News and Notes: Afternoon Edition

Some additional news and notes...

• From Andy Katz's ESPN Weekly Watch: Ryan Wittman, Cornell: Wittman continued to be one of the top scorers that gets little pub. He led Cornell with 29 points and hit a 30-foot shot at the end of overtime to beat Davidson in the semifinals of the Holiday Festival at Madison Square Garden.

• From ESPN's Fran Frashilla on Twitter, "Heartbreak Hotel for Davidson as Ryan Wittman, one of the country's best shooters last 4 years hits a 35-footer at buzzer. Cornell 91-88."

• From the "Weekend's Best" by ESPN's Jay Bilas, "Best "Unknown" Player: Ryan Wittman, Cornell
  Wittman scored 29 points and hit seven 3s, including a 30-foot game-winner at the buzzer, in an overtime win against Davidson in the ECAC Holiday Festival at Madison Square Garden. Wittman and Harvard's Jeremy Lin will be the two front-runners for Ivy League Player of the Year."

• From the Northfield Mount Hermon School basketball program on Twitter, "Wow! Great game between Cornell and Davidson. 3 pointer at the buzzer wins it for Cornell in OT. Glad that game is TIVOd."

• From SlamOnline, "or those of you in the Big Apple area, congratulations, you get my undercard game of the night when Cornell meets up with St. John’s in the “championship game” of the MSG Holiday Festival. The Big Red have won six in a row after yesterday’s OT win against Davidson and forward Ryan Wittman can score against any team in the country. I give the edge to the Johnnies in this one, who at 9-1 are looking like they can be relevant again in the Big East."

• From Basketball Times Online, "Cornell at St. John's, 9:00 p.m. ... A dangerous, dangerous game for a St. John's team boasting a 9-1 record. "
  

News and Notes

Below, some news and notes...

• From ESPN's Fran Fraschilla, Ryan Wittman is listed among the top NBA prospects in the country for teams looking for players who can "spot up the 3."

• From the Ithaca Journal:

Cornell senior Louis Dale is one of 49 Division I point guards on the initial Bob Cousy Award Watch List, which recognizes men's college basketball's top point guard.

It is the third straight year he has been listed.

The list of candidates will be narrowed down to a final 20 by Jan. 1, a final 10 by Feb. 1 and top five by March 1.

A Hall of Fame appointed screening committee will choose the winner, who will receive the honor at the Hall of Fame's class announcement, Monday April 5, in Indianapolis as part of NCAA Final Four weekend.

Dale, a two-time All-Ivy first-team selection and the 2007-08 Ivy League Player of the Year, is one of two players in school history to accumulate 1,000 points, 300 rebounds, 300 assists and 100 steals. Ka'Ron Barnes was the first.

Dale will enter this weekend's action at the Madison Square Garden Holiday Festival needing nine assists to set the Big Red overall assist mark and is averaging 10.2 points, 5.0 assists, 3.1 rebounds and 2.1 steals so far this season.

• From MSG.com, the network's preview of Sunday's Cornell-Davidson game (our game recap can be found by Clicking here):

CORNELL VS. DAVIDSON IN GAME 1 OF HOLIDAY FESTIVAL AT MSG (SUNDAY)

Davidson coach Bob McKillop is finding out how life is without Stephen Curry – not much fun. The Wildcats have struggled all season long and a date with Cornell should produce another rocky 40 minutes.

Big Red coach Steve Donahue has a dandy tandem of Louis Dale and Ryan Wittman that should relish playing in the World's Most Famous Arena.

Prediction: Cornell 77, Davidson 59

• From Rush the Court:

Shot of the Weekend. Cornell 91, Davidson 88 (OT). Ryan Wittman’s 30-footer at the buzzer in overtime gave the Big Red its eighth win of the year and a shot at a Big East team (St. John’s) on Monday night at Madison Square Garden. Lost in the heroics and glee of Wittman’s shot was the fact that it wouldn’t have even been possible had Louis Dale not hit a driving layup with 0.7 seconds remaining in regulation. Cornell’s only two losses this year were against Big East teams (Seton Hall and Syracuse), so this will likely be the Ivy League favorite’s best chance to get a huge win this season (Kansas at Allen Fieldhouse is not realistic). We haven’t been able to locate a video of this shot yet, but if you see one, let us know.

• From Storming the Floor:

Cornell 91 - Davidson 88 (OT)

A good season for an Ivy squad typically includes multiple beatings from non-conference foes before relief comes in the form of the league season. Cornell and Harvard are throwing that dynamic on its head this season. The Big Red especially have so many good wins on the road that I'd give them a serious look for at-large consideration right now. Jeff Whitman scored 29 in this game at MSG, and Center Jeff Foote added 16 points, 14 rebounds, and 4 assists to power Cornell to 8-2 on the young season. The defending Ivy champs still travel to St. Johns, La Salle, and Kansas before the league slate starts with back-to-back games against Columbia.

• From the Minneapolis Star Tribune:

Ryan Wittman, who played high school basketball for Eden Prairie, had 29 points for Cornell on Sunday, beating Davidson at the buzzer with a three-pointer at Madison Square Garden. Wittman's father, Randy, is the former Wolves coach who is now Flip Saunders' assistant with the Wizards.

