News and Notes: Friday Edition

Below, news and notes for Friday...

Grantland says Cornell's 2010 Sweet Sixteen and nationally ranked team may re-unite.

The Ithaca Journal capsule for Cornell's weekend games notes:

FRIDAY: Cornell (2-22 overall, 1-9 Ivy League) at Harvard (20-4, 9-1) WHEN: 7 p.m. WHERE: Lavietes Pavilion (2,050), Cambridge, Mass. RADIO: 98.7 FM The Buzzer VIDEO: IvyLeagueDigitalNetwork.com SERIES: Cornell leads 90-75 LAST MEETING: Harvard stretched its win streak over Cornell to seven games with a 67-44 victory on Feb. 15 at Newman Arena. Reserve Brandyn Curry led the Crimson with 14 points, while Cornell got a game-high 17 from sophomore guard Nolan Cressler. LEADERS: For Cornell, so. G Nolan Cressler (17.0 ppg., 4.4 rpg.), jr. G Devin Cherry (12.2 ppg., 3.4 apg.), sr. F Dwight Tarwater (6.1 ppg., 5.8 rpg.). For Harvard, jr. G/F Wesley Saunders (14.3 ppg., 4.6 rpg.), so. G Siyani Chambers (11.0 ppg., 4.7 apg.), sr. F Kyle Casey (10.0 ppg., 5.7 rpg.). FAST FACTS: The Crimson has 12-11 edge in the past 23 meetings with Cornell, and will be looking for its fourth straight sweep of the season series. ... Harvard is 9-1 at home, its only loss coming on Feb. 8 vs. Yale (74-67). ... The Crimson have won or shared the past three Ivy League titles and are a game ahead of Yale (14-10, 8-2) atop the standings. SATURDAY’S GAME: Cornell at Dartmouth (9-15, 2-8, play tonight at Columbia), 7 p.m., Leede Arena, Hanover, N.H.

The Star Ledger of N.J. writes, "Going into this weekend’s game, Harvard, at 9-1 in league play, holds a one-game lead over Yale (8-2). The Crimson hosts Columbia and Cornell this weekend and will be hoping to get some help from Princeton, or Penn, who host Yale."

The Ivy League has its weekend capsules for the upcoming games and notes:

Cornell (2-22, 1-9 Ivy) at Harvard (22-4, 9-1 Ivy)
Date: Friday, February 28 – 7 p.m.
Location: Lavietes Pavilion • Cambridge, Mass.
Live Broadcast: The Ivy League® Digital Network
Cornell-Harvard Series: Cornell leads, 90-75
Last Meeting: Harvard 67, Cornell 44 • 2/15/14 • Ithaca, N.Y.
Live Stats | Cornell Game Notes | Harvard Game Notes
***
Cornell at Dartmouth
Date: Saturday, March 1 – 7 p.m.
Location: Leede Arena • Hanover, N.H.
Live Broadcast: The Ivy League® Digital Network
Cornell-Dartmouth Series: Cornell leads, 104-103
Last Meeting: Cornell 70, Dartmouth 67 • 2/14/14 • Ithaca, N.Y.
Live Stats | Cornell Game Notes | Dartmouth Game Notes

The Columbia Spectator writes, "the [Harvard] Crimson hosts Cornell, one of the worst teams in Division I."

The Crimson picks the weekend games and writes:

CORNELL V. HARVARD
2010: Cornell 29-5, Harvard 21-7
2014: Harvard 22-4, Cornell 2-22
Do you remember the first game of the season, when this Cornell team was up eight at halftime on Syracuse? Me neither.
Pick: Harvard
***
CORNELL V. DARTMOUTH
Cornell-Dartmouth is a lot like Freshman Formal: You don’t want to go and if you do, you won’t remember it the next morning.
Pick: Dartmouth

The Columbia Spectator surveys the Ivy and writes:

