News and Notes: Around the Ivy League

Above, Cornell's Errick Peck defends the top of the key last night at Bucknell. Below, some news and notes...

• Below are links to our game recaps from each of Cornell's games this season, including an updated recap of last night's win at Bucknell. Associated press recaps are always available by clicking on Cornell's schedule/results on the right column of this blog.
  

1. Alabama (SEC)
2. UMass
   
3. Seton Hall
4. Syracuse
5. Toledo
6. Vermont
7. Drexel
8. Bucknell
   

• After Cornell's tough win in overtime last night, Ivy League observers should note that Cornell played its 4th game in six days. None of these four games were at home. Cornell also played the last three games without starting power forward, Alex Tyler, one of Cornell's top defenders. Meanwhile, as the Big Red have faced three BCS conference opponents in its first eight games (not to mention an A-10 opponent as well), other Ivies such as Harvard and Yale, have yet to play a single BCS conference team. Another key consideration, seven of Cornell's eight games thus far have been on the road. By comparison, Penn has played two of its first four games at home in the Palestra with a third game just across town at Villanova. Penn is winless in four games. Harvard has played four of its first seven games at home. Two of the road games were local (at Boston University and at Holy Cross). In fact, Harvard's only true road game, a visit to Army, resulted in a defeat for the Crimson. Harvard is off to a 6-1 start, but has played one of the weekest schedules in the country thus far.
  

• Here is a look at Cornell's RPI rank after a 6-2 start (as of December 3) with Cornell's opponents in the top 100 (out of 347 Division I teams) listed:
  

5. St. John's
19. Syracuse
29. Seton Hall
36. Cornell
44. Harvard
74. Kansas
77. St. Joseph's
81. Alabama
95. LaSalle
99. Hofstra

• In the news media, Blogging The Bracket writes, "You probably won't believe this score: Cornell 104, Bucknell 98. Or this one, Harvard drubbed Rice, 85-64."

• ESPN's Andy Katz notes a few highlights of last night's action. Katz writes:

Jeff Foote: Who is he? He’s a 7-foot senior center who probably wasn’t known to many before Wednesday night. I guess he still isn't. But he had quite a night for Cornell, scoring 28 points and grabbing 18 rebounds in an overtime win over Bucknell.

Harvard: Yes, Cornell will have company this year. If Northwestern is story 1A for a team that has never been to the NCAA tournament, then Harvard might be 1B. The Crimson haven't been since 1946 and are now 6-1 after a 21-point rout of Ben Braun's Rice team, which gave Texas all it wanted earlier this week.

• The Republican of Springfield, Massachusettes writes, "UMass is averaging 2,815 fans per home game after four dates. The opponents have been less than glamorous - Cornell, Arkansas-Fort Smith, St. Francis and Quinnipiac - though Cornell has played in the last two NCAA tournaments."

• Washington Jewish Week writes, "Former JDS star Eitan Chemerinski is adjusting to basketball life in Cornell. He's going through the one thing that many high school stars have to deal with when getting to college -- not getting as much playing time. Chemerinski has appeared in just one game so far for Cornell, which has gotten off to a 5-2 start. He played one minute and grabbed one rebound, which came in the Big Red's 88-73 loss to Syracuse last week. This is what most freshmen go through, the limited playing time, but, as time goes on, Chemerinski will learn a lot in practice and get more chances."

• Craig Haley of the Trenton Times writes a review of "Outside the Limelight" and notes, "Most poignant is the story of Cornell guard Khaliq Gant, who became temporarily paralyzed during the 2005-06 season, and how the university and the rest of college basketball rallied with support."

• RushTheCourt.net notes that Seton Hall "has yet to be truly tested, their best win coming on the road at Cornell."

• The Cornell Daily Sun pleads for Cornell students to watch Cornell basketball this winter at Madison Square Garden:

And for the record, the hockey team isn’t the only thing that’s been “Red Hot” in Ithaca this winter; the season is barely three weeks old, and already Cornell’s men’s basketball team has received a shoutout from ESPN’s Dick Vitale on national television, and a mention in Sports Illustrated’s annual College Basketball Preview. In case you haven’t already, it’s time to take a cue from the pros, and take note. There’s no time like the present –– in just a few short weeks, Steve Donahue’s squad will also head to The Garden, as part of its Holiday Festival.