• From the New York Times:

In the [MSG Holiday Festival] opener, Davidson (3-8) rallied from 17 points behind in the first half and had a 75-73 lead before Louis Dale drove for a layup to tie the score for Cornell (8-2) with seven-tenths of a second to go in regulation.

J. P. Kuhlman made a free throw for the Wildcats with 6.6 seconds left in overtime to tie the score at 88-88, but he missed the second.

Wittman dribbled across the midcourt line and let go a rainbow from about 30 feet straightaway. It swished, giving him seven 3-pointers and 29 points.

“To be quite honest, I thought I left it short,” Wittman said. “So I was surprised it went in, but I will take it.”

• From the Cornell Daily Sun:

Men's Basketball Notebook 12-20-09

They’re Kind of a Big Deal

Not only did senior forward Ryan Wittman’s buzzer-beating 3-pointer in overtime save the day for Cornell, but it also gave him 301 for his career –– the only Ivy League player in history to earn this distinction. His 29 points on the day also moved him to 16th all-time in Ancient Eight scoring, with 1,623. Meanwhile, Wittman’s partner in crime on the day, senior guard Louis Dale, moved within two assists of Cornell’s record with his seven dishes.

Guess Who’s Back

Playing in his first game since late November due to a calf injury, senior forward Alex Tyler picked up five points, four rebounds and two blocks in his return to the court. The tri-captain gave no indication that he was still hurting, as he performed a very acrobatic maneuver into some empty courtside chairs in order to maintain Cornell’s possession of the basketball at 9:18 in the first half.

• Continue reading this post by taking the link below.

• The RPI (Rating Percentage Index) is a measure of strength of schedule and how a team does against that schedule. It does not consider the margin of victory, but only whether or not a team won and where the game was played (home/away/neutral court). The formula is 25% team winning percentage (WP), 50% opponents' average winning percentage (OWP), and 25% opponents' opponents' average winning percentage (OOWP). (See: CollegeRPI.com for a further explanation of the formula.) The RPI may be the most influential factor in NCAA Tournament seeding. Below is a look at Cornell's RPI rank (as of December 21) following a 8-2 start for the Big Red. All of Cornell's opponents are also listed (out of 347 total Division I teams). Cornell's results against these opponents are in parentheses.
  

4. St. John's

9. Syracuse (L)
21. Kansas
31. Cornell
34. Harvard
52. Hofstra
71. Seton Hall (L)
80. La Salle
95. Alabama (W)
104. St. Joseph's (W)
108. Princeton
129. UMass (W)
138. Vermont (W)
144. Drexel (W)
164. Davidson (W)
177. Columbia
179. Brown
192. South Dakota
287. Yale
293. Bucknell (W)
304. Toledo (W)
332. Dartmouth
341. Bryant
345. Penn
NR- Clarkson (D-III)
NR- PSU-Erie (D-III)

Neither the Ken Pomeroy or Jeff Sagarin rankings are used by the NCAA Tournament Selection Committee. Nevertheless, the KenPom.com site ranks Cornell No. 71 in the nation, while the Sagarin rankings have Cornell at No. 46. Both sites are predominantly used by fans and the media.

• Below are links to our game recaps from each of Cornell's games this season. Associated press recaps courtesy of Rivals.com/YahooSports.com are always available by clicking on Cornell's schedule/results on the right column of this blog.

1. at Alabama (W 71-67)
2. at UMass (W 74-61)
   
3. vs. Seton Hall (L 79-89)
   
4. at Syracuse (L 73-88)
   
5. Toledo (Phil.) (W 78-60)
   
6. Vermont (Phil.) (W 67-59)
   
7. at Drexel (W 61-54)
   
8. at Bucknell (W 104-98) (OT)
   
9. vs. St. Joseph's (W 78-66)
10. Davidson (W 91-88) (OT)
    

• Below, check out results and upcoming action around the Ivy League. (click here for a composite Ivy League schedule) (Click here for a TV schedule of Ivy League games).
  

Friday, November 13
Yale 86 Sacred Heart 92 (Connecticut Six) Box Score - Recap
Brown 68 St. Francis (N.Y.) 64 Box Score - Recap
Dartmouth 58 Boston College 89 Box Score - Recap
Harvard 87 Holy Cross 77 Box Score - Recap
Penn 55 Penn State 70 Box Score - Recap

Saturday, November 14
Princeton 71 Central Michigan 68 Box Score - Recap
Cornell 71 Alabama 67 Box Score - Recap

Sunday, November 15
Brown 55 Virginia Tech 69 Box Score - Recap
William & Mary 85 Harvard 87 (3OT) Box Score - Recap
Dartmouth 44 George Mason 60 Box Score - Recap

Monday, November 16
Yale 63 Hofstra 68 (NIT at Storrs CT) Box Score - Recap
Penn 65 Villanova 103 Box Score - Recap

Tuesday, November 17
Yale 65 Colgate 55 (NIT Storrs CT) Box Score - Recap
Columbia53 DePaul 59 [SNY] Box Score - Recap

Wednesday, November 18
Rhode Island 78 Brown 57 Box Score - Recap
Manhattan 54 Princeton 61 Box Score - Recap
Cornell 74 UMass 61 Box Score - Recap

