Cornell Basketball in the News: "We Are The Champions (Again)" Edition

References to Cornell Basketball in the news media today...

From WETM NBC TV Elmira, NY (video clip):

ITHACA - The shoe still fits. Cornell didn't roll through the Ivy League quite like last year, but still captured the conference title Friday night - and, of course, the berth in the NCAA Tournament that comes with it.

With one minute left in Cornell's 83-58 win over Penn, the Newman Arena PA announcer told a sold-out crowd that Princeton had lost to Columbia. That combo gave the Big Red its second-straight conference crown.

Ryan Wittman helped break open a close game early in the second half, picking up five quick points to swing momentum back Cornell's way. Wittman finished with 25 points, including six three-pointers.

Spencer-Van Etten grad Jeff Foote chipped in eight points, nine rebounds, and five assists in a night highlighted by a second-half dunk.

Cornell is the first team in the nation to clinch a spot in the NCAA Tournament, with the Ivy League being the only conference to decide a champion based on regular season performance.

Last year, CU lost to Stanford in the first round of the Big Dance.

From the UPI (United Press International):

First NCAA Tournament bid goes to Cornell

ITHACA, N.Y., March 6 (UPI) -- Cornell clinched its second straight Ivy League title Friday and became the first team in the country to earn a berth in the NCAA Tournament.

The Big Red improved to 10-3 in conference play, opening a two-game advantage.

Of the 31 conferences that participate in Division I basketball, the Ivy League is the only one that does not choose its automatic NCAA representative with a post-season tournament.

Cornell wrapped up the conference crown by defeating Pennsylvania 83-58.

Three more NCAA Tournament teams will be determined Saturday in the Big South, Atlantic Sun and Ohio Valley Conference.VMI will meet Radford in the Big South tournament final, East Tennessee State will face Jacksonville in the Atlantic Sun and Morehead State will play Austin Peay in the Ohio Valley.

There will be 31 automatic bids awarded over the next 10 days and the at-large teams, along with the bracket for the NCAA Tournament, will be announced March 15.

The title game will be played April 6.

From the Austin-American Statesman:

First to the dance

Cornell (20-9) clinched the Ivy League's automatic berth on Friday, and the next three invitations to the field of 65 go out today in tournament championship games of the Big South (3 p.m.), Atlantic Sun (5 p.m.) and Ohio Valley (7 p.m.) conferences. ESPN2 has the games.

From Fox12 Boise, Idaho:

Big Red first in the tourney
ITHACA, N.Y. (AP) - Cornell is the first team to qualify for the 65-team NCAA men's basketball tournament. Cornell beat Penn 83-58 to clinch the Ivy League title and a berth in the NCAA tourney for the second straight year. Ryan Wittman led the Big Red with 25. This is Cornell's third 20-victory season. In 110 years of basketball, it's the first time Cornell has won 20 games in back-to-back seasons. The Big Red has also won 20 straight home games, fourth-longest home winning streak in the country.

From the Bleacher Report:

The fact is that Cinderella may be able to do more for the economy on a basketball court than the President can do.

All the more reason to purchase caps and T-shirts for Sienna [sic], Gonzaga, Buffalo, Cornell, or Weber State this year.

From TV Sports Daily:

The second time around was that much sweeter for the Cornell Big Red. Ryan Wittman had 25 points, freshman guard Chris Wroblewski added 12 in just his seventh start, and Cornell beat Penn 83-58 on Friday night to clinch the Ivy League title for the second straight year and again become the first team in the nation to earn a berth in the NCAA tournament. "I think it's way more satisfying," Cornell coach Steve Donahue said. "It makes you appreciate last year a lot more, how hard it was to run the table. To fall down three times this year and get back up and play like they have, I'm just so proud of this group." The win for Cornell (20-9, 10-3 Ivy) was its 20th straight at Newman Arena, the fourth-longest home streak in the nation and sent the home crowd streaming onto the court in celebration. "I was nervous," Wroblewski said. "They all started inching forward. I had never been through one of those before. I thought I was going to get trampled." A year ago, Cornell went 12-0 in the Ivy League and won easily. This year, the league title was in doubt until second-place Princeton lost at Columbia just minutes before the Big Red's big victory.