...I’m issuing a plea to Newman Nation: make the trek to New York City this Winter Break. There’s nothing stopping us from inducing another Garden sellout. And by all means, bring the “safety school” cheer with you. Maybe the reason it makes us sound pretentious and arrogant, is because we are pretentious and arrogant. But, in the words of a certain boxing legend by the name of Muhammad Ali, “It’s not bragging if you can back it up.” If anything, the chant’s ironic.

...Take it from me, going to Syracuse last week to watch the guys play at the Carrier Dome was totally worth sacrificing an extra day of vacation. Heck, it was worth being harassed by Otto the Orange, even though I was definitely within 30 seconds of filing a restraining order –– especially when he came one keystroke away from deleting my GameDay notes.

• Continue reading the rest of this post by clicking the link below.

• The Columbia Spectator surveys the Ivy League action to date:

After two weeks of play, Cornell in to lead

Judging by preseason predictions and early-season results, the Cornell men’s basketball team, led by senior forward Ryan Wittman, who earned Co-Ivy League Player of the Week honors for the week of Nov. 30, seems to be the likely favorite to win the Ivy League. Columbia’s own sophomore guard Noruwa Agho was also named Ivy League Co-Player of the Week for the second straight week.

Judging by preseason predictions and early-season results, the Cornell men’s basketball team seems to be the likely favorite to win the Ivy League.

The Big Red started the season off with a strong nonconference campaign. It was led by senior forward Ryan Wittman, who earned Co-Ivy League Player of the Week honors for the week of Nov. 30 and broke the Ivy League record for career 3-pointers with 288. Wittman has averaged 17.1 points, 3.1 rebounds, and 2.6 assists per game through the first seven contests. After losing to Syracuse, ranked eighth in the country as of Nov. 30, 88-73, Cornell has won three consecutive matchups. The senior-laden squad defeated Toledo 78-60, Vermont 67-59, and Drexel 61-54.

Harvard began the season in similar fashion, jumping out to a 5-1 record. Senior guard Jeremy Lin has led the Crimson in points with 16.3 per game and in assists with five per game. After losing in a close contest at Army 56-53, the Crimson beat up New Hampshire 78-60, and defeated crosstown rival Boston University 78-70. Against the Terriers, the Crimson was down for most of the second half until it rallied and pulled away with 1:27 left in the second half thanks to Lin, who scored a game-high 19 points.

Brown fared well this past week, picking up wins in two of three contests and improving to 4-4 on the year. Sophomore guard Garrett Leffelman performed some late game heroics against Bryant University when he hit a layup with one second left on the clock to win the game 70-68. The Bears have relied on the play of junior forward Matt Mullery, who has averaged 16.8 points, 2.6 assists and 5.8 rebounds per game. Brown cruised by the University of the Sciences with a 69-48 win but lost this past Saturday to the Siena Saints 99-79. Against the balanced Siena squad, which has gone to the NCAA tournament the past two years, Mullery scored 23 points.

Princeton has lost three straight road games to Army 56-52, George Washington University 65-50 and California 81-60. The Tigers have been led by junior guard Dan Mavraides and sophomore guard Douglas Davis who have averaged 11.2 and 9.8 points per game, respectively. Princeton’s record is now 2-3.

Yale went 1-2 to fall to a 2-5 overall record. The Bulldogs lost to Charlotte 88-74 as senior forward Jordan Gibson scored a career-high 25 points. Yale came back to defeat Elon 69-65 thanks to the help of junior guard Porter Braswell who sank four free throws and made a critical steal in the final 13 seconds. However, Army continued to beat up on the Ancient Eight by defeating Yale 64-48.

Dartmouth has had a rough start to the year as it has lost two out of its last three games. After being down by only one with 11:33 left in the second half, the Big Green was only able to score three points the rest of the game as they fell to Loyola (Md.) 58-41. The Big Green responded by beating Hartford 68-56 with a strong contribution by senior guard Robby Pride who scored 19 points. Dartmouth then lost to Vermont at home 63-58 in a close contest. No dominant scorer has emerged for the Big Green, which currently has a record of 1-5.

Penn is still looking for its first win after losing its first four games. The Quakers have lost to Penn State 70-55, No. 3 Villanova, 103-65, Delaware 97-94 (2 OT) and most recently Delaware 58-49. In the double-overtime thriller versus the Fighting Blue Hens, the Quakers were led by sophomore guard Zack Rosen who scored 25 points. Penn will face Navy on Friday.