Friday, November 20
Brown 76 St. John's 79 Box Score - Recap
Longwood 61 Columbia 72 Box Score - Recap
Seton Hall 89 Cornell 79 Box Score - Recap
Bryant 51 Harvard 77 Box Score - Recap

Saturday, November 21
Army 56 Princeton 52 Box Score - Recap
Dartmouth 60 Furman 83 Box Score - Recap
Delaware 97 Penn 94 2OT Box Score - Recap
Quinnipiac 71 Yale 64 Box Score - Recap

Sunday, November 22
Maine 62 Brown 75 Box Score - Recap

Monday, November 23
Harvard 53 Army 56 Box Score - Recap
Charlotte 88. Yale 74 NIT Box Score - Recap

Tuesday, November 24
Princeton 50 George Washington 65 Box Score - Recap
Cornell 73 Syracuse 88 Box Score - Recap
Loyola (Md.) 58 Dartmouth 41 Box Score - Recap
Bucknell 59 Columbia 73 Box Score - Recap
Drexel 58 Penn 49 Box Score - Recap
Elon 65 Yale 69 NIT Box Score - Recap

Wednesday, November 25
Brown 70 Bryant 68 Box Score - Recap
New Hampshire 60 Harvard 78 Box Score - Recap

Friday, November 27
Cornell 78. Toledo 60 (Legends Classic at Philadelphia, Pa.) Box Score - Recap
Brown 79 Siena 99 (Philadelphia Hoops Classic) Box Score - Recap
Yale 48 Army 64 Box Score - Recap
Hartford 56 Dartmouth 68 Box Score - Recap

Saturday, November 28
Cornell 67 Vermont 59 (Legends Classic at Philadelphia, Pa.) Box Score - Recap
Brown 79 Siena 99 (Philadelphia Hoops Classic) Box Score - Recap
Yale 48 Army 64 Box Score - Recap
Hartford 56 Dartmouth 68 Box Score - Recap

Sunday, November 29
Cornell 61 Drexel 54 (Legends Classic at Philadelphia, Pa.) Box Score - Recap
Harvard 78 Boston U. 70 Box Score - Recap
Princeton 60 California 81 [CSN California] Box Score - Recap

Monday, November 30
Columbia 55 Sacred Heart 60 Box Score - Recap

Tuesday, December 1
Vermont 63 Dartmouth 58 Box Score - Recap

Wednesday, December 2
Holy Cross 85 Brown 79 (OT) Box Score - Recap
Cornell 104 Bucknell 98 (OT) Box Score - Recap
Yale 48 Hartford 46 Box Score - Recap
Rice 64 Harvard 85 Box Score - Recap

Thursday, December 3
Lehigh 75 Columbia 70 Box Score - Recap
Princeton 44 Rutgers 58 Box Score - Recap

Friday, December 4
Penn 67 Navy 73 [CBS College Sports] Box Score - Recap

Saturday, December 5
Columbia 60 Stony Brook 63 Box Score - Recap
Brown 55 Minnesota 91 Box Score - Recap

Sunday, December 6
Harvard 73 UConn 79 [SNY/ESPN Fullcourt] Box Score - Recap
Lafayette 48 Princeton 62 Box Score - Recap
Cornell 78 St. Joseph's (PA) 66 Box Score - Recap

Monday, December 7
Brown 62 Providence 78 Box Score - Recap
Vermont 72 Yale 60 Box Score - Recap

Tuesday, December 8
Columbia 102 Wagner 91 Box Score - Recap
Albany 78 Penn 60 Box Score - Recap

Wednesday, December 9
Harvard 74 Boston College 67 Box Score - Recap
Bryant 54 Yale 69 Box Score - Recap

Saturday, December 12
Columbia 69 Bryant 57 Box Score - Recap
Army 59 Dartmouth 46 Box Score - Recap
Penn 75 Monmouth 80 Box Score - Recap

Sunday, December 13
Princeton 65 UNC Greensboro 50 Box Score - Recap
Lyndon State 54 Dartmouth 83 Box Score

Wednesday, December 16
Monmouth 42 Princeton46 Box Score - Recap

Thursday, December 17
Dartmouth 58 Lehigh 66 Box Score - Recap

Sunday, December 20
Cornell 91 Davidson 88 [MSG Holiday Festival, Fox Sports Atlantic/MSG] Box Score - Recap
Dartmouth 59 New Hampshire 69 Box Score - Recap
Princeton at Maine- Weather Cancellation

Monday, December 21
Yale at Providence, 7 pm
Cornell vs. St. John's/Hofstra, 7/9 pm [MSG Holiday Festival, Fox Sports Atlantic/MSG]

Tuesday, December 22
Colgate at Dartmouth, 7 pm

Wednesday, December 23
Harvard at Georgetown, noon [ESPN Full Court/ MyTV9/ SNY]
Columbia at Quinnipiac, 7 pm

Monday, December 28
MIT at Harvard, 4 pm
Kean at Brown, 7 pm
Penn at Davidson, 7 pm

Tuesday, December 29
Yale at Colorado, 9 pm [FSN Rocky Mountain]
Cornell at La Salle, 4 pm

Wednesday, December 30
Dartmouth at Quinnipiac, 2 pm [NESN]
Brown at Sacred Heart, 7 pm
George Washington at Harvard, 6 pm
Maine at Columbia, 7 pm
Wagner at Princeton, 7 pm

Thursday, December 31
Yale at Colorado State, 4 pm
Penn St. Erie-The Behrend College at Cornell, 2 pm
Penn at Duke, 6 pm [ESPN2]

Saturday, January 2
American at Brown, 1 pm
Bryant at Cornell, 2 pm
Harvard at Seattle, 5:10 pm
Princeton at St. Joseph's, 2 pm [The Comcast Network]

Sunday, January 3
Penn at Lafayette, 1 pm
Yale at Albany, 4 pm [Time Warner Cable (TW3)]

News and Notes: TGIF Evening Edition

Cornell is quite often referenced by the national media as a barometer for evaluating other teams around the country. Below are just a few examples from today.

