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GAME INFORMATION
Game #13: Quinnipiac at Cornell
Tip off: Wednesday, Dec. 31, at 1:00 p.m.
Site: Newman Arena (4,473), Ithaca, N.Y.
2008-09 Records: Quinnipiac (6-5, 2-0 Northeast); Cornell (6-6, 0-0 Ivy)|
Series Record: Quinnipiac leads 2-1
Last Meeting: Cornell won 86-84 (OT), Dec. 31, 2007 in Hamden, Conn.
Radio: 1160 ESPN Radio, WPIE (Barry Leonard)
TV: None
Live Stats: available at www.CornellBigRed.com
Live Video: available at www.CornellBigRed.com
Tickets: available by calling (607) 254-BEAR

HEAD COACH STEVE DONAHUE
Cornell head coach Steve Donahue is in his ninth season at Cornell (102-129, .442) ... Donahue became the fourth Robert E. Gallagher '44 Coach of Men's Basketball at Cornell on Sept. 6, 2000.

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ITHACA, N.Y. — After its most complete effort of the season, the Cornell men's basketball team will look to continue the momentum into the new year when it meets Quinnipiac on Wednesday, Dec. 31 at 1 p.m. at Newman Arena at Bartels Hall. Live video of the New Year's Eve game is available as part of the RedCast subscription service, while Barry Leonard will provide the call locally on 1160 ESPN Radio. 

The Big Red had a breakout win over preseason America East favorite Boston University on Monday evening, blowing out the Terriers 89-59. Cornell shot 64 percent from the floor and limited BU to 32 percent overall in extending the team's home win streak to 12 games. Cornell scored te first 11 points of the game and led by double figures for the final 37 minutes in capturing the easier than expected victory. The Bobcats, meanwhile, fell on the road to fellow Ivy foe Brown by a score of 89-73 that same afternoon despite 31 points from James Feldeine.

The All-Ivy trio of juniors Ryan Wittman (20.6 ppg., 3.8 rpg.) and Louis Dale (10.5 ppg., 3.0 apg.) and senior Jeff Foote (13.9 ppg., 7.1 rpg., 2.9 apg., 2.6 bpg.), as expected, continue to lead the Big Red offensively. Foote had 19 points, 12 rebounds and five assists in the win over Boston University on Monday, while Wittman and Dale combined for 22 points. 

Juniors Geoff Reeves (11.6 ppg.) and Alex Tyler (7.5 ppg., 4.8 rpg.) have also started all 12 games during the non-conference season and have had outstanding efforts in preparation for league play. Freshman Chris Wroblewski, sophomore Adam Wire and seniors Brian Kreefer and Jason Battle have also played key roles off the bench in the early going.

ABOUT QUINNIPIAC: The Bobcats are off to a 6-5 start that includes a 2-0 record in Northeast Conference play after falling at Brown 89-73 on Monday afternoon. Quinnipiac has excelled on the road with a 5-1 record, dropping its first contest away from home with its defeat in Providence. James Feldeine leads four double figure scorers at 19.9 points per game, a mark that improves to 29.0 points in his last three games. Justin Rutty (16.5 ppg., 8.1 rpg.) and Jeremy Baker (12.7 ppg., 9.0 rpg.) and James Johnson (10.9 ppg.) also are posting at least 10 points per game, though Baker has missed the team's last eight games. Quinnipiac is outrebounding its foes by 8.3 rebounds per game (38.5-30.2), but are allowing 46 percent shooting and are shooting just 60 percent from the free-throw line. Head coach Tom Moore has a 21-20 record in his second year at Quinnipiac and has posted a 97-79 mark in six years as a head coach.

