaged 12.9 points.
• The team’s leading rebounder returns, as 6-9 sophomore JaMychal Green averaged 7.6 boards a year ago to go along with his 10.3 points and 1.6 blocks per game.
• Senior Mikhail Torrance, a 6-5 guard, also scored in double figures (10.0 ppg.).
• A stingy Crimson Tide defense allowed opponents to shoot just 41 percent overall and 31 percent from 3-point range, while the team outrebounded its foes by 2.5 per contest.
• Alabama has claimed seven SEC regular season and six tournament titles while making 18 NCAA tournament and 10 NIT appearances.
CORNELL VS. THE SEC
• Cornell is 2-8 all-time against current members of the SEC.
• Cornell is 0-1 against Alabama and has also faced Arkansas (1-0), Georgia (0-1), Kentucky (1-0), Louisiana State (0-3), South Caorlina (0-1) and Vanderbilt (0-2).
• The Big Red has never played Auburn, Florida, Mississippi, Mississippi State or Tennessee.
• This is the first and only scheduled meeting this season with a team from the SEC.
• Cornell’s last win against an SEC team came in 1972-73 when it defeated Arkansas, 78-77, in the first round of the Razorbacks’s own invitational in Fayetteville, Ark.
• The Big Red hasn’t played an SEC team since falling at LSU, 70-60, during the 1995-96 campaign.
A WIN OVER ALABAMA WOULD ...
• be the fifth straight season-opening victory for Cornell.
• even the all-time series at 1-1.
• be the first win for the Big Red over a Southeastern Conference team since topping Arkansas 78-77 to knock the Razorbacks from their own invitational during the 1972-73 campaign.
• give the senior class a 60-28 mark over their four seasons.
• be the 1,146th in school history.
THE SERIES
• The two programs have met just once, with Alabama claiming a 107-84 triumph on Dec. 1, 1972 at the Twin City Classic in Winston-Salem, N.C.
• This will be Cornell’s first visit to the state of Alabama.
THE LAST TIME THEY MET
• Alabama advanced to the championship game of the Twin City Classic in Winston-Salem, N.C. on Dec. 1, 1972 with a 107-84 victory over the Big Red.
• The Crimson Tide shot 47 percent from the field (46-of-98) with four players in double figures. Alabama’s current head women’s basketball coach Wendell Hudson led the way with 21 points and 13 rebounds, while Charles Cleveland notched 25 points.
• Gerry Newby led Cornell with a game-high 26 points. Both Brian Wright (22 points, 10 rebounds) and Stan Mason (13 points, 10 rebounds) had double-doubles.
• Then-Cornell head coach Tony Coma made his debut on the sidelines for the Big Red that night. It was his only full season as head coach.
• Cornell won the consolation game of the tournament the next night with a 71-69 victory over Florida Southern. Alabama lost to the host school, Wake Forest, in the championship game, 94-88. The Big Red ended that season 4-22 (1-13 Ivy, 8th), while Alabama was 22-8 (13-5 SEC, 2nd) and advanced to the NIT Final Four.
THE STORY LINE
• Two-time defending Ivy League champion Cornell opens a promising 2009-10 season at Alabama of the SEC.
• The game serves as a homecoming for senior guard Louis Dale, who hails from Birmingham. The 2007-08 Ivy League Player of the Year, two-time first-team All-Ivy selection and 2008-09 USBWA all-district pick ranked among the Ancient Eight leaders in scoring (13.0 ppg.), rebounding (4.2 rpg.) and assists (3.6 apg.), as well as in steals (1.2 spg.), field goal percentage (.463), 3-point field goal percentage (.370) and free-throw percentage (.837). The 5-11 guard was a first-team all-state selection by the Birmingham News as a senior at the Altamont School. His team also won a high school state track title and he took home the triple jump title with a leap of 45-4.
• Cornell head coach Steve Donahue served as a court coach for the U.S. Under-18 national team tryouts during July 2008. New Alabama head coach Anthony Grant, then the head coach at VCU, was an assistant coach on that squad.
• Alabama head coach Anthony Grant will be making his debut in charge of the Crimson Tide program.
ALL ABOUT THE 2008-09 BIG RED
• Finished 21-10 overall (11-3 Ivy League).