• Mike DeCourcy of the Sporting News writes with respect to Seton Hall's meeting with Temple this weekend, "Seton Hall has yet to lose after eight games, although this would appear to be its most serious challenge to date. The Pirates did win at Cornell and deserve credit not only for winning, but making such a dangerous trip. But Temple now owns a victory over Villanova and has lost just twice to teams with a combined record of 16-1 (St. John's and Georgetown)."

• On the same topic, FoxSports.com's Jeff Goodman notes, "REAL DEAL? Seton Hall remains undefeated, but how much do we really know about Bobby Gonzalez’s team since they haven’t played a BCS school yet? Sure, they’ve beaten Ivy League favorite Cornell on the road and taken care of UMass and VMI handily, but the Hall remains a mystery. Gonzo & Co. will get their first true test when Temple comes into New Jersey on Saturday"

• Finally, Seth Davis of CNNSI.com writes, "Seton Hall's undefeated record has been helped by a weak nonconference schedule mostly at home. (The lone exception was a road win at Cornell on Nov. 20.) Temple, by contrast, has played one of the toughest nonconference slates in the country.
  

• ESPN's Andy Katz writes, "Cornell went down to Tuscaloosa, Ala., and beat the developing Tide. So shouldn't K-State? Not so fast. This is not a given. Just ask No. 4 Purdue, which had to rally from 16 down last weekend to beat the Tide...While the Tide aren't going to the NCAAs, this would still be a true road win for KSU that would matter in March."

News and Notes

Below, some news and notes...

• Luke Winn of CNNIS.com lists Cornell's win over Alabama as one of the country's top eight road wins of the season. He writes:
  

Herewith, a mini-Power Rankings of the eight most impressive true road wins thus far:

1. Wake Forest at Gonzaga, Dec. 5
2. Illinois at Clemson, Dec. 2
3. William & Mary at Wake Forest, Nov. 28
4. St. Mary's at Utah State, Dec. 5
5. Butler at Northwestern, Nov. 18
6. St. John's at Temple, Nov. 28
t7. Purdue at Alabama, Dec. 12
t7. Cornell at Alabama, Nov. 14

• In Rivals.com's "Weekend Viewer's Guide," the site prominently references Cornell. Rivals writes:

After a rather pitiful week of basketball, things get hopping again this weekend with numerous high-caliber games. The best of them all - and one of the best of the season - is Saturday's North Carolina-Texas game at the palatial new Dallas Cowboys stadium in Arlington, Texas. Here's a look at this weekend's top five games (and, yes, our weekend goes through Monday), along with some others you should keep an eye one. We will do this again Tuesday to spotlight next week's best games.

***

Kansas State vs. Alabama in Mobile, Ala., 9 p.m. Saturday, Comcast-Charter Sports Southeast: Alabama is 7-3 and has been solid, with the losses coming to Cornell, Florida State and Purdue. The Tide has wins over, among others, Baylor and Michigan. This will be one of Alabama's toughest tests this season. Going into Thursday, K-State was No. 1 nationally in RPI and had played the second-toughest schedule in the nation. K-State's lone loss was to Ole Miss, and among the Wildcats' victims are Dayton, Xavier and UNLV. K-State's backcourt looks to be too much for the Tide.

***

MSG Holiday Festival final, 9 p.m. Monday, MSG network/Fox College Sports Atlantic: This could be Cornell-St. John's, which would be a game worth watching. Cornell basically has everybody back from a team that has been to back-to-back NCAA tournaments. St. John's has been solid, with its only loss coming to Duke.

• JohnnyJungle.com writes, "It is high time the Red Storm put those lions [reference Hofstra] on their backsides… and move on to beating Cornell or Davidson, and tune up for Georgetown, a game the national media might give a damn about."

• In analyzing Seton Hall among the nation's remaining undefeated teams, Seth Davis of CNNSI.com writes, "While I wouldn't discount a true road win against a very good Cornell team, clearly the Pirates have not established their bona fides like most of the others."

• From the Huffington Post, "Tommy Amaker is delivering on his promise thus far. The [Harvard] Crimson has never won an Ivy title, and there will be no at-large bid for them, so games vs. Cornell will probably tell the tale of their season."

• Continue reading this post by taking the link below.

• The RPI (Rating Percentage Index) is a measure of strength of schedule and how a team does against that schedule. It does not consider the margin of victory, but only whether or not a team won and where the game was played (home/away/neutral court). The formula is 25% team winning percentage (WP), 50% opponents' average winning percentage (OWP), and 25% opponents' opponents' average winning percentage (OOWP). (See: CollegeRPI.com for a further explanation of the formula.) The RPI may be the most influential factor in NCAA Tournament seeding. Below is a look at Cornell's RPI rank (as of Friday, December 18) following a 7-2 start for the Big Red. All of Cornell's opponents are also listed (out of 347 total Division I teams). Cornell's results against these opponents are in parentheses.
  