CORNELL VS. THE NORTHEAST CONFERENCE: The Big Red holds an 8-10 all-time record against current members of the Northeast Conference including a 1-2 mark against Quinnipiac. The Big Red has faced Long Island (0-2), Robert Morris (2-0), Sacred Heart (1-1), St. Francis (N.Y.) (0-2), Saint Francis (Pa.) (3-3) and Wagner (1-0), while never meeting Central Connecticut, Fairleigh Dickinson, Monmouth or Mount St. Mary's. This is the only scheduled game against an NEC opponent this season.

 

A WIN OVER QUINNIPIAC WOULD ...
• end Cornell's 2008 record at 7-6.
• even the all-time series record at 2-2.
• move Cornell's win streak at Newman Arena to 12 games, the longest all-time in the building, while making the team 4-0 at home this season.
• be the 1,131st in school history.

SEASON'S GREETINGS: Cornell's effort in the win over preseason America East favorite Boston University was outstanding on both ends of the court. Here are some notes on the win:
• Cornell's home win streak improved to 11, the longest winning stretch in Newman Arena history.
• The 30-point win was the team's biggest since the Ivy-clinching 86-53 victory over Harvard on March 1, 2008.
• The .642 shooting percentage (34-of-53) is the highest in nine seasons under head coach Steve Donahue.
• The 30-point loss for Boston University was its worst since dropping a 64-34 decision to Georgetown in the 2005 NIT, while the 89 points allowed was the most since Cincinnati poured in 90 in a 90-52 win in the first round of the 2002 NCAA tournament.
• Jeff Foote led four double-figure scorers with 19 points to go along with a career-high 12 rebounds and five assists. Alex Tyler chipped in with 14 points and a career-best four blocked shots.
• Cornell assisted on a season-high 21 baskets.
• The Big Red bench outscored its Terrier counterparts 26-13.
• Cornell jumped out to a 13-0 lead and led 28-5 just eight minutes into the contest. 

HOME SWEET HOME: Cornell finished the 2007-08 season with a 12-1 record at home, including eight straight triumphs in front of the Newman Nation crowd. The Big Red fans came out in droves to support the team, averaging 3,992 fans for conference games and posting crowds of more than 4,000 in four of the final five home games, including sell-outs for wins over Penn (2/9) and Harvard (3/1). Cornell extended its home win streak to 11 with victories against South Dakota, La Salle and Boston University to open this season.

AND BACK WHERE THEY BELONG: Cornell's win over Alvernia on Jan. 10, 2008, started the team's current 11-game home win streak. The longest home win streak for the Big Red is a 14-game strecth that started on Dec. 3, 1983 with a win over Cleveland State and culminated in a Jan. 9, 1985 loss to Canisius.

WHERE IT STANDS: The team's 11-game win streak is the longest since a 12-game stretch that started with a 75-74 overtime win over Harvard on Feb, 17, 1989 and ended with a 60-54 loss to Princeton on Feb. 3, 1990. The streak included wins in two buildings, with the first six wins taking place in Barton Hall and the final six happening at Newman Arena.

TREY BIEN: The Big Red has hit at least one 3-pointer in 545 straight games entering the Quinnipiac contest. Cornell surpassed the 500-game plateau when the Big Red connected on six treys at Princeton on Feb. 16, 2007. The last time Cornell did not hit a 3-pointer was against Denison in the 1988-89 season opener (0-for-2). Since the 3-point shot came into effect in NCAA play during the 1986-87 season, Cornell has hit at least one shot behind the arc in 596 of 600 games, connecting on 3,469 treys, an average of 5.78 per game. The Big Red has hit a 3-pointer in all 231 games coached by Steve Donahue. 

TOUGH ROAD: The Big Red's six losses include five teams from the Atlantic 10, Big East or Big Ten, as well as the preseason Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference favorite and defending league champion. Those six opponents have posted a cumulative record of 50-21 (Indiana 5-7; Minnesota 12-0; Siena 7-4; St. John's 9-3; Saint Joseph's 5-6; Syracuse 12-1). According to realtimerpi.com, the Big Red's strength of schedule is ranked as the 66th-most difficult in the country (as of Dec. 30).