Columbia’s own sophomore guard Noruwa Agho was named Ivy League Co-Player of the Week for the second straight week. Agho’s tremendous scoring ability, 19.6 points per game, has been on display throughout the first five games of the season. Despite his performance, Columbia has fallen to 2-3. Agho, who is currently the nation’s leader in 3-point field goal percentage, went seven for eight from behind the arc in a 73-59 win against Bucknell and four for seven in a 85-60 loss to Syracuse.

On Thursday, Princeton will remain in-state as they travel to Rutgers, and Columbia will face Lehigh at home.

• Below, check out recent results and upcoming action around the Ivy League. (click here for a composite 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 63 Hofstra 68 (NIT at Storrs CT) Box Score - Recap
Penn 65 Villanova 103 Box Score - Recap

Tuesday, November 17
Yale 65 Colgate 55 (NIT Storrs CT) Box Score - Recap
Columbia53 DePaul 59 [SNY] Box Score - Recap

Wednesday, November 18
Rhode Island 78 Brown 57 Box Score - Recap
Manhattan 54 Princeton 61 Box Score - Recap
Cornell 74 UMass 61 Box Score - Recap

Friday, November 20
Brown 76 St. John's 79 Box Score - Recap
Longwood 61 Columbia 72 Box Score - Recap
Seton Hall 89 Cornell 79 Box Score - Recap
Bryant 51 Harvard 77 Box Score - Recap

Saturday, November 21
Army 56 Princeton 52 Box Score - Recap
Dartmouth 60 Furman 83 Box Score - Recap
Delaware 97 Penn 94 2OT Box Score - Recap
Quinnipiac 71 Yale 64 Box Score - Recap

Sunday, November 22
Maine 62 Brown 75 Box Score - Recap

Monday, November 23
Harvard 53 Army 56 Box Score - Recap
Charlotte 88. Yale 74 NIT Box Score - Recap

Tuesday, November 24
Princeton 50 George Washington 65 Box Score - Recap
Cornell 73 Syracuse 88 Box Score - Recap
Loyola (Md.) 58 Dartmouth 41 Box Score - Recap
Bucknell 59 Columbia 73 Box Score - Recap
Drexel 58 Penn 49 Box Score - Recap
Elon 65 Yale 69 NIT Box Score - Recap

Wednesday, November 25
Brown 70 Bryant 68 Box Score - Recap
New Hampshire 60 Harvard 78 Box Score - Recap

Friday, November 27
Cornell 78. Toledo 60 (Legends Classic at Philadelphia, Pa.) Box Score - Recap
Brown 79 Siena 99 (Philadelphia Hoops Classic) Box Score - Recap
Yale 48 Army 64 Box Score - Recap
Hartford 56 Dartmouth 68 Box Score - Recap

Saturday, November 28
Cornell 67 Vermont 59 (Legends Classic at Philadelphia, Pa.) Box Score - Recap
Brown 79 Siena 99 (Philadelphia Hoops Classic) Box Score - Recap
Yale 48 Army 64 Box Score - Recap
Hartford 56 Dartmouth 68 Box Score - Recap

Sunday, November 29
Cornell 61 Drexel 54 (Legends Classic at Philadelphia, Pa.) Box Score - Recap
Harvard 78 Boston U. 70 Box Score - Recap
Princeton 60 California 81 [CSN California] Box Score - Recap

Monday, November 30
Columbia 55 Sacred Heart 60 Box Score - Recap

Tuesday, December 1
Vermont 63 Dartmouth 58 Box Score - Recap

Wednesday, December 2
Holy Cross 85 Brown 79 (OT) Box Score - Recap
Cornell 104 Bucknell 98 (OT) Box Score - Recap
Yale 48 Hartford 46 Box Score - Recap
Rice 64 Harvard 85 Box Score - Recap

Thursday, December 3
Lehigh at Columbia, 7 pm
Princeton at Rutgers, 7:30 pm

Friday, December 4
Penn at Navy, 7 pm [CBS College Sports]

Saturday, December 5
Columbia at Stony Brook, 2 pm
Brown at Minnesota, 3:30 pm

Sunday, December 6
Harvard vs. UConn, 1 pm
Lafayette at Princeton, 5 pm
Cornell vs. St. Joseph's (PA), 2 pm