News and Notes: Thursday Edition

Below, news and notes for Thursday...

• Jon Gray was interviewed on ESPN 1160 Radio.

• The Columbia Spectator writes that Cornell has stepped into the "spotlight" of the Ivy League.  The Spec writes:

After being upset by Columbia the weekend prior, Harvard scored big wins over Penn and Princeton. Elsewhere, on the road and in need of two wins to stay in the running for the conference title, Cornell rose to the occasion and extended its winning streak to three games. With just three full weekends of Ivy games left to play, Harvard, Princeton, and Cornell remain the only three teams with winning Ivy records. 

Feb. 15

CORNELL AT YALE, 68-61

Johnathan Gray, who shot 60 percent from the field and notched 18 points, led Cornell (13-12, 5-3 Ivy) to victory against the Yale (10-15, 4-4). Whenever the Bulldogs gained a bit of momentum, Gray stepped up by hitting a big bucket to provide breathing room in the seven-point victory. The Big Red shut down Yale’s guard Javier Duren, a recent Ivy League player of the week, holding him to a meager seven points. Although both teams had comparable shooting percentages, it was the Big Red that held a consistent lead and snuck by for a victory on Friday night.

***

CORNELL AT BROWN, 69-66

Cornell squeezed by the Bears in a nail-biter on Saturday in Providence. A strong offensive performance in the first 20 minutes propelled the Big Red to a comfortable 40-29 lead entering the second half. Though Brown guard Sean McGonagill scored 19 points and sunk a shot from behind the arc with 25 seconds left in regulation to bring Brown within two points, it wasn’t enough. Brown fell to sixth place with the loss, as Cornell’s second win of the weekend put the team in third.

• The Spectator also writes of Columbia, "Three weeks earlier in Levien, Columbia lost to Cornell by three points, rallying from an ugly 19-point first half to briefly take the lead. Fans were quick to talk about how “thrilling” and “heartbreaking” the game was, but most of them forgot that the Lions left at least four easy layups on the table in the first 10 minutes. "

• The Daily Citizen of Georgia writes about committed Cornell recruit, David Onuorah (Marist HS) Atlanta, GA, 6-8, 230, F, and his Marist team's opening round playoff win last night. The Citizen notes, "Although David Onuorah tallied only eight points, the 6-8 performer displayed enough talent to show why he is headed to Cornell University to play next year."  The Times Free Press also notes, "Georgia Tech signee Quinton Stephens had 19 points for Marist -- all but four in the first half. Cornell signee Dave Onourah finished with eight points and nine rebounds."  Onuorah committed to Cornell during June 2012, before the peak of the AAU season and his senior year of high school.  He turned down a scholarship offer from the SEC's Vanderbilt among many others.  Fellow commit, Robert Hatter (Westside HS) Houston, TX, 6-1, G, also turned down a BCS offer from the Big East's University of Houston.

• Ivy Hoops Online has a new Ivy power poll and writes of Cornell:

3. Cornell (30 points)- Last week it was close, but after emerging from southern New England 2-0, there’s no doubt Cornell has earned the third ranking in this week’s polls. With the sweep, the Red has created some distance between itself and everyone not named Harvard or Princeton. Early in Ivy play, this very poll had the Red ranked sixth, commenting that “Cornell’s seams are separating,” and this very writer emphasized Courtney’s once 5-29 record away from Ithaca. Since then, Cornell is 4-1 on the road and has taken the biggest strides of any team in the Ancient Eight. Some may argue this is still only a two horse race. They may be right, but there’s no denying that Cornell has put itself in a position to play meaningful games throughout February and into March. Considering where this team was early on, Bill Courtney deserves a ton of credit.

• 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
8. 11/28/12 vs. Stony Brook L 53-76
9. 12/1/12 vs. Colgate W 70-63
10. 12/17/12 at Vanderbilt L 55-66
11. 12/19/12 at Duke L 47-88
12. 12/22/12 at Boston U. L 57-70
13. 12/28/12 at St. Francis (PA) W 79-67
14. 12/30/12 at Binghamton W 79-77
15. 1/2/13 vs. Bucknell L 56-72
16. 1/6/13 at American W 68-60
17. 1/12/13 vs. SUNY Old Westbury W 103-84
18. 1/19/13 vs. Columbia L 58-67
19. 1/26/13 at Columbia W 66-63
20. 2/1/13 at Princeton  L 59-76
21. 2/2/13 at Penn W 71-69
22. 2/8/13 vs Harvard L 65-67
23. 2/10/13 vs Dartmouth W 79-56
24. 2/15/13 at Yale W 68-61
25. 2/16/13 at Brown W 69-66