NIT SUCCESS: Cornell posted a 3-1 record in the NIT Preseason Tip-Off, earning consecutive victories over Loyola (MD) (82-72), Loyola-Chicago (78-53) and Eastern Michigan (67-54) after opening the tournament with a loss to St. John's (87-75). Of the 16 teams in the tournament, Cornell joined a who's who of college basketball programs that includes Arizona, Davidson, Georgia, Oklahoma, Purdue and St. John's, as well as the winner of Boston College and UAB, all of whom earned at least three wins in the tournament.

CENTURY MARKED: Head coach Steve Donahue picked up his 100th career coaching victory with a 67-54 triumph over Eastern Michigan in the final contest of the 2008 NIT Preseason Tip-Off on Nov. 25. The 2007-08 USBWA and NABC District Coach of the Year has a 102-129 overall record in nine seasons at Cornell, but is 44-24 (.647) in his last three seasons, including last year's Ivy League title. His teams have matched or surpassed its win totals overall and in league play each of the last six seasons (only school in the country) and has finished in the top three of the Ancient Eight standings for four straight years.

UNLUCKY 13: Cornell's 13 3-pointers as a team against Syracuse is tied for the fourth-highest total in school history and ranks behind only the 15 it hit against the Orange on Dec. 20, 2004 and the 14 it made against Ithaca College on Dec. 3, 2001 and Alvernia on Jan. 10, 2008. It was the fifth time the Big Red hit 13 in a game with the last coming against Hartford on Nov. 26, 2005.

THREE SPREE: Junior forward Ryan Wittman enters the Quinnipiac game with 212 career 3-pointers and became the third Big Red player to record 200 treys in a career with his four first-half makes from beyond the arc against Minnesota.

ANOTHER THREE SPREE: Junior forward Ryan Wittman hit nine 3-pointers against Syracuse, matching the single-game school record by Alex Compton at Yale on Feb. 24, 1996. The 19 attempts from beyond the arc set a school record, surpassing the 16 attempts by Cody Toppert against Duquesne on Feb. 6, 2004. The nine makes were one shy of a single-game Ivy League and Carrier Dome record.

RARE 30: Junior Ryan Wittman's 33 points against Syracuse was the most by a Big Red player since Ray Mercedes notched 37 in a 93-84 loss to Harvard on March 3, 2001. It was the first 30-point effort by any Cornell player since Lenny Collins had 30 in a 72-67 loss at Marist on Nov. 19, 2004.

WITTMAN'S SCORING GRAND: Junior forward Ryan Wittman became the 23rd player in school history to score 1,000 career points when he posted a career-high 28 against Indiana on Nov. 30. He entered the contest with 979 points in his first 62 games and delivered his 1,000th point on a jumper with 9:10 left in regulation. He has since moved to 16th on the all-time list with 1,107points.

BIGGER, STRONGER WITTMAN: Junior Ryan Wittman has come back for his junior season with a vengeance, opening the year with five 20-point efforts in the team's first 12 games and is averaging a team-high 20.6 points. In the 2008-09 season-opening win over South Dakota, Wittman poured in 25 points, the most by a Cornell in a season opener since Eric Taylor notched 30 points on 14-of-16 shooting in a 78-72 victory at Buffalo to open the 2002-03 campaign. He responded by again matching that high of 25 in the loss to St. John's and putting up 24 more in the win over Loyola (MD). Wittman scored 28 points against Indiana in before answering that with a career-best 33 against Syracuse. Wittman gained 15 pounds of muscle in the offseason allowing him to get to the free-throw line more often and finish with contact.

LINE 'EM UP, KNOCK 'EM DOWN: Junior Ryan Wittman has made 38-of-44 shots from the free-throw line so far this season, good for an .864 percentage through 12 contests. Wittman had the rarity of missing consecutive free throws against La Salle, only the sixth time in 68 career games he has missed more than one free throw in a game.

