News and Notes: Tuesday Edition

Below, some news and notes for Tuesday...

• Bucknell's game notes for its meeting with Dartmouth tonight note, "Bucknell is 44-44 (.500) all-time against the Ivy League. The Bison have played 47 games against Cornell, but only 40 combined against the other seven Ivy teams."

• Bleacher Report previews Duke's game against Ohio State and writes that it is the, "last big test [for Duke] before a far easier slate of games against the likes of Delaware, Temple and Cornell."

• The Columbia Spectator summarizes Cornell's recent games and writes, "The Big Red (3-4) had a rough start to last week’s competition with a 64-53 loss to Arizona State but composed itself for the Continental Tire Las Vegas Invitational. After clobbering Presbyterian College 89-55, Cornell moved on to beat Longwood 84-78. This second win was thanks to the efforts of senior forward Eitan Chemerinski and the current Ivy League Player of the Week, sophomore forward Shonn Miller. Chemerinski led the Big Red in scoring, with a career-high 19 points and six rebounds, while Miller had a solid 14 points and seven rebounds. Their successes on the boards helped offset the dismal 20 turnovers recorded by Cornell and won it the tournament title."

• The Cornell Daily Sun recaps Cornell's recent games out west and writes:

Red Comes Back to Win Some 

After beginning the Las Vegas Invitational Tournament with a blowout loss against Wisconsin, the Red (2-4) looked to rebound in its next game against Arizona State (4-0). Cornell took a 25-22 lead into halftime due to a strong defensive effort, but Arizona State eventually took the lead and held on for a 64-53 victory.

One of the biggest concerns for the Red was the team’s inability to hold onto the ball, as Cornell turned the ball over 23 times — led by sophomore guard Galal Cancer’s seven turnovers. Inconsistent play led to 18 points off turnovers for Arizona State. 

The Red’s forwards gave a dynamic performance to help the Red stay in the game. Sophomore forward Shonn Miller had his best game of the season, as he scored a team-high 13 points on 4-6 shooting and also led the team with 12 rebounds to help the Red control the glass, where it held a 40-36 advantage in that area. Senior forward Josh Figini started the game and was the second leading scorer as he recorded 12 points, including two threes.

Freshman guard Nolan Cressler continued his solid play off the bench — hitting two more threes for six points, while recording six rebounds and an assist. Senior guard Johnny Gray struggled again — missing both his field goal attempts and played just 11 minutes.

Arizona State guard Jahii Carson led the Sun Devils with 21 points and 4 assists. Carson was a freshman last year, but was eligible to play due to NCAA sanctions. The 5-10 guard was a highly ranked recruit coming out of high school who received offers from many schools including Arizona, Memphis, Marquette, and UCLA.

The Red faced Presbyterian (0-6) in the next game and broke its 4-game losing skid, crushing the Blue Hose 89-55. The Red got out to a quick start on a three-pointer from Gray and never relinquished the lead to the Blue Hose.

After turning the ball over 23 times against the Sun Devils, the Red turned it over just seven times against Presbyterian. Cornell was also on fire throughout the game, as the Red finished 57 percent from the field and knocked down 11 three-pointers.

The Cornell guards led the way, as Gray had his best game of the season as his shots finally started falling into place, scoring 16 points with 3 three-pointers and grabbing four rebounds. Cressler earned his first start of his rookie career and recorded 14 points — hitting 3-6 from three — and 5 rebounds. Sophomore guard Devin Cherry — who now leads the team in scoring at 10.2 per game — was flawless from the field as he dropped 13 points on 5-5 from the field, including 3-3 from downtown, to provide a spark off the bench.

In its last game of the Las Vegas Invitational, Cornell continued its winning streak by beating Longwood (1-5), 84-78, in the championship game of the Las Vegas Invitational lower bracket. The Red again started well, as it went on a 25-5 run after going down 8-5 early to take a commanding 17-point lead that the team never gave up.

Senior forward Eitan Chemerinski starred in this game off the bench, as he had a team-high 19 points and 6 rebounds and a block. Also off the bench, senior forward Errick Peck recorded a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds. Overall, Cornell’s bench outscored Longwood’s bench, 46-12, which provided a huge boost for the Red. Head coach Bill Courtney continues to play a 9-man rotation, as nine players all received more than 11 minutes of playing time.

After turning the ball over just seven times against Presbyterian, the Red experienced another inconsistent night, as the team had 20 turnovers against Longwood. Cornell was able to overcome its inability to hold onto the ball with an standout shooting display — 7-18 from three and 53 percent from the field.

Longwood was down by 14 with 3:41 to play and mounted a comeback, but it was too little too late, as Peck and Cressler knocked down six straight free throws to put the game away at the end. The Lancers were led by the trio of guards Nik Brown and Tristan Carey, who each recorded 19 points, and forward Michael Kessens, who led the game with 20 points and 14 rebounds.

After the long road trip, Cornell’s next game will be at home against last year’s America East regular season champion Stony Brook (4-1) on Wednesday at 7 p.m. The Seawolves lost three of their top four scorers from their championship team last year, but Stony Brook is still expected to finish second in the conference, according to preseason polls.

• Zalgiris of Lithuania improved to 4-0 in the LKL (Lithuanian premier league) with a 90-79 win over Rytas.  Jeff Foote (Cornell '10) got the starting nod at center and finished with 2 points and 2 rebounds in 12 minutes of action.  Also in Europe, Louis Dale (Cornell '10) had 2 points and 2 rebounds in 10 minutes as his KAOD team of Greece lost a league game to Peristeri 78-76 on Sunday.

• Below, links to our recap sections from each of Cornell's games during the 2012-2013 season.
  
