Cornell Basketball in the News (Afternoon Edition)

Some more news references today to Cornell Basketball...

From the Sporting News:

Fictional Celebrity Alumnus Helps Cornell Clinch Ivy Title, Tourney Birth

For the second consecutive season, the Cornell Big Red will represent the Ivy League in the NCAA Tournament. It's a bit of a miracle, really, as Cornell won only one Ivy title in the preceding 50 seasons. Some might attribute this newly found success in Ithaca to be the result of coach Steve Donahue getting the program on track, or perhaps down cycles for perennial contenders Princeton and Penn.

Those explanations are too easy. Suspiciously easy. Consider that prior to the 2006-07 season, Cornell didn't have a big-name booster in Hollywood -- no Ashley Judd or Will Ferrell or Matthew McConaughey. But Andrew Bernard, a fictional but devout Cornell alum, debuted on The Office before the start of the '06-07 season. All carnelians since.

Princeton might have an offense named after it, and Penn will always have '79. But so long as the Narddog lives, it appears the Big Red will reign.

From the Kansas fans at Rock Chalk Talk.

And, finally, congratulations are in order for the Cornell Big Red, who became the first team to officially be invited to the NCAA Tournament. Congratulations, Andy Bernards.

Congrats.

Do those Kansas fans know about the game for next year?

Also, from the Associated Press:

ITHACA, N.Y.: A jubilant throng of Cornell fans surging onto the court led to a scoring mistake when the Big Red clinched the Ivy League title by beating Penn on Friday night.

Cornell won the game 83-58 — or so everyone thought.

A Cornell spokesman said Saturday there were several changes from the final minute that weren't noted until hours later because the courtside scorekeepers' computer was demolished by several thousand stampeding fans.

The final score should have been 83-59.

Scorekeepers watched video of the finish and decided a 3-pointer by Rob Belcore should have been ruled a 2, and a basket by Dan Monckton at the buzzer should have counted.

The Cornell Daily Sun reports:

Men's Basketball Clinches Second Straight Ivy League Championship With 83-59 Win Over Penn

Cornell clinched its second straight Ivy title and the accompanying berth to the NCAA tournament with a dominant 83-59 win over Penn on Friday night. The Red's win coupled with Princeton's 58-44 loss to Columbia handed Cornell the title.

Junior Ryan Wittman had a game-high 25 points, largely on his 6-of-10 performance from behind the arc. The game was back-and-forth in the first half but the Cornell defense played hard and the team pulled away for the win.