While we've posted quite a bit about Cornell's early, but still impressive No. 28 RPI ranking, anyone notice what is happening down at Penn? Not only are the Quakers 0-5, but their RPI is No. 331 out of 347 Division I teams. Making matters worse, the Quakers witnessed two recruits pull out of commitments in the last three months. Safe to say it is already a rough year for Penn.
Not to disrespect to Cornell's first round opponent Davidson in the Madison Square Garden Holiday Festival on December 20-21, but the Big Red's potential meeting in the championship game against St. John's could be huge for Cornell. Not only is the game in front of a major New York media market, but St. John's carries name recognition as a Big East opponent. More importantly, however, the Red Storm are currently carrying a No. 5 RPI ranking with a 6-1 record, including wins over Siena, Temple and St. Bonaventure. The Johnnies have Georgia and Fordham at home before the Holiday Festival and should remain a Top 100 RPI team irrespective of how they fare in the next three weeks.
Basketball Times writes, "Tonight we're keeping an eye on ...Massachusetts at Seton Hall, 7 p.m. ... Sure the Hall is 6-0, but five of its wins have come against St. Peter's, Monmouth, Long Island, N.J.I.T. and Hartford. Only a win over Cornell stands as proof that the Pirates are for real."
Dana O'Neil of ESPN writes in the College Basketball Nation blog, "Don't be surprised to see Harvard give frontrunner Cornell a run for its money in the hunt for the Ivy League's lone NCAA tourney bid."
A follow-up from our this morning's news and notes:
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