By Brian Delaney
The Ithaca Journal
March 3, 2009
What's the deal?: Cornell's three league losses, although surprising, is a greater testament to how difficult it is to go 14-0 than a statement that the Big Red's winning magic is dwindling.
For whatever reason, the inconsistency bug has reared its head on the road. Over the past two years, Cornell coach Steve Donahue has said ad nauseum that his team isn't that much better than the rest of the league. "We have to play well to win," he's repeated.
Two other immeasurable points play a factor. First, the seven other programs have all had two full years now to dissect Cornell. You can bet this Big Red roster is getting more attention than the others. Every coach, every player, puts in a little more attention to detail, a little more preparation, when playing the defending champs. Second, the mental approach is unique to last year. There's a huge difference between starting from the bottom and successfully climbing a mountain, and starting atop the mountain and fighting to maintain your perch.
Clinching scenarios: Cornell (9-3) can win the league title and accompanying NCAA tournament berth outright in one of the following ways: A win over Penn on Friday, coupled with a Princeton (7-4) loss at Columbia; or simply a win over Princeton on Saturday.
With the hockey team resting on a bye week, one thing is certain — tickets will go fast for this weekend's home series.
Uncharacteristic: For Cornell, that word embodies 11 first-half turnovers, seven missed free throws out of 16 attempts, and a combined 19 points from its rotation of four guards in Saturday's 71-70 loss at Harvard.
Struggling: For the second loss in a row, junior point guard Louis Dale goes 3-for-12 from the floor with five-plus turnovers. In his last four games, Dale has missed 15 of 19 3-pointers after going 8-of-12 in his first four contests.
Struggling Part II: Adam Wire has seen his minutes halved over the last two weekends. The 6-6 sophomore played just six minutes Friday night against Dartmouth, and eight against Harvard.On fire: It's down to a two-man race for Ivy League Player of the Year, with Dartmouth senior Alex Barnett likely the favorite with Ryan Wittman closing the gap.
Since the Princeton loss on Feb. 6, Wittman has been unconscious offensively. After going a combined 17 for 29 over the weekend, including 7 for 10 beyond the arc, the 6-6 junior is shooting 52.7 percent from the field and 55.8 percent from deep in the seven games after that loss. Those numbers have equated to 19.3 points per game, despite receiving Priority No. 1 attention from opponents.
Players of the Week
Ivy League: Harvard senior Drew Housman scored 20 points Saturday night in the Crimson's 71-70 upset of Cornell, and was named player of the week. Princeton freshman guard Doug Davis was named rookie of the week after coming off the bench to score 16 points in Friday's win over Brown.
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