4. St. John's

7. Syracuse (L)
14. Kansas
23. Cornell
42. Harvard
52. Seton Hall (L)
57. Hofstra
75. La Salle
93. Alabama (W)
99. Vermont (W)
103. Princeton
111. St. Joseph's (W)
158. Davidson
163. UMass (W)
173. Drexel (W)
174. Columbia
187. Brown
192. South Dakota
279. Yale
302. Bucknell (W)
311. Toledo (W)
315. Dartmouth
341. Bryant
345. Penn
NR- Clarkson (D-III)
NR- PSU-Erie (D-III)

Neither the Ken Pomeroy or Jeff Sagarin rankings are used by the NCAA Tournament Selection Committee. Nevertheless, the KenPom.com site ranks Cornell No. 64 in the nation, while the Sagarin rankings have Cornell at No. 43. Both sites are predominantly used by fans and the media.

• Below are links to our game recaps from each of Cornell's games this season. Associated press recaps courtesy of Rivals.com/YahooSports.com are always available by clicking on Cornell's schedule/results on the right column of this blog.

1. at Alabama (W 71-67)
2. at UMass (W 74-61)
   
3. vs. Seton Hall (L 79-89)
   
4. at Syracuse (L 73-88)
   
5. Toledo (Phil.) (W 78-60)
   
6. Vermont (Phil.) (W 67-59)
   
7. at Drexel (W 61-54)
   
8. at Bucknell (W 104-98)
   
9. vs. St. Joseph's (W 78-66)

• Below, check out results and upcoming action around the Ivy League. (click here for a composite Ivy League schedule) (Click here for a TV schedule of Ivy League games).
  

Friday, November 13
Yale 86 Sacred Heart 92 (Connecticut Six) Box Score - Recap
Brown 68 St. Francis (N.Y.) 64 Box Score - Recap
Dartmouth 58 Boston College 89 Box Score - Recap
Harvard 87 Holy Cross 77 Box Score - Recap
Penn 55 Penn State 70 Box Score - Recap

Saturday, November 14
Princeton 71 Central Michigan 68 Box Score - Recap
Cornell 71 Alabama 67 Box Score - Recap

Sunday, November 15
Brown 55 Virginia Tech 69 Box Score - Recap
William & Mary 85 Harvard 87 (3OT) Box Score - Recap
Dartmouth 44 George Mason 60 Box Score - Recap

Monday, November 16
Yale 63 Hofstra 68 (NIT at Storrs CT) Box Score - Recap
Penn 65 Villanova 103 Box Score - Recap

Tuesday, November 17
Yale 65 Colgate 55 (NIT Storrs CT) Box Score - Recap
Columbia53 DePaul 59 [SNY] Box Score - Recap

Wednesday, November 18
Rhode Island 78 Brown 57 Box Score - Recap
Manhattan 54 Princeton 61 Box Score - Recap
Cornell 74 UMass 61 Box Score - Recap

Friday, November 20
Brown 76 St. John's 79 Box Score - Recap
Longwood 61 Columbia 72 Box Score - Recap
Seton Hall 89 Cornell 79 Box Score - Recap
Bryant 51 Harvard 77 Box Score - Recap

Saturday, November 21
Army 56 Princeton 52 Box Score - Recap
Dartmouth 60 Furman 83 Box Score - Recap
Delaware 97 Penn 94 2OT Box Score - Recap
Quinnipiac 71 Yale 64 Box Score - Recap

Sunday, November 22
Maine 62 Brown 75 Box Score - Recap

Monday, November 23
Harvard 53 Army 56 Box Score - Recap
Charlotte 88. Yale 74 NIT Box Score - Recap

Tuesday, November 24
Princeton 50 George Washington 65 Box Score - Recap
Cornell 73 Syracuse 88 Box Score - Recap
Loyola (Md.) 58 Dartmouth 41 Box Score - Recap
Bucknell 59 Columbia 73 Box Score - Recap
Drexel 58 Penn 49 Box Score - Recap
Elon 65 Yale 69 NIT Box Score - Recap

Wednesday, November 25
Brown 70 Bryant 68 Box Score - Recap
New Hampshire 60 Harvard 78 Box Score - Recap

Friday, November 27
Cornell 78. Toledo 60 (Legends Classic at Philadelphia, Pa.) Box Score - Recap
Brown 79 Siena 99 (Philadelphia Hoops Classic) Box Score - Recap
Yale 48 Army 64 Box Score - Recap
Hartford 56 Dartmouth 68 Box Score - Recap

Saturday, November 28
Cornell 67 Vermont 59 (Legends Classic at Philadelphia, Pa.) Box Score - Recap
Brown 79 Siena 99 (Philadelphia Hoops Classic) Box Score - Recap
Yale 48 Army 64 Box Score - Recap
Hartford 56 Dartmouth 68 Box Score - Recap

Sunday, November 29
Cornell 61 Drexel 54 (Legends Classic at Philadelphia, Pa.) Box Score - Recap
Harvard 78 Boston U. 70 Box Score - Recap
Princeton 60 California 81 [CSN California] Box Score - Recap