MORE THAN JUST THE SCORING: While his 20.6 points per game is spectacular, so are junior Ryan Wittman's other contributions through 12 games. The 6-6 forward is averaging 3.8 rebounds, 2.9 assists, 1.0 steals and has posted a 1.6:1 assist-turnover ratio while playing 36.2 minutes per game. All of those numbers are career highs except for his rebounding average, which was at 4.2 rpg. a season ago.

ADDING ANOTHER FOOTE: Senior center Jeff Foote has turned into a dominating force in the paint this season, ranking second on the team in scoring (13.9 ppg.) and pacing the squad and the Ivy League in rebounding (7.1 rpg.), blocked shots (2.6 bpg.). He also ranks second on the team in assists (2.9 apg.) while shooting 57 percent from the floor, also a team-best.

BRING IT ON, NIT: The NIT Preseason Tip-Off was the coming out party for senior center Jeff Foote, who ripped through both St. John's and Loyola (MD). In those two games, Foote averaged 19.5 points, 7.5 rebounds, 6.0 blocks and 2.0 assists while getting to the line 18 times. He set a career-high with 20 points and five blocked shots to go along with seven rebounds and three assists against the Red Storm, then answered with 19 points, eight rebounds and seven blocks against the Greyhounds. In his four games in the preseason NIT, Foote averaged 16.0 points, 7.8 rebounds, 4.5 blocked shots and 2.8 assists while shooting 61 percent from the floor in Cornell's 3-1 tournament run.

BLOCK TO BLOCK: Senior center Jeff Foote has blocked 31 shots in just 12 games after posting 30 blocks a season ago in 22 contests. After just 34 varsity contests, he already ranks sixth on the career list with 61 blocked shots.

AND THOUGH HE'S A SENIOR: Senior center Jeff Foote will be eligible to compete again in the 2009-10 season after sitting out a full season after transferring to Cornell from St. Bonaventure in the winter of 2006. A former walk-on for the Bonnies, he never played a varsity contest in his year-and-a-half with the program.

WELCOME BACK: Reigning Ivy League Player of the Year Louis Dale is back after missing the first eight games of the 2008-09 season with a hamstring injury, and so far the returns have been excellent. The junior is averaging 10.5 points, 3.0 assists and 2.5 rebounds in 23.5 minutes per game. 

MOST IMPROVED?: Few players in the country have seen a bigger scoring jump that junior Geoff Reeves this season. The 6-4 guard is averaging 11.6 points in the team's first 12 games a year after posting an average of 3.5 points per game. A 44 percent shooter thus far, Reeves has connected on 29-of-67 shots from beyond the arc (44 percent) and is also among the team leaders in assists (27) while averaging 31.8 minutes per game.

20-20: Junior Geoff Reeves has already posted a pair of 20-point games this season, including a career-best 26 points in a win over Loyola-Chicago. He made 10-of-14 shots overall, including 5-of-6 from beyond the arc in the contest. The 26 points were the most by an active Cornell player at the time and the most since Lenny Collins netted 27 points against Long Beach State on Dec. 30, 2005. Reeves also scored 21 points on 8-of-17 shooting and 5-of-8 from beyond the 3-point arc.

SMART BOMBER: While classmate Ryan Wittman entered the season with much of the publicity of being one of the nation's top shooters, junior Geoff Reeves is out to prove he is fully capable of joining Wittman atop that list. Reeves has made 29-of-67 3-pointers this season (2.4 per game, 43 percent) and is now hitting 44 percent from beyond the arc for his career (57-of-129), tops on the school's career list.

TYLER MORE: Junior Alex Tyler has been his strong, steady self in the first 12 games of 2008-09, as the two-year starter at power forward is averaging 7.5 points, 4.8 rebounds and 0.9 blocked shots while playing 23.0 minutes per game. Tyler has reached double figures in scoring three times and posted a season-high 10 rebounds in the season opener against South Dakota. He had a season-best 14 points and a career-high four blocked shots to go along with six rebounds in the win over Boston University.