• The 2008-09 Ivy League champion (NCAA automatic bid).
• First team in Ivy League history other than Penn or Princeton to win consecutive outright conference crowns.
• The first team, men’s or women’s, to clinch an NCAA tournament bid for the second straight year when it earned its invitation on March 6.
• Perfect 13-0 record at home, matching a school record for home victories in a season.
• A 21-game home win streak at Newman Arena is the third-longest in the country.
• Fourth NCAA tournament appearance in school history.
• Louis Dale and Ryan Wittman were repeat selections on the All-Ivy first team, with Wittman earning the honor unanimously.
• Jeff Foote was a second-team All-Ivy pick as well as the first-ever league Defensive Player of the Year.
• Chris Wroblewski was named Ivy League Rookie of the Year, becoming the third Big Red player selected in the last four years (Adam Gore - 2006, Ryan Wittman - 2007, Wroblewski - 2009).
• Cornell set team records for points (2,222), 3-pointers (235) and blocked shots (121).
• Cornell led the Ivy League in 12-of-22 team statistical categories.
SEASON OPENERS
• The Big Red has posted a 71-41 all-time record in its previous 112 season openers.
• Cornell has won four consecutive openers, including a 79-69 victory over South Dakota at home in 2008-09.
• Both times Cornell has faced Alabama have been in season openers. The Big Red lost the first meeting 107-84 in the first round of the Twin City Classic in Winston-Salem, N.C.
• Cornell is 10-19 on the road to open a year, 53-16 at home and 8-6 in neutral site/unknown site games.
• Head coach Steve Donahue’s teams are 5-4 in season openers (2-2 at home, 2-2 on the road, 1-0 at neutral sites)
IVY LEAGUE CHAMPION BIG RED
• The Big Red won its second consecutive Ivy title in 2008-09, becoming the first Ivy school other than Penn or Princeton to claim consecutive outright titles since the inception of the Ancient Eight.
• It was the third Ivy League title (1987-88, 2007-08, 2008-09) in school history.
• Cornell has captured six conference titles all together, with three coming in the now defunct Eastern Intercollegiate Basketball League (EIBL).
• One of eight teams outside of perennial champions Penn and Princeton to have won outright championships in the 54 years of Ivy basketball, with Cornell capturing the crown three times (1987-88, 2007-08 and 2008-09). Other non-P champions include the 1955-56 Dartmouth, 1956-57 Yale, 1957-58 Dartmouth, 1961-62 Yale and 1985-86 Brown squads.
• Over the last three seasons, Cornell’s 34-8 record is the best among Ivy League teams in conference action. Penn, who claimed the 2006-07 title, is second at 28-14, followed by Yale (25-17), Columbia (21-21) and Brown (20-22). Other Ivy teams include Dartmouth (14-28), Harvard (14-28) and Princeton (13-29).
HEAD COACH STEVE DONAHUE NOTES
• Cornell head coach Steve Donahue was on the sidelines for his 250th career game during the NCAA first round loss to Missouri in 2008-09.
• He ranks third at Cornell in games coaches (250) and fourth in career wins (117).
• Donahue enters the 2009-10 campaign with the second-longest tenure at the helm of their current team in the Ivy League. Only James Jones at Yale (11th year) has been at his current school longer than Donahue has directed the Big Red (10 years).
• He won his 65th Ivy League contest with a 60-51 victory over Princeton on March 7, 2009, good for 13th place on the all-time Ivy League coaching wins list. He ranks second among Cornell coaches, with only Sam MacNeil’s 77 wins from 1959-68 ranking ahead.
• Donahue picked up his 100th career coaching victory with a 67-54 triumph over Eastern Michigan in the final contest of the 2008 NIT Preseason Tip-Off on Nov. 25.
• Was the 2007-08 USBWA and NABC District Coach of the Year
• Has posted a 59-28 (.678) record in his last three seasons, including consecutive Ivy League titles.
• His teams matched or surpassed its win totals overall and in league play in six straight seasons (only school in the country from 2002-03 to 2007-08).
• His teams have finished in the top three of the Ancient Eight standings for five straight years.