Monday, November 30
Columbia 55 Sacred Heart 60 Box Score - Recap

Tuesday, December 1
Vermont 63 Dartmouth 58 Box Score - Recap

Wednesday, December 2
Holy Cross 85 Brown 79 (OT) Box Score - Recap
Cornell 104 Bucknell 98 (OT) Box Score - Recap
Yale 48 Hartford 46 Box Score - Recap
Rice 64 Harvard 85 Box Score - Recap

Thursday, December 3
Lehigh 75 Columbia 70 Box Score - Recap
Princeton 44 Rutgers 58 Box Score - Recap

Friday, December 4
Penn 67 Navy 73 [CBS College Sports] Box Score - Recap

Saturday, December 5
Columbia 60 Stony Brook 63 Box Score - Recap
Brown 55 Minnesota 91 Box Score - Recap

Sunday, December 6
Harvard 73 UConn 79 [SNY/ESPN Fullcourt] Box Score - Recap
Lafayette 48 Princeton 62 Box Score - Recap
Cornell 78 St. Joseph's (PA) 66 Box Score - Recap

Monday, December 7
Brown 62 Providence 78 Box Score - Recap
Vermont 72 Yale 60 Box Score - Recap

Tuesday, December 8
Columbia 102 Wagner 91 Box Score - Recap
Albany 78 Penn 60 Box Score - Recap

Wednesday, December 9
Harvard 74 Boston College 67 Box Score - Recap
Bryant 54 Yale 69 Box Score - Recap

Saturday, December 12
Columbia 69 Bryant 57 Box Score - Recap
Army 59 Dartmouth 46 Box Score - Recap
Penn 75 Monmouth 80 Box Score - Recap

Sunday, December 13
Princeton 65 UNC Greensboro 50 Box Score - Recap
Lyndon State 54 Dartmouth 83 Box Score

Wednesday, December 16
Monmouth 42 Princeton46 Box Score - Recap

Thursday, December 17
Dartmouth 58 Lehigh 66 Box Score - Recap

Sunday, December 20
Cornell vs. Davidson, Noon [MSG Holiday Festival, Fox Sports Atlantic/MSG]
Dartmouth at New Hampshire, 1 pm
Princeton at Maine, 3 pm

Monday, December 21
Yale at Providence, 7 pm
Cornell vs. St. John's/Hofstra, 7/9 pm [MSG Holiday Festival, Fox Sports Atlantic/MSG]

Tuesday, December 22
Colgate at Dartmouth, 7 pm

Wednesday, December 23
Harvard at Georgetown, noon [ESPN Full Court/ MyTV9/ SNY]
Columbia at Quinnipiac, 7 pm

Monday, December 28
MIT at Harvard, 4 pm
Kean at Brown, 7 pm
Penn at Davidson, 7 pm

Tuesday, December 29
Yale at Colorado, 9 pm [FSN Rocky Mountain]
Cornell at La Salle, 4 pm

Wednesday, December 30
Dartmouth at Quinnipiac, 2 pm [NESN]
Brown at Sacred Heart, 7 pm
George Washington at Harvard, 6 pm
Maine at Columbia, 7 pm
Wagner at Princeton, 7 pm

Thursday, December 31
Yale at Colorado State, 4 pm
Penn St. Erie-The Behrend College at Cornell, 2 pm
Penn at Duke, 6 pm [ESPN2]

Saturday, January 2
American at Brown, 1 pm
Bryant at Cornell, 2 pm
Harvard at Seattle, 5:10 pm
Princeton at St. Joseph's, 2 pm [The Comcast Network]

Sunday, January 3
Penn at Lafayette, 1 pm
Yale at Albany, 4 pm [Time Warner Cable (TW3)]

News and Notes: Cornell Holding at RPI of No. 23

Below, some news and notes...

• Cornell recruit and Greensburg Salem's Jake Matthews, a 6'2" guard scored14 points in the first quarter and finished with 19 points as his Golden Lions recorded a 70-62 victory against Franklin Regional in the Hempfield Tournament. Matthews made five 3-pointers in the win.

• In RPI news (see further down below for more detail), Cornell is sitting in the No. 23 position with two wins over Top 100 teams-- No. 94 Alabama and No. 98 Vermont. Cornell also has notable wins over No. 111 St. Joseph's and No. 162 UMass (who has a rapidly climbing rating). Cornell has two nonconference games remaining against Top 100 RPI teams-- either No. 4 St. John's or No. 56 Hofstra, as well as No. 14 Kansas. Cornell's next game is against No. 158 Davidson. There are 347 teams in Division I, thus Nos. 173/174 are the Division I upper/lower half cut-off.
  

• Interesting article by Bill Reynolds in the Providence Journal concerning Penn's recent termination of Glen Miller. Reynolds writes, "And there’s also little question that for the last two seasons, when Penn became just another Ivy League team, the school had trouble dealing with that. Attendance suffered. Alumni complained. Penn is supposed to win the league, not Cornell — which is coached by a former Penn assistant no less. But you would like to think that [A.D. Steve] Bilsky and the rest of the Penn pooh-bahs might realize that Miller’s failure was their failure, too."

