A late-in-the-game foul shot by Seton Hall helps seal their lead in the game over Cornell Friday night.
Jasmine Marcus is a senior at Cornell, where she is also the assistant managing editor of The Cornell Daily Sun. Born and raised in Montclair, she is studying psychology and communication and has wanted to be a journalist since she was 12 years old.
Born and raised in New Jersey, I never gave much thought to my home state until I came to Cornell. “Where are you from?” is often the first question someone asks when meeting you at college. Alongside “What’s your major?,” it provides easy material for making quick assessments of people.
It did not take me long to realize that New Jersey does not have the best reputation in other parts of the country.
After revealing that I’m from New Jersey, it is not uncommon to hear “Oh, I’m sorry,” at which I point I break into a defense of my state: yes, the Turnpike is ugly, but the rest of the state is not, and no, “The Sopranos” was not an accurate representation of New Jerseyans. There are beautiful beaches, no sales tax on clothing at our many malls and tons of other reasons why New Jersey is great.
It is my pride in New Jersey that made me extra excited to hear that the champion Cornell basketball team was set to play Seton Hall this year.
Although Cornell got off to a great start Friday night, with an 8-0 score, Seton Hall’s Jordan Theodore quickly scored 8 points to tie up the game. After reaching 15-15 10 minutes into the first half, the Big Red never regained its lead, down 40-35 at halftime and eventually losing the game 89-79 .
If there’s any consolation in watching your school break its 21-game home winning streak, however, it is knowing that they lost to a great team. Seton Hall is a member of the Big East Conference, which was recently rated the fourth best conference in the country by ESPN anchor Dick Vitale.
Seton Hall had the spirit to match their talent as a sizable crowd of blue-clad Pirates fans could be spotted in the audience. Despite the occasional “Armpit of America” sign, the Seton Hall fans were probably the largest opposing fan group to make the trek to Newman Arena in some years.
It is also nice to know that Seton Hall didn’t take its win against an Ivy League team for granted. Coach Bobby Gonzalez told reporters after the game, “This was a great win for us. I talked to some people on the phone this week and they said it might be the best Ivy League team to come around in the past 15 or 20 years.”
So although it was hard for the Cornellian in me to watch the team lose, at least the loss was to a team from New Jersey.
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