TYLER MAKING CAREER MOVES: Senior Alex Tyler ranks among the school's career leaders in field goal percentage (12th, .516) and blocked shots (16th, 31).

COMING IN WIRED: Sophomore Adam Wire didn't play in the team's first two games of the year, but made quite an impact off the bench since. Wire has averaged 3.2 points, 4.5 rebounds and 1.8 steals while playing 16.4 minutes in 10 appearances. The 6-6 forward corralled seven rebounds, including five on the offensive end, and added two points and two steals in 15 minutes of action against Loyola (MD) for his breakout game. In all, 23 of his 45 rebounds on the season have been on the offensive end and he leads the team lead with 18 steals. Over his last four games, Wire is averaging 5.5 points, 5.8 rebounds, 2.8 steals and 1.5 assists in 24.8 minutes per contest.|

ROBO-POINT GUARD: When Ivy League Player of the Year Louis Dale went down with an injury in the preseason, freshman Chris Wroblewski was forced to take over running the offense from the point guard position and so far has been outstanding. He averaged 6.6 points, 2.9 assists and 2.4 rebounds per game in the team's first nine games, including six starts.The freshman posted a 1.4:1 assist-turnover ratio (26a, 18t). He is currently third on the team lead in assists (30) and is averaging 5.5 points, 2.5 assists and 2.1 rebounds per game.

BATTLE, KREEFER PLAYING KEY ROLES AS CAPTAINS: Old stalwarts Jason Battle and Brian Kreefer have played outstanding basketball in the first 12 games of the season while providing excellent leadership. Battle has started two contests and is averaging 1.3 points and 1.0 rebounds in 8.9 minutes per game. Battle had six points and three rebounds in a win over Loyola (MD). Kreefer has played 15.6 minutes per game off the bench and has picked up 3.7 points and 3.5 rebounds while making 49 percent of his shots from the field. Kreefer had a career-high six assists in the win over Loyola-Chicago

DONAHUE NAMED COURT COACH FOR U-18 NATIONAL TEAM TRYOUTS: This summer, Cornell head coach Steve Donahue spent a week in July as a court coach for the U.S. Under-18 national team tryouts in Washington, D.C. The team, under the direction of Davidson's head coach Bob McKillop, also featured VCU's Anthony Grant and Georgetown's John Thompson III as assistant coaches. The team won the silver medal at the 2008 FIBA U18 championship in Formosa, Argentina, falling to the host team 77-64 in the gold medal game.

WITTMAN NAMED ALL-DISTRICT BY USBWA AND NABC IN 2007-08: Sophomore Ryan Wittman was named to the USBWA All-District 2 team and to the NABC All-District 2 second-team. Wittman is the 10th player in school history to be honored by the NABC and the first since Ka'Ron Barnes was also a second-team pick in 2004.

WITTMAN NAMED ONE OF NATION'S TOP 10 SHOOTERS BY ESPN.COM: Junior Ryan Wittman was named one of the nation's top 10 shooters in a special article about the NCAA 3-point line being moved back from 19-9 to 20-9 this coming season according to ESPN.com college basketball analyst Fran Fraschilla. Fraschilla placed Wittman No. 10 on his list that also included Davidson's Stephen Curry, Notre Dame's Kyle McAlarney, Miami's Jack McClinton, Texas' A.J. Abrams, Drake's Josh Young, UAB's Robert Vaden, Cal State Fullerton's Josh Akogmon, American's Garrison Carr and Rhode Island's Jimmy Baron. In two seasons, Wittman has connected on 171 3-pointers at a 44 percent clip. His total of 93 as a freshman set a school record and the 6-6 sophomore has paced the Ancient Eight in 3-pointers made in each of his first two years. He already ranks fourth on the school's career 3-point list and is first in career percentage.