• Jon Tannenwald's Soft Pretzel Logic of Philly.com put together a summary of Glen Miller-related coverage from non-Philadelphia media sources. He writes:
  

  Brian Delaney, who covers Cornell basketball for the Ithaca Journal, called the move "intriguing."

  He writes that "in terms of wins and losses, things had gone about as bad as possible" at Penn, but also says that "the league professes to hold itself to a higher standard. This isn't it."

  Speaking of Donahue, the Springfield, Delaware County native features prominently in Jeff Goodman's column on FoxSports.com.

  Goodman writes that Donahue "should be at the top of the list" of potential head coaches next season. But he argues that "Donahue has turned Cornell into a better job – at least for the time being," and asserts a viewpoint that "I’m not sure he’d even want the Penn job now."

  Ouch.

• HammerAndRails.com writes with respect to Alabama, "I still think this is an NCAA caliber team. None of the three losses are horrible (Cornell is a very good team) and they can rack up a lot of wins in SEC play. The Michigan and Baylor wins have the potential for plenty of mileage as well. They also get another shot at a ranked team Saturday when they host a very hot Kansas State team."

• Continue reading this post by taking the link below.

• The RPI (Rating Percentage Index) is a measure of strength of schedule and how a team does against that schedule. It does not consider the margin of victory, but only whether or not a team won and where the game was played (home/away/neutral court). The formula is 25% team winning percentage (WP), 50% opponents' average winning percentage (OWP), and 25% opponents' opponents' average winning percentage (OOWP). (See: CollegeRPI.com for a further explanation of the formula.) The RPI may be the most influential factor in NCAA Tournament seeding. Below is a look at Cornell's RPI rank (as of Thursday, December 17) following a 7-2 start for the Big Red. All of Cornell's opponents are also listed (out of 347 total Division I teams). Cornell's results against these opponents are in parentheses.
  

4. St. John's

7. Syracuse (L)
14. Kansas
23. Cornell
43. Harvard
51. Seton Hall (L)
56. Hofstra
77. La Salle
94. Alabama (W)
98. Vermont (W)
101. Princeton
111. St. Joseph's (W)
158. Davidson
162. UMass (W)
172. Drexel (W)
178. Columbia
187. Brown
193. South Dakota
279. Yale
303. Bucknell (W)
310. Dartmouth
311. Toledo (W)
341. Bryant
345. Penn
NR- Clarkson (D-III)
NR- PSU-Erie (D-III)

Neither the Ken Pomeroy or Jeff Sagarin rankings are used by the NCAA Tournament Selection Committee. Nevertheless, the KenPom.com site ranks Cornell No. 69 in the nation, while the Sagarin rankings have Cornell at No. 44. Both sites are predominantly used by fans and the media.

• Below are links to our game recaps from each of Cornell's games this season. Associated press recaps courtesy of Rivals.com/YahooSports.com are always available by clicking on Cornell's schedule/results on the right column of this blog.

1. at Alabama (W 71-67)
2. at UMass (W 74-61)
   
3. vs. Seton Hall (L 79-89)
   
4. at Syracuse (L 73-88)
   
5. Toledo (Phil.) (W 78-60)
   
6. Vermont (Phil.) (W 67-59)
   
7. at Drexel (W 61-54)
   
8. at Bucknell (W 104-98)
   
9. vs. St. Joseph's (W 78-66)

• Below, check out results and upcoming action around the Ivy League. (click here for a composite Ivy League schedule) (Click here for a TV schedule of Ivy League games).
  

Friday, November 13
Yale 86 Sacred Heart 92 (Connecticut Six) Box Score - Recap
Brown 68 St. Francis (N.Y.) 64 Box Score - Recap
Dartmouth 58 Boston College 89 Box Score - Recap
Harvard 87 Holy Cross 77 Box Score - Recap
Penn 55 Penn State 70 Box Score - Recap

Saturday, November 14
Princeton 71 Central Michigan 68 Box Score - Recap
Cornell 71 Alabama 67 Box Score - Recap

Sunday, November 15
Brown 55 Virginia Tech 69 Box Score - Recap
William & Mary 85 Harvard 87 (3OT) Box Score - Recap
Dartmouth 44 George Mason 60 Box Score - Recap

Monday, November 16
Yale 63 Hofstra 68 (NIT at Storrs CT) Box Score - Recap
Penn 65 Villanova 103 Box Score - Recap

Tuesday, November 17
Yale 65 Colgate 55 (NIT Storrs CT) Box Score - Recap
Columbia53 DePaul 59 [SNY] Box Score - Recap

Wednesday, November 18
Rhode Island 78 Brown 57 Box Score - Recap
Manhattan 54 Princeton 61 Box Score - Recap
Cornell 74 UMass 61 Box Score - Recap

Friday, November 20
Brown 76 St. John's 79 Box Score - Recap
Longwood 61 Columbia 72 Box Score - Recap
Seton Hall 89 Cornell 79 Box Score - Recap
Bryant 51 Harvard 77 Box Score - Recap

Saturday, November 21
Army 56 Princeton 52 Box Score - Recap
Dartmouth 60 Furman 83 Box Score - Recap
Delaware 97 Penn 94 2OT Box Score - Recap
Quinnipiac 71 Yale 64 Box Score - Recap