  1. 11/10/12 vs. Western Michigan W 63-55
  2. 11/14/12 vs. St. Bonaventure L 68-72
  3. 11/16/12 vs. St. Peter's  L 64-68
  4. 11/18/12 at Wisconsin (Las Vegas Invitational) L 40-73 
  5. 11/20/12 at Arizona State (Las Vegas Invitational L 53-64
  6. 11/23/12 vs. Presbyterian (Las Vegas Invitational) at Las Vegas W 89-55
  7. 11/24/12 vs. Longwood (Las Vegas Invitational) at Las Vegas W 84-78

• Cornell RPI Watch: 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. Cornell's RPI rank as of November 27 is No. 177 out of 344 total Division I teams. While neither the Ken Pomeroy or the Sagarin Rankings (USA Today) are used by the NCAA Tournament Selection Committee, the KenPom.com site ranks Cornell No. 212 in the nation, while the Sagarin Rankings (USA Today) have Cornell at No. 215. Both sites are predominantly used by fans and the media.

• Here is a look at Ivy League results and upcoming games. A full Ivy composite schedule may viewed by clicking here.

IVY LEAGUE COMPOSITE SCHEDULE

Friday, November 9
MIT 54 Harvard 69 Box Score - Recap
UMBC 75 Penn 80  Box Score - Recap

Saturday, November 10
Western Michigan 55 Cornell 63 Box Score - Recap
Princeton 57 Buffalo 53 Box Score - Recap
Yale 82 Sacred Heart 85 (OT) [SNY] [Conn 6] Box Score - Recap  
Columbia 68 Furman 47 Box Score - Recap
Maine 54 Dartmouth 67  Box Score - Recap

Sunday, November 11
Brown 58 Binghamton 49 Box Score - Recap

Monday, November 12
Yale 35 Saint Joseph’s 61 (Coaches v. Cancer) Box Score - Recap
Penn 69 Delaware 84 (Preseason NIT) Box Score - Recap

Tuesday, November 13
Harvard 64 Massachusetts 67 (ESPN Tip Off Marathon) [ESPN] Box Score - Recap
Penn 53 Fairfield 62 (Preseason NIT) [ESPN3] Box Score - Recap
Northeastern 67 Princeton 66 Box Score - Recap
New Hampshire 72 Dartmouth 58 Box Score - Recap
Haverford 40 Columbia 74 Box Score - Recap

Wednesday, November 14
St. Bonaventure at Cornell [NBCSN] Box Score - Recap

Thursday, November 15
Brown 71 Central Connecticut State 86 Box Score - Recap

Friday, November 16
Saint Peter’s 68 Cornell 64 Box Score - Recap
Rutgers 58 Princeton 52 Box Score - Recap
Manhattan 45 Harvard 79 Box Score
Yale 56 Evansville 66 (Coaches v. Cancer) Box Score - Recap

Saturday, November 17
Drexel 61 Penn 59 Box Score - Recap
Yale 63 Buffalo 59 (Evansville, Ind.) (Coaches v. Cancer) Box Score
Brown 70 Maine 68 Box Score - Recap
Marist 67 Columbia 62 Box Score - Recap

Sunday. November 18
Yale 47 Western Illinois 59 (Oakland City, Ind.) Box Score - Recap
Cornell 40 Wisconsin 73 (Las Vegas Invitational) [ESPN3]  Box Score - Recap

Monday, November 19
Penn 68 Fordham 70 (Preseason NIT, Bethlehem PA) Box Score - Recap

Tuesday, November 20
Columbia 75 Villanova 57 [ESPN3] Box Score - Recap
Harvard 56 Saint Joseph’s 75 [NBCSN] Box Score - Recap
Penn 66 Lehigh 73 (Preseason NIT) Box Score - Recap
Cornell 53 Arizona State 64 (Las Vegas Invitational) [PAC-12 Sports Network] Box Score - Recap

Wednesday, November 21
Bryant 68 Brown 61 Box Score - Recap
Princeton 53 Syracuse 73 [TIME WARNER] Box Score - Recap
Yale 52 Vermont 65  Box Score - Recap

Friday, November 23
Cornell 89 Presbyterian 55 (Las Vegas Invitational at Las Vegas) Box Score - Recap
Columbia 75 Wayland Baptist 63 (SF Hilltop Classic) Box Score - Recap

Saturday, November 24
Saint Francis (N.Y.) 76 Brown72 (OT) Box Score - Recap
IPFW 70 Dartmouth 66 Box Score - Recap
Princeton 72 Lafayette53 Box Score - Recap
Army 83 Yale 86 (2OT)  Box Score - Recap
Cornell 84 Longwood 78 (Las Vegas Invitational at Las Vegas) Box Score - Recap
Columbia 59 San Francisco 79 (SF Hilltop Classic) Box Score - Recap

Tuesday, November 27
Dartmouth at Bucknell, 7 pm
Vermont at Harvard, 7 pm [NBCSN]

Wednesday, November 28
Columbia at LIU Brooklyn, 7 pm
Stony Brook at Cornell, 7 pm
Binghamton at Penn, 7 pm
Princeton at Wagner, 7 pm

Thursday, November 29
Sacred Heart at Brown, 7 pm
Hartford at Yale, 7 pm

Saturday, December 1
Brown at New Hampshire, 1 pm [WBIN/FCS]
Fordham at Harvard, 1 pm
Dartmouth at Longwood, 2 pm
Penn at Penn State, 2 pm [ESPN3]
Colgate at Cornell, 4 pm
Bucknell at Columbia, 7 pm
Princeton at Kent State, 7 pm