• 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 21 is No. 198 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. 221 in the nation, while the Sagarin Rankings (USA Today) have Cornell at No. 200.  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 49 Bucknell 62 Box Score - Recap

Vermont 85 Harvard 78 [NBCSN] Box Score - Recap

Wednesday, November 28

Columbia 61 LIU Brooklyn 70 Box Score - Recap

Stony Brook 53 Cornell 76 Box Score - Recap

Binghamton 54 Penn 65 Box Score - Recap

Princeton 42 Wagner 48 (OT) Box Score - Recap

Thursday, November 29

Sacred Heart 56 Brown 69 Box Score - Recap

Hartford 60 Yale 51 Box Score - Recap

Saturday, December 1

Brown 50 New Hampshire 63 [WBIN/FCS] Box Score - Recap

Fordham 64 Harvard 73 Box Score - Recap

Dartmouth 61 Longwood 53 Box Score - Recap

Penn 47 Penn State 58 [ESPN3] Box Score - Recap

Colgate 63 Cornell 70 Box Score - Recap

Bucknell 65 Columbia 57 Box Score - Recap

Princeton 50 Kent State 62 Box Score - Recap

Tuesday, December 4

Dartmouth 49 Elon 71 Box Score - Recap

Harvard 79 Boston College 63 [ESPN3] Box Score - Recap

Wednesday, December 5

Yale 64 Bryant 62 Box Score - Recap

Friday, December 7

Harvard 49 Connecticut 57 [SNY] Box Score - Recap

Saturday, December 8

Yale 56 New Hampshire 64  Box Score - Recap

Drexel 64 Princeton 57 Box Score - Recap

Dartmouth 56 Holy Cross 67 Box Score - Recap

Brown 57 Notre Dame 84 [ESPN3] Box Score - Recap

Villanova 68 Penn 55 [NBCSN] Box Score - Recap

Sunday, December 9

Columbia 54 American 42 Box Score - Recap

Tuesday, December 11

Boston University 64 Harvard 65 Box Score - Recap

Wednesday, December 12

Dartmouth 50 Vermont 52 Box Score - Recap

Saturday, December 15

Princeton 60 Fordham 63 (Brooklyn Hoops Winter Festival) [YES] Box Score - Recap

Dartmouth 42 Arizona State 61 Box Score - Recap

Monday, December 17

Cornell 55 Vanderbilt 66 [ESPNU] Box Score - Recap

Tuesday, December 18

Albertus Magnus 63 Yale 112 Box Score - Recap

Wednesday, December 19

Cornell 47 Duke 88 [ESPNU] Box Score - Recap

Thursday, December 20

Rider 45 Princeton 62 Box Score - Recap

Friday, December 21

Penn 60 Delaware 83  Box Score - Recap

Saturday, December 22

Cornell 57 Boston University70 Box Score - Recap

Dartmouth 66 Bryant 79  Box Score - Recap

Holy Cross 65 Harvard 72  Box Score - Recap

Elon 70 Columbia 79 Box Score - Recap

Bucknell 67 Princeton 79 Box Score - Recap

Sunday, December 23

Brown 42 Northwestern 63 [BTN.com] Box Score - Recap

Friday, December 28

Providence 68 Brown 69 [NBCSN] Box Score - Recap

Cornell 79 Saint Francis (Pa.) 67  Box Score - Recap

Yale 75 Nevada 85 Box Score - Recap

Saturday, December 29

Manhattan 58 Columbia 69 Box Score - Recap

Penn 63 Wagner 68  Box Score - Recap

Harvard 67 California 62 [PAC-12] Box Score - Recap

Sunday, December 30

Cornell 79 Binghamton 77 [TIME WARNER SPORTS] Box Score - Recap

Yale 62 Saint Mary’s (Calif.) 78 Box Score - Recap

Princeton 58 Akron 62 Box Score - Recap

Monday, December 31

Dartmouth 58 Boston College 79 [ESPN3] Box Score - Recap

Brown 50 Albany 57 Box Score - Recap