DALE NAMED HONORABLE MENTION ALL-AMERICAN: Louis Dale capped off an outstanding sophomore season in 2007-08 by earning honorable mention All-America accolades by the Associated Press. Dale is the first Cornell player to earn All-America honors from the AP since Ken Bantum was also an honorable mention pick in 1985. Prior to Bantum, Cornell hadn't had an All-American since Robert Gale was named to the second team by Helms in 1948. Dale is the Big Red's seventh All-American, with Gil Halstead earning first team honors twice (1913 and 1914).

DONAHUE NAMED NABC, USBWA DISTRICT COACH OF THE YEAR: Cornell men's basketball coach Steve Donahue was named the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) District II and the United States Basketball Writers Association (USBWA) Coach of the Year in 2007-08. Donahue was chosen in a vote by his peers by the NABC and was one of 16 coaches who were finalists for the NABC National Coach of the Year. The USBWA also named him the top coach and was one of nine candidates for Coach of the Year. Additionally, Donahue was named the Ivy League Coach of the Year by CollegeInsider.com and was a finalist for the Hugh Durham Mid-Major Coach of the Year.

GETTING UP THERE: Cornell head coach Steve Donahue entered the 2008-09 campaign with the second-longest tenure at the helm of their current team in the Ivy League. Only James Jones at Yale (10th year) has been at his current school longer than Donahue has directed the Big Red (nine years).

TALL IVY: Over the last four seasons, Cornell's 39-17 record is second-best among Ivy League teams in conference action. Penn claimed the previous three Ancient Eight titles and has posted a 43-13 mark in conference over the same span.

2008-09 CAPTAINS: Cornell's four-year senior class of Jason Battle, Adam Gore, Brian Kreefer and Conor Mullen will represent the Big Red as team captains for the 2008-09 season. It will be the second year as captain for both Battle and Gore and the first for Kreefer and Mullen.

BIG RED PICKED TO REPEAT IN PRESEASON POLL: After capturing its first Ivy League title in 20 years, the Ivy League media picked the Cornell men's basketball team to repeat as Ivy League champions by a unanimous vote in the 2008-09 preseason poll. The Big Red is the first team in the League's storied history not named Penn or Princeton to garner a unanimous first-place selection. Cornell returns four starters and seven of its top eight scorers from last season's 22-6 squad that ran through an undefeated league campaign (14-0) en route to its third NCAA tournament appearance in program history. Directly behind Cornell is traditional Ivy League power Penn, who received 110 votes as a near-unanimous second-place choice for the 16 voters. Each of the eight schools had two media representatives who cover Ivy League basketball eligible to vote. Yale (80 points) was picked third, followed by a resurgent Harvard squad (77 points) led by coach Tommy Amaker. Brown, last year's runner-up, was close behind the Crimson with 75 points for fifth place. Rounding out the poll was Columbia (45), Dartmouth (33) and Princeton (28).

BIG RED ON THE RADIO: For the second straight year, the Cornell University men's basketball games will be broadcast live on WPIE-1160 AM out of Elmira, N.Y., with Barry Leonard on the call. A half-hour pregame show and postgame analysis will enable Big Red fans to follow Coach Steve Donahue's team throughout the season.

LIVE VIDEO: The Big Red's home contests will all be broadcast live with streaming video as part of the RedCast subscription service. Visit www.CornellBigRed.com for all the latest information on Cornell broadcasts.

LIVE STATS: Cornell will use SIDEARM Live Stats for each of the Big Red's home games in 2008-09. Visit www.CornellBigRed.com for all of the official statistics.

NEXT UP: The Big Red will continue its four-game home slate with a matchup against 2007-08 Division III NCAA semifinalist Ursinus on Saturday, Jan. 3, at 3 p.m. at Newman Arena. Donahue will be coaching against his alma mater and will look to build on his 8-0 record against non-Division I teams.