• Donahue spent a week in July 2008 as a court coach for the U.S. Under-18 national team tryouts in Washington, D.C. The team, under the direction of Davidson’s head coach Bob McKillop, also featured Alabam’s Anthony Grant and Georgetown’s John Thompson III as assistant coaches. The team won the silver medal at the 2008 FIBA U18 championship in Formosa, Argentina, falling to the host team 77-64 in the gold medal game.
THE RANKINGS
• Of the 18 major statistical team categories ranked by the NCAA, Cornell ended the 2008-09 campaign in the top 100 in all but three (among 330 schools).
• Cornell was ranked in the top 50 in eight categories, and in the top 20 in 3-point field goal percentage (fourth, .411) and 3-point field goal percentage defense (19th, .305).
• Cornell was first among Ivy teams in 10 of the 18 categories and second in four others.
• In Ivy play only, Cornell dominated some of the categories at nearly unprecedented levels. The Big Red outscored second place Harvard by more than nine points per game, shot 15 percentage points better than the second place team (.488), held opponents’ shooting percentage 19 points below the second-best squad (.395), hit 3-pointers at a 13-percent clip better than anyone else (.410), outrebounded the next-best squad by 3.7 rebounds per game and assisted on 2.4 more baskets per game than anyone else.
• Ryan Wittman was ranked 51st nationally in scoring (18.5 ppg.) and 24th in both 3-point percentage (.416) and 3-point field goals per game (3.1).
• Jeff Foote was 38th in blocked shots per game (2.1 bpg.).
CORNELL BEYOND THE ARC
• The Big Red has hit at least one 3-pointer in 564 straight games.
• Cornell surpassed the 500-game plateau when the Big Red connected on six treys at Princeton on Feb. 16, 2007.
• 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 614 of 618 games, connecting on 3,615 treys, an average of 5.85 per game.
• The Big Red has hit a 3-pointer in all 250 games coached by Steve Donahue.
• The 2007-08 Big Red set a school record with 228 treys, which was broken again last year when Cornell connected on 241 shots from beyond the arc despite the line being moved back.
• As a team, Cornell has hit .410 from beyond the arc in the last two seasons.
• The Big Red has ranked fourth nationally in 3-point field goal percentage each of the last two years: 2007-08 (.409) and 2008-09 (.411).
• The Big Red hit double figures in 3-point field goals seven times a season ago, including a single-game school record of 18 against Ursinus.
NON-CONFERENCE NOTES
• The Big Red posted its third consecutive non-conference season with at least a .500 record with a 10-7 mark in 2008-09.
• The last time the Big Red at least broke even in non-league play in more consecutive years was the 1959-60 to the 1967-68 campaign, a span of nine straight seasons.
• Cornell won 10 non-conference contests in 2008-09 for just the fourth time in program history and the first time since the 1950-51 season when it also won 10 games. The Big Red won a program-best 11 games out of the league in 1949-50 and also took home 10 decisions in the 1919-20 campaign.
CROSS OFF ANOTHER STATE
• Cornell’s game against Alabama is the first-ever for the Big Red men’s basketball team in the state of Alabama.
• It is the 40th state that Cornell has played in all-time.
• Cornell will hit No. 41 in January when it travels to South Dakota to take on the University of South Dakota.
• After the 2009-10 campaign, Alaska, Arizona, Delaware, Idaho, Nevada, North Dakota, Mississippi, Texas and Wyoming will have never hosted a game involving Cornell.
• The Big Red has also played games in Cuba, Puerto Rico, Australia and France.
SCHEDULE NOTES
• 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.
• 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.
TOP 25 VOTES
• Cornell earned three votes in the preseason USA Today/ESPN Coaches poll to sit tied for 48th nationally.
• Also receiving three votes were Memphis, Mississippi, Utah State and Southern Illinois.
• Since 1948, Cornell has spent three weeks in the Associated Press Top 25 poll. During the 1950-51 season, the Big Red climbed as high as No. 14 on Jan. 3,1951. The two previous weeks the team was ranked No. 19 (12/19/1950) and No. 18 (12/26/1950).
• The Big Red most recently received votes in the AP poll in 2007-08 campaign, peaking with three votes heading into the NCAA tournament loss to Stanford.
• The Big Red has never been in the top 25 of the coaches poll.
NEWMAN NOTES
• Cornell closed the 2008-09 season with a 21-game win streak at Newman Arena, ranking as the third-longest in Division I. Utah State’s streak is second at 34 games, while Kansas has the longest active home win streak at 41 games. The Big Red visits Kansas on Jan. 6.