Harvard 69 Saint Mary’s (Calif.) 70 [ESPN2] Box Score - Recap

Tuesday, January 1

Yale 70 Iowa State 80 Box Score - Recap

Wednesday, January 2

Colgate 59 Columbia 66 Box Score - Recap

Bucknell 72 Cornell 56 Box Score - Recap

Penn 57 Butler 70 Box Score - Recap

Friday, January 4

Brown 47 Rhode Island 59 [OSN] Box Score - Recap

Yale 61 Holy Cross 54 Box Score - Recap

Saturday, January 5

Princeton 74 Elon 64 Box Score - Recap

Penn 57 La Salle 74 Box Score - Recap

Columbia 64 Army 52 Box Score - Recap

Rice 62 Harvard 92 Box Score - Recap

Colgate 78 Dartmouth 62 Box Score - Recap

Sunday, January 6

Cornell 68 American 60 Box Score - Recap

Florida 79 Yale 58 [NBCSN] Box Score - Recap

Tuesday, January 8

Niagara 74 Brown 75 Box Score - Recap

Columbia 69 Holy Cross 78 Box Score - Recap

Army 58 Dartmouth 75 Box Score - Recap

Lafayette 85 Penn 83 Box Score - Recap

Saturday, January 12

Daniel Webster 34 Brown 71 Box Score - Recap

College at Old Westbury 84 Cornell 103  Box Score - Recap

Oberlin 39 Yale 104 Box Score - Recap

*Harvard 75 Dartmouth 65 Box Score - Recap

*Penn 53 Princeton 65 [NBCSN] Box Score - Recap

Thursday, January 17

Colby-Sawyer 42 Dartmouth 80 Box Score

Penn 54 NJIT 53 Box Score - Recap

Saturday, January 19

Harvard 50 Memphis 60 [FSN] Box Score - Recap

*Columbia 58 Cornell 67 NBCSN] Box Score - Recap

Saint Joseph’s 79 Penn 59 [ESPNU] Box Score - Recap

*Yale 51 Brown 65 Box Score - Recap

Wednesday, January 23

Penn 69 Temple 76 Box Score - Recap

Saturday, January 26

*Dartmouth 77  Harvard 82 OT [NBCSN] Box Score - Recap

*Brown 64 Yale 76 OT Box Score - Recap

*Cornell 66 Columbia 63 Box Score - Recap

Sunday, January 27

The College of New Jersey 33 Princeton 71 Box Score - Recap

Friday, February 1

*Brown 62 Dartmouth 50 Box Score - Recap

*Columbia 58 Penn 62  Box Score - Recap

*Cornell 59 Princeton 76 Box Score - Recap

*Yale 64 Harvard 67 Box Score - Recap

 Saturday, February 2

*Columbia 66 Princeton 72 [NBCSN] Box Score - Recap

*Brown 82 Harvard 89 2OT Box Score - Recap

*Cornell 71 Penn 69 Box Score - Recap

*Yale 62 Dartmouth 71 Box Score - Recap

Friday, February 8

*Brown 46 Princeton 63 Box Score - Recap

*Dartmouth 60 Columbia 57 Box Score - Recap

*Harvard 67 Cornell 65  Box Score - Recap

*Yale 68 Penn 59  Box Score - Recap

Saturday, February 9

*Yale 69 Princeton 65 Box Score - Recap

*Brown 48 Penn 71 Box Score - Recap

Sunday, February 10

*Harvard 63 Columbia 78 Box Score - Recap

*Dartmouth 56 Cornell 79 Box Score - Recap

Friday, February 15

*Columbia 55 Brown 58 [myRITV] Box Score - Recap

*Cornell 68 Yale 61 Box Score - Recap

*Princeton 73 Dartmouth 55 Box Score - Recap

*Penn 54 Harvard 73  Box Score - Recap

Saturday, February 16

*Cornell 69 Brown 66 Box Score - Recap

*Columbia 56 Yale 75 Box Score - Recap

*Penn 67 Dartmouth 57 Box Score - Recap

*Princeton 57 Harvard 69 [NBCSN] Box Score - Recap

Friday, February 22
*Harvard at Brown, 7 pm [myRITV]
*Princeton at Columbia, 7 pm
*Penn at Cornell, 7 pm
*Dartmouth at Yale, 7 pm

Saturday, February 23
*Dartmouth at Brown, 6 pm
*Penn at Columbia, 7 pm
*Princeton at Cornell, 7 pm
*Harvard at Yale, 8 pm [CBSSN]