Sunday, November 22
Maine 62 Brown 75 Box Score - Recap

Monday, November 23
Harvard 53 Army 56 Box Score - Recap
Charlotte 88. Yale 74 NIT Box Score - Recap

Tuesday, November 24
Princeton 50 George Washington 65 Box Score - Recap
Cornell 73 Syracuse 88 Box Score - Recap
Loyola (Md.) 58 Dartmouth 41 Box Score - Recap
Bucknell 59 Columbia 73 Box Score - Recap
Drexel 58 Penn 49 Box Score - Recap
Elon 65 Yale 69 NIT Box Score - Recap

Wednesday, November 25
Brown 70 Bryant 68 Box Score - Recap
New Hampshire 60 Harvard 78 Box Score - Recap

Friday, November 27
Cornell 78. Toledo 60 (Legends Classic at Philadelphia, Pa.) Box Score - Recap
Brown 79 Siena 99 (Philadelphia Hoops Classic) Box Score - Recap
Yale 48 Army 64 Box Score - Recap
Hartford 56 Dartmouth 68 Box Score - Recap

Saturday, November 28
Cornell 67 Vermont 59 (Legends Classic at Philadelphia, Pa.) Box Score - Recap
Brown 79 Siena 99 (Philadelphia Hoops Classic) Box Score - Recap
Yale 48 Army 64 Box Score - Recap
Hartford 56 Dartmouth 68 Box Score - Recap

Sunday, November 29
Cornell 61 Drexel 54 (Legends Classic at Philadelphia, Pa.) Box Score - Recap
Harvard 78 Boston U. 70 Box Score - Recap
Princeton 60 California 81 [CSN California] Box Score - Recap

Monday, November 30
Columbia 55 Sacred Heart 60 Box Score - Recap

Tuesday, December 1
Vermont 63 Dartmouth 58 Box Score - Recap

Wednesday, December 2
Holy Cross 85 Brown 79 (OT) Box Score - Recap
Cornell 104 Bucknell 98 (OT) Box Score - Recap
Yale 48 Hartford 46 Box Score - Recap
Rice 64 Harvard 85 Box Score - Recap

Thursday, December 3
Lehigh 75 Columbia 70 Box Score - Recap
Princeton 44 Rutgers 58 Box Score - Recap

Friday, December 4
Penn 67 Navy 73 [CBS College Sports] Box Score - Recap

Saturday, December 5
Columbia 60 Stony Brook 63 Box Score - Recap
Brown 55 Minnesota 91 Box Score - Recap

Sunday, December 6
Harvard 73 UConn 79 [SNY/ESPN Fullcourt] Box Score - Recap
Lafayette 48 Princeton 62 Box Score - Recap
Cornell 78 St. Joseph's (PA) 66 Box Score - Recap

Monday, December 7
Brown 62 Providence 78 Box Score - Recap
Vermont 72 Yale 60 Box Score - Recap

Tuesday, December 8
Columbia 102 Wagner 91 Box Score - Recap
Albany 78 Penn 60 Box Score - Recap

Wednesday, December 9
Harvard 74 Boston College 67 Box Score - Recap
Bryant 54 Yale 69 Box Score - Recap

Saturday, December 12
Columbia 69 Bryant 57 Box Score - Recap
Army 59 Dartmouth 46 Box Score - Recap
Penn 75 Monmouth 80 Box Score - Recap

Sunday, December 13
Princeton 65 UNC Greensboro 50 Box Score - Recap
Lyndon State 54 Dartmouth 83 Box Score

Wednesday, December 16
Monmouth 42 Princeton46 Box Score - Recap

Thursday, December 17
Dartmouth at Lehigh, 7 pm

Sunday, December 20
Cornell vs. Davidson, Noon [MSG Holiday Festival, Fox Sports Atlantic/MSG]
Dartmouth at New Hampshire, 1 pm
Princeton at Maine, 3 pm

Monday, December 21
Yale at Providence, 7 pm
Cornell vs. St. John's/Hofstra, 7/9 pm [MSG Holiday Festival, Fox Sports Atlantic/MSG]

Tuesday, December 22
Colgate at Dartmouth, 7 pm

Wednesday, December 23
Harvard at Georgetown, noon [ESPN Full Court/ MyTV9/ SNY]
Columbia at Quinnipiac, 7 pm

Monday, December 28
MIT at Harvard, 4 pm
Kean at Brown, 7 pm
Penn at Davidson, 7 pm

Tuesday, December 29
Yale at Colorado, 9 pm [FSN Rocky Mountain]
Cornell at La Salle, 4 pm

Wednesday, December 30
Dartmouth at Quinnipiac, 2 pm [NESN]
Brown at Sacred Heart, 7 pm
George Washington at Harvard, 6 pm
Maine at Columbia, 7 pm
Wagner at Princeton, 7 pm

Thursday, December 31
Yale at Colorado State, 4 pm
Penn St. Erie-The Behrend College at Cornell, 2 pm
Penn at Duke, 6 pm [ESPN2]

Saturday, January 2
American at Brown, 1 pm
Bryant at Cornell, 2 pm
Harvard at Seattle, 5:10 pm
Princeton at St. Joseph's, 2 pm [The Comcast Network]

Sunday, January 3
Penn at Lafayette, 1 pm
Yale at Albany, 4 pm [Time Warner Cable (TW3)]