News and Notes: Tuesday Edition

Below, news and notes for Tuesday...

The Syracuse Post Standard mentions Cornell's opening season game at the Orange and writes:

In September, the Orange started practicing in advance of the 2013-14 season. There were two exhibition games and then the regular season opened on Nov. 8 with a game against Cornell.
Cornell led that game at halftime 38-30. Since then, Cornell won just two games, finishing the season with a 2-26 record, including a 1-13 mark in the Ivy League. Meanwhile, Syracuse enjoyed a remarkable campaign. The Orange, who rallied past Cornell for an 82-60 win in the opener, started the year with 25 consecutive victories.

Lost Lettermen thinks Tommy Amaker should leave Harvard and writes about his success. "It’s what led Bill Carmody to leave Princeton for Northwestern in 2000. Same thing with John Thompson III (Princeton to Georgetown in 2004), Fran Dunphy (Penn to Temple in 2006), Craig Robinson (Brown to Oregon State in 2008) and Steve Donahue (Cornell to Boston College in 2010). Often times, the satisfaction of leading a program to 'just another' conference title and Big Dance berth wears thin."

The Ivy League named Nolan Cressler to the Ivy League's weekly honor roll. The Ivy Office notes:

Nolan Cressler, Cornell (So., G - Pittsburgh)
16 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists vs. Princeton
28 points, 5 rebounds vs. Penn

IVY LEAGUE AWARD WINNERS 2013-2014

PLAYERS OF THE WEEK

Wk 1 Nov 11-Tony Hicks, Penn/Justin Sears, Yale
Wk 2 Nov 18-Sean McGonagill, Brown/Javier Duren, Yale
Wk 3 Nov 25-Maodo Lo, Columbia
Wk 4 Dec 2- T.J. Bray, Princeton/Wes Saunders, Harvard
Wk 5 Dec 9-Wes Saunders, Harvard
Wk 6 Dec 16-T.J. Bray, Princeton (Cornell no games)
Wk 7 Dec 23-Siyani Chambers, Harvard
Wk 8 Dec 30-Siyani Chambers, Harvard
Wk 9 Jan 6-Wes Saunders, Harvard/Alex Rosenberg, Columbia
Wk 10 Jan 13- Fran Dougherty, Penn
Wk 11 Jan 20-Alex Rosenberg, Columbia/Justin Sears, Yale
Wk 12 Jan 27-Sean McGonagill, Brown
Wk13 Feb 3-John Golden, Dartmouth/Justin Sears, Yale
Wk 14 Feb 10-Justin Sears, Yale/Fran Dougherty, Penn
Wk 15 Feb 17-Justin Sears, Yale/Alex Rosenberg, Columbia
Wk 16 Feb 24- Alex Rosenberg, Columbia/Siyani Chambers, Harvard

Wk 17 Mar 3-T.J. Bray, Princeton
Wk 18 March 10-Alex Mitola, Dartmouth/Steve Moundou-Missi, Harvard

ROOKIES OF THE WEEK
Wk 1 Nov11-Robert Hatter, Cornell
Wk 2 Nov 18-Norman Hobbie, Brown
Wk 3 Nov 25-Leland King, Brown
Wk 4 Dec 2- Robert Hatter, Cornell
Wk 5 Dec 9-Spencer Weisz, Princeton
Wk 6 Dec 16- Spencer Weisz, Princeton (Cornell no games)
Wk 7 Dec 23-Luke Petrasek, Columbia
Wk 8 Dec 30-Luke Petrasek, Columbia/Steven Spieth, Brown
Wk 9 Jan 6-Norman Hobbie, Brown
Wk 10 Jan 13-Norman Hobbie, Brown
Wk 11 Jan 20-Darryl Smith, Cornell
Wk 12 Jan 27-Spencer Weisz, Princeton
Wk 13 Feb 3-Steven Spieth, Brown
Wk 14 Feb 10-Steven Spieth, Brown
Wk 15 Feb 17-Leland King, Brown
Wk 16 Feb 24-Leland King, Brown
Wk 17 Mar 3-Spencer Weisz, Princeton
Wk 18 Mar 10-Leland King, Brown

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 March 11, 2014 is No. 334 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. 342 in the nation, while the Sagarin Rankings (USA Today) have Cornell at No. 332. Both sites are predominantly used by fans and the media.

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