In the sixth week of Ivy League play, Harvard (22-4, 9-1 Ivy) claimed sole possession of the top position in the standings by finishing the weekend undefeated. Both Columbia (17-10, 6-4 Ivy) and the Crimson went 2-0 this weekend, while Yale (14-10, 8-2 Ivy), Princeton (15-8, 3-6 Ivy), Penn (7-16, 4-5 Ivy), and Brown (14-10, 6-4 Ivy) all split their respective contests. Dartmouth (9-15, 2-8 Ivy) and Cornell (2-22, 1-9 Ivy) went winless.
***
Yale entered the weekend tied with Harvard atop the standings. The Bulldogs were able to pick up a win in their first contest against Cornell. Yale started out hot and held a commanding 45-31 lead at half. The Big Red had no answer for the Yale offense in the second half, and ultimately fell in Ithaca, 82-65. Forward Justin Sears led the way for the Bulldogs with 19 points and five rebounds, though the Yale bench also contributed 37 points to the effort.
***
Brown had yet another exciting weekend, as both its games were decided in the final seconds. At Levien, the Bears were unable to retain an early 11-point lead and ultimately lost to Columbia, 70-68.
Brown played another thriller against Cornell the following day. The teams exchanged buckets throughout the second half, and neither team held more than a three-point lead, as Cornell held the ever-dangerous Bears guard Sean McGonagill to just seven points.
But with 23 seconds remaining, Brown forward Cedric Kuakumensah hit a clutch layup to tie the game. Cornell had an opportunity to get back on top, but guard Devin Cherry was unable to hit a jump shot, and the game went to overtime.
The momentum shifted in Brown’s favor in the extra period. The Bears got off to a quick start and never relinquished their lead, finishing off the Big Red, 81-75. Kuakumensah led the Bears by recording a double-double with 30 points and 14 rebounds. Guard Nolan Cressler posted 34 points for Cornell in the loss.
***
Harvard, Princeton, Penn, and Dartmouth will play at home next week. The Crimson and Big Green will take on Columbia and Cornell, while Penn and Princeton will face Yale and Brown. Harvard will look to continue its four-game win streak and stay on top of the standings, while Yale will fight to remain in the running as it faces Princeton and Penn.

The NCAA notes Kuakumensah's 7 blocks vs. Cornell.

As the Steve Donahue debate continues to rage on at Boston College, a Jersey Guy writes, "Donahue did it at Cornell, eventually turning the Big Red into a Sweet 16 team in his final season in Ithaca. But it took 7 years to turn the program into a winner and Donahue did it in the middle class neighborhood of Ivy League basketball." BC Gavel writes, "though it took him all of seven years to turn Cornell from zero to hero, does Boston College have the patience and the faith to preserve Donahue’s career? And by bringing in a coach who took so long to build a venerable program and gain stature at Cornell, was it unrealistic for BC to expect Donahue to turn around a program in such a short period of time?"

In the NBA D-League with the Springfield Armor (Brooklyn Nets affiliate), Jeff Foote (Cornell '10) had another strong game last night.

The Ft. Wayne News Sentinel writes of Errick Peck (Cornell '13) now a graduate student player with Purdue, "If you've followed the Boilers, you know there have been problems. [Matt] Painter signed a couple of fifth-year seniors in Errick Peck and Sterling Carter, and they've had their moments, although not season-changing ones."

Cornell's incoming recruiting class next season includes four members: Riley Glassmann (Fremd HS) Palatine, IL, 6-5, G, William "Will" Bathurst (Olean HS) Olean, NY, 6-3, G, Jordan Abdur-Ra'oof (Gonzaga HS) Washington, D.C., 6-7, F, and Pat Smith (Archbishop Wood HS) Warminster, PA, 6-5, F. Will Bathurst is one of six finalists for Mr. Basketball in New York State awarded by the New York Sports Writers. See also WIVB.

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 February 28, 2014 is No. 331 out of 351 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. 335 in the nation, while the Sagarin Rankings (USA Today) have Cornell at No. 329. Both sites are predominantly used by fans and the media.

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