From the Philadelphia Inquirer:

Cornell tops Penn, repeats as Ivy champ

ITHACA, N.Y. - Ryan Wittman scored 25 points, freshman guard Chris Wroblewski added 12 in just his seventh start, and Cornell beat Penn, 83-58, last night to clinch the Ivy League title and a berth in the NCAA tournament for the second year in a row.

Cornell (20-9, 10-3 Ivy) won its 20th straight at Newman Arena, the fourth-longest home streak in the nation and sent the home crowd streaming onto the court in celebration.

"I think it's way more satisfying," Cornell coach Steve Donahue said. "It makes you appreciate last year a lot more, how hard it was to run the table. To fall down three times this year and get back up and play like they have, I'm just so proud of this group."

The victory also gave Cornell the third 20-win season in program history and the first back-to-back ones in 110 years of basketball. It was also the second straight time Cornell has won 10 league games in a season, something it hadn't done since the mid-1960s.

The Big Red clinched the title outright when second-place Princeton lost, 58-44, at Columbia last night, averting a showdown here tonight in the season finale against the Tigers.

"It's more difficult the second time around, and I think we can definitely attest to that," Wittman said. "We knew we had to work hard, and we're going to have to keep working hard."

Rob Belcore scored 16 points to lead Penn (9-17, 5-7), and Zack Rosen and Brennan Votel each added 10 points.

Louis Dale had 13 points, Alex Tyler finished with 11, and senior center Jeff Foote had eight points, nine rebounds and five assists for Cornell, which was shaky at the outset as the Quakers hit five of their first six shots to take an early lead.

From the Philadelphia Daily News:

Cornell defeats Penn, clinches Ivy League crown

As usually happens since it has no postseason tournament, the Ivy League champion has locked up the first of the 65 NCAA Tournament berths.

And for the second year in a row, it won't be Penn.

Ryan Wittman had 25 points, freshman guard Chris Wroblewski added 14, and host Cornell beat the Quakers last night, 83-58, clinching the Ivy League title and a berth in the tournament for the second straight year.

The win for Cornell (20-9, 10-3) was its 20th straight at Newman Arena, the nation's fourth-longest home streak, and sent the Big Red crowd streaming onto the court. The fans already knew that Columbia had defeated Princeton, 58-44, meaning that all that was needed for the celebration was a Cornell win.

It's the third 20-win season in Cornell history and the first time in 110 years of basketball that Cornell has won 20 in consecutive seasons. It's also the second straight season the Big Red has won 10 league games in a season, something it hadn't done since the mid-1960s.

Louis Dale had 13 points, Alex Tyler finished with 11, and senior center Jeff Foote had eight points, nine rebounds and five assists for Cornell.

Freshman Rob Belcore had 13 points to lead Penn (9-17, 5-7).

The Quakers have two games remaining as they play out the schedule - tonight at Columbia and against Princeton at the Palestra on Tuesday.

From the Trenton Times/NJ.com:

NEW YORK -- The Princeton University men's basketball team's fading hopes for an Ivy League championship came to an end last night when the Tigers lost to Columbia, 58-44, after going almost 10 minutes without scoring in the second half last night.

Princeton (12-13, 7-5 Ivy) led by four points at halftime but shot 7-for-22 (31.8 percent) in the second half. Cornell beat Penn to clinch the league championship and automatic berth in the NCAA Tournament.

From the CollegeHoopsNet.com:

Princeton @ Cornell

This game could have meant something in regards to the Ivy League crown but the Tigers were shut down by Columbia. Princeton may have a shot if the Big Red rests its key players in anticipation of that Big Dance trip..or if said players celebrate the automatic berth with a little too much vigor. Look for Cornell to take care of business because they haven't lost a conference home game in two years.