• The Big Red was extremely impressive in its undefeated 13-0 run at Newman Arena in 2008-09. As a team, Cornell outscored its foes by 18.9 points (80.7-61.8) while hitting at a .523 clip from the field and .471 from 3-point range. The team had a 1.5:1 assist:turnover ratio and defended at an outstanding pace, limiting opponents to .386 shooting from the floor and .297 from 3-point range.
• Cornell is riding a 15-game home Ivy league win streak as well.
• All-time, the Big Red is 145-101 (.589) in Newman Arena since the building opened in 1990.
TRANSFER NOTES
• The Big Red has four Division I transfers on its roster, three of whom are eligible.
• Seniors Jeff Foote (St. Bonaventure University) and Mark Coury (University of Kentucky) and juniors Anthony Gatlin (Centenary College) and Max Groebe (University of Massachusetts).
• Foote, who has developed into the Ivy League’s Defensive Player of the Year and a two-time second-team all-conference selection, was a walk-on for the Bonnies out of the Atlantic 10 conference and is in his final season with the Big Red. He will have played 2 1/2 seasons.
• Coury and Groebe are eligible this fall after sitting out a season in residence due to NCAA transfer regulations. Coury will have two seasons of eligibility, while Groebe will have three.
• Gatlin will sit out the 2009-10 campaign and will be eligible in 2010-11 with two seasons remaining. He is able to practice with the team, but will not travel.
• Additionally, junior forward Andre Wilkins started his playing career at Blinn College in Texas before transferring to Cornell.
YOUR 2009-10 CAPTAINS
• Three members of Cornell’s vaunted senior class will serve as tri-captains for the 2009-10 season. Seniors Jeff Foote, Jon Jaques and Alex Tyler will share leadership duties for the season.
• It will be the first year as team captain for each player.
COACHING STAFF
• Assistant coaches Nat Graham (fifth season) and Woody Kampmann (third season) return to the sidelines for the Big Red.
• Former Big Red basketball captain Kevin App ‘07 returns as an assistant coach replacing Zach Spiker, who was with Donahue for five seasons. Spiker accepted the head coaching position at Army in October of 2009.
• Graham played for three seasons when Donahue was an assistant coach at Penn and previously served on the staffs at the University of Toronto and Western Ontario University.
• Kampmann served a season as an assistant coach under former Donahue assistant Izzi Metz at Hobart in 2006-07 before joining the Big Red. Cornell is 43-16 overall and 25-3 in Ivy League play since Kampmann joined the staff.
• App is the first Cornell alum to work the sidelines under Donahue and the first since Greggory Morris in 1971-72. App was an assistant coach at Williams College in 2008-09.
HOW TO FOLLOW CORNELL
• Men’s basketball games return to 93.5 WVBR-FM for the 2009-10 season. Longtime voice of the Big Red Barry Leonard returns on the call with the play-by-play. A half-hour pregame show and postgame analysis will enable Big Red fans to follow Coach Steve Donahue’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 for all the latest information on Cornell broadcasts.
• Cornell will use SIDEARM Live Stats for each of the Big Red’s home games in 2009-10. Visit www.CornellBigRed.com for all of the official statistics.
• Two Big Red games will be broadcast on TIme Warner Cable Sports (channel 26 in Ithaca), as the Big Red plays host to Seton Hall on Nov. 20 and Columbia on Jan.16, 2010.
• Cornell athletics launched a new YouTube channel this summer. Highlights, interviews and features on all 36 of Cornell’s varsity sports can be found at www.youtube.com/cornellathletics.
NEXT UP
• Cornell will stay on the road to face the University of Massachusetts on Wednesday, Nov. 18 at 7:30 p.m. in the first round of the Legends Classic at the Mullins Center.
• Regardless of the outcome of that game, the Big Red will advance for a three-game set from Nov. 27-29 at Drexel University in Philadelphia, Pa., where it will meet Toledo, Vermont and Drexel on consecutive days.
• The Big Red will play its home opener when Seton Hall of the Big East attempts to snap Cornell’s 21-game home streak on Friday, Nov. 20 at 7 p.m.
No comments:
Post a Comment