NCAA BK

Cornell team capsule

FOX Sports
Share This Story

     
 
Cornell (27-4)

COACH: Steve Donahue, 10 years at Cornell, three years in NCAA Tournament

HOW THEY GOT IN: Automatic bid (Ivy League)

MATCHUP BREAKDOWN: As a 12 seed, Cornell probably would have preferred a different No. 5 seed than Temple, which plays in the Northeast and has a former Ivy League coach in ex-Penn boss Fran Dunphy. Like the Big Red, the Owls have three primary scorers, two on the outside (Juan Fernandez and Ryan Brooks) and one on the inside (Lavoy Allen). It also has the trademark tough Temple defense, so the game may come down to how well Ryan Wittman and Louis Dale can loosen things up with outside shooting, and how well Jeff Foote can hold his own on the inside.


GO-TO GUYS:
Cornell has three players who made the All-Ivy first team, so this isn't a squad that lacks talent. Wittman, the Ivy's Player of the Year, leads the team in scoring at 17.5 points per game and has the Ivy League record for 3-pointers in a season and a career. He's been in double figures in 108 of his 118 career games. Seven-footer Foote and Dale also made the squad, and they fuel the inside-outside basis of the Big Red offense.

THEY'LL KEEP WINNING IF: Their 3-pointers fall. This is a very good Ivy League team that can't be taken lightly, as it showed by nearly pulling off a January upset on the road against No. 1 Kansas. It has a seven-footer in the paint when Foote mans the middle, and enough depth to trade bodies with anyone. But its outside shooting runs hot and cold, and it's a much more dangerous team when the shooters, particularly Ryan Wittman, are hot from beyond the arc.

STRENGTHS: Forget about the "Ivy League" on the conference affiliation sheet -- this is a legitimately good basketball team that proved it both in league play and over a rigorous non-conference schedule designed to give the team the strength (both on the court and in the RPI) it needed to do damage in the NCAA Tournament. It has both the current Ivy League Player of Year (Wittman) and former Player of the Year (Dale), and Foote as a force in the middle. Cornell has a lot of depth and can bring in bodies in both the backcourt and the paint to replace starters in foul trouble or search for a spark on either end of the court. It's playing in its third consecutive NCAA Tournament, and its senior-dominated squad is postseason-tested. Moreover, the team enters the postseason on fire from 3-point range, going 71-of-132 over its final six games.

WEAKNESSES: Apart from a random loss to Penn, when the Quakers couldn't miss for 40 minutes, the Big Red had their biggest Ivy League problems with a Princeton team that controlled the tempo and slowed the game down. Cornell likes to play quicker, and any team that can stay disciplined on defense will make it difficult for Cornell's offense to click. Wittman is a big-time player, but the teams that have had success against him have been those, like Princeton, with tall and athletic wing players to chase him around, so if Cornell draws a team with that kind of athlete, it could put a crimp in Wittman's production.
Tagged: Cornell, Princeton, Temple

Related Stories

Member Comments

Please note by clicking on "add a comment" you acknowledge that you have read the Terms of Use and the comment you are posting is in compliance with such terms. Be polite. Inappropriate posts may be removed by the moderator.

ADD A COMMENT
    PREV PREV   NEXT NEXT    
ADD A COMMENT
    PREV PREV   NEXT NEXT    


Trending Now

NCAA BK Videos

NBA Draft Preview: Andre Drummond Posted: May 18, 2012
Watch highlights of former Connecticut big man Andre Drummond.

White House welcomes Kentucky Posted: May 04, 2012
President Barack Obama congratulates the national champion Kentucky Wildcats bas...

NBA Draft Preview: Austin Rivers Posted: May 18, 2012
Watch highlights of former Duke guard Austin Rivers.

Fox Sports Store

    itemName itemURL imageSrc price itemDescription
    adidas UCLA Bruins True Blue Layup Flex Hat http://www.foxsportsshop.com/FOX_UCLA_Bruins/browse/featuredproduct/664512/source/prsp_ca http://images.footballfanatics.com/FFImage/thumb.aspx?i=/productImages/_664000/ff_664512_xl.jpg&w=100 21.95 adidas UCLA Bruins True Blue Layup Flex Hat
    Nike Washington Huskies Purple Aerographic Performance Swoosh Flex Hat http://www.foxsportsshop.com/FOX_Washington_Huskies/browse/featuredproduct/669771/source/prsp_ca http://images.footballfanatics.com/FFImage/thumb.aspx?i=/productImages/_669000/ff_669771_xl.jpg&w=100 24.95 Nike Washington Huskies Purple Aerographic Performance Swoosh Flex Hat
    Nike Arizona Wildcats #33 Elite Replica Aerographic Basketball Jersey - Navy Blue http://www.foxsportsshop.com/FOX_Arizona_Wildcats/browse/featuredproduct/676559/source/prsp_ca http://images.footballfanatics.com/FFImage/thumb.aspx?i=/productImages/_676000/ff_676559_xl.jpg&w=100 59.95 Nike Arizona Wildcats #33 Elite Replica Aerographic Basketball Jersey - Navy Blu..
    Nike Duke Blue Devils #30 Elite Aerographic Replica Basketball Jersey - Black http://www.foxsportsshop.com/FOX_Duke_Blue_Devils/browse/featuredproduct/676562/source/prsp_ca http://images.footballfanatics.com/FFImage/thumb.aspx?i=/productImages/_676000/ff_676562_xl.jpg&w=100 59.95 Nike Duke Blue Devils #30 Elite Aerographic Replica Basketball Jersey - Black
    Nike Florida Gators #1 Hyper Elite Platinum Basketball Jersey - Dark Gray http://www.foxsportsshop.com/FOX_Florida_Gators/browse/featuredproduct/688826/source/prsp_ca http://images.footballfanatics.com/FFImage/thumb.aspx?i=/productImages/_688000/ff_688826_xl.jpg&w=100 119.95 Nike Florida Gators #1 Hyper Elite Platinum Basketball Jersey - Dark Gray
    Kansas Jayhawks 2012 Big 12 Men\'s Basketball Champions T-Shirt - Royal Blue http://www.foxsportsshop.com/FOX_Kansas_Jayhawks/browse/featuredproduct/823260/source/prsp_ca http://images.footballfanatics.com/FFImage/thumb.aspx?i=/productImages/_823000/ff_823260_xl.jpg&w=100 18.95 Kansas Jayhawks 2012 Big 12 Men\'s Basketball Champions T-Shirt - Royal Blue