News and Notes

On November 14, Cornell knocked off Alabama 71-67. As the ESPN game flow chart above demonstrates, Cornell led for well over 90 percent of the game. Below, Cornell and Ivy League some news and notes.

• During Barry Leonard's Redcast/WVBR pre-game show on Wednesday night at UMass, Leonard will interview Cornell's Max Groebe, a UMass transfer, about his return to Amherst.

• At the very bottom of our Cornell-Alabama game recap post, we added recent articles from The Cornell Daily Sun and the Crimson White, the students newspapers of both schools.

• Cornell's Ryan Wittman just missed CollegeHoopNet's Top 100 Players listing. He is listed in the "First in Line" category of players Nos. 101-110.
  

• In previewing tonight's Penn at Villanova game, RushTheCourt writes, "Penn is no longer even a contender to win the Ivy League title (it is Cornell's yo lose this year)."

• BaselineStats.com writes, "It wasn’t a pretty weekend for the SEC West against small Northeast programs. After Auburn nearly fell to Niagara on Friday night, Mississippi State did lose to Rider. A day later, Cornell knocked off Alabama in Anthony Grant’s debut."

• The Washington Times writes, "Cornell, San Diego, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi and Texas-San Antonio. All those teams managed to beat power conference opponents. Cornell took down Alabama, San Diego (a D1scourse preseason favorite last year) zapped Stanford, Corpus Christi reamed Oregon State and USTA knocked off Iowa."

• The Bleacher Report writes:
  

  Cornell Ruins Anthony Grant’s Alabama Coaching Debut:

  The Rider over Mississippi State upset is certainly the upset of the week; however, what might be as equally impressive is Cornell’s victory over Alabama. Then again, Cornell was an NCAA Tournament team last year and is the favorite in the Ivy League again, so earning a win over Alabama might not be considered in upset in their eyes.

  Ryan Wittman led the way with 23 points for Cornell, who controlled the lead for much of the second half. A late push by Alabama made things interesting, but the Big Red did a great job in holding them off to earn a 71-67 win. With the loss, new Alabama head coach Anthony Grant certainly cannot happy. The Crimson Tide will face Jackson State on Tuesday, while Cornell will head to UMass on Wednesday.

• John Clay of the Lexington (KY) Herald notes, "Alabama lost to Cornell 71-67 in Anthony Grant’s debut. Cornell is the two-time defending Ivy League champion. Ex-Kentucky forward Mark Coury had six points and five rebounds for Cornell, which had not beaten a current SEC team since 1972-73."

• InsideVandy.com writes, "With multiple opportunities for impressive non-conference wins ahead, it can be very easy to get caught in a close game with a low-profile team. Already this season, Southeastern Conference teams Mississippi State and Alabama have lost at home to Rider and Cornell, respectively — two heavy underdogs brought in to essentially collect paychecks and lay down on the road."

• The publisher of BamaOnline runs down his Saturday as follows:
  

"Noon: Head to Coleman Coliseum where the undersized Tide is a clear underdog to Cornell, the defending Ivy League champion that returned all five starters and 11 veterans. Word has it the new coaching staff wasn't thrilled to see that for the first game of the season.

1 p.m.: The Grant era gets off to a lackluster start in terms of attendance which was later announced as 10,135 (and seemed high). He got a nice ovation when walking out on the floor the first time, but the crowd was similar to what the Crimson Tide drew near the end of last season. Meanwhile, the media guide has been released after a decision was finally made on which Grant photo to use on the cover. He's seated.

1:05 p.m.: The first possession results in a turnover, but sophomore forward JaMychal Green comes back to score first basketball of the Grant era.

1:10 p.m.: Cornell scores the next 10 points.

1:20 p.m.: A pair of Anthony Brock 3-pointers brings Alabama back, but Cornell is getting better shots and has a more balanced attack. Senario Hillman's drive pulls Tide to within 20-18, only Cornell answers with a 3-pointer that draws some cheers. The Big Red has some fans here, in part because senior guard Louis Dale is from Birmingham.

1:30 p.m.: The Tide has seven turnovers already. Wait, make that eight. Meanwhile, sports information starts distributing out-of-town scores, but not of other basketball games, SEC football. One player who's catching my eye is freshman forward Tony Mitchell. Considering the lack of post players the team will really need him to step up.

***

2 p.m.: Cornell leads at the break 26-20. Tide has nine turnovers and has yet to attempt a free throw. Time to grab some coffee and head to Starkville.

3 p.m.: Found out the basketball team lost, 71-67, but can't help but be impressed that Alabama made a game of it. The Tide was down 15 at one point in the second half and closed, but Cornell made 7 of 10 3-pointers in the second half and hit its free throws. Here's something that's beyond my comprehension, though, Alabama didn't have a single free-throw attempt in the first half and was 15-for-22 in the second half. Really?"

• After picking up wins against St. Peter's and Monmouth, Seton Hall is off until their November 20 visit to Cornell. See their game story in the New York Post.

• Below, a look at the Ivy League schedule...
  

Friday, November 13
Yale 86 Sacred Heart 92(Connecticut Six) Box Score - Recap
Brown 68 St. Francis (N.Y.) 64 Box Score - Recap
Dartmouth 58 Boston College 89 Box Score - Recap
Harvard 87 Holy Cross 77 Box Score - Recap
Penn 55 Penn State 70 Box Score - Recap

Saturday, November 14
Princeton 71 Central Michigan 68 Box Score - Recap
Cornell 71 Alabama 67 Box Score - Recap

Sunday, November 15
Brown 55 Virginia Tech 69 Box Score - Recap
William & Mary 85 Harvard 87 (3OT) Box Score - Recap
Dartmouth 44 George Mason 60 Box Score - Recap

Monday, November 16
Yale vs. Hofstra, 6:30 pm (NIT at Storrs CT)
Penn at Villanova, 7 pm

Tuesday, November 17
Yale vs. UConn/Colgate, 4:30/7 pm (NIT Storrs CT_
Columbia at DePaul, 9 pm [SNY]

Wednesday, November 18
Rhode Island at Brown, 7 pm
Manhattan at Princeton, 7 pm
Cornell at UMass, 7:30 pm [online video from UMass available]

Friday, November 20
Brown at St. John's, 7 pm
Longwood at Columbia, 7 pm
Seton Hall at Cornell, 7 pm [SNY/Time Warner Cable Sports]
Bryant at Harvard, 7 pm