QUICK HITS
• The non-conference season complete, the Cornell men's basketball turns its attention to the 14-Game Tournament when it visits Columbia on Saturday, Jan. 16 at 7 p.m. at Levien Gymnasium.
• Barry Leonard will have the radio call on 98.7 FM The Buzzer, while the game will be broadcasted on the Ivy League Digital Network.
• After being one of the most improved teams in the country both in the win column and by nearly all defensive metrics, the Big Red's improvement on the offensive end has been especially impressive so far in 2015-16.
• Against non-BCS opponents, Cornell is 7-4 while scoring 76.9 ppg. and shooting 44 percent from the floor and 34 percent from 3-point range.
• The Big Red is surrendering 74.0 ppg. on .409 shooting overall and .344 from 3-point range while blocking 5.2 shots and collecting 8.8 steals per contest in those 11 games.
• Among its non-BCS opponents, only Siena (.483) has shot better than 46 percent from the floor and all but Canisius (12) had at least 15 turnovers.
• The Big Red backcourt has been its strength, as junior Robert Hatter (19.9 ppg., 4.1 apg., 3.4 rpg., 1.4 spg.) and freshman Matt Morgan (14.9 ppg., 3.4 rpg., 1.8 apg., 1.7 spg.) are the team's double figure scorers.
• Hatter, the Ivy League's leading scorer, is averaging 23.3 points over his last seven games entering the matchup with the Lions and also ranks among the conference's top 10 in assists (third, 4.1), steals (fourth, 1.4) and 3-pointers made (ninth, 1,9).
• Hatter has three of the top five individual scoring games this year, while Morgan has twice been named Ivy League Rookie of the Week.
• Juniors Darryl Smith (8.9 ppg., 2.6 rpg.) and JoJo Fallas (4.3 ppg.) and freshman Troy Whiteside (4.6 ppg., 1.7 rpg.) have also made an impact in the backcourt.
• Junior center David Onuorah (5.9 ppg., 8.1 rpg., 1.9 bpg.) has been one of the most improved players in the Ivy League, while sophomores Jordan Abdur-Ra'oof (4.2 ppg., 3.2 rpg.) and Wil Bathurst (5.8 ppg., 2.8 rpg., 0.6 spg.) and freshmen Stone Gettings (2.3 ppg., 2.0 rpg.) and Joel Davis (2.7 ppg., 2.0 rpg.) have been frontcourt staples.
 • Cornell head coach Bill Courtney is in his sixth season at Cornell (57-102, .358; 24-46 Ivy, .343).
• Courtney became the fifth Robert E. Gallagher '44 Coach of Men's Basketball at Cornell on April 23, 2010.

THE SERIES
• Columbia leads the all-time series between the programs 125-99.
• Cornell has won 16 of the last 26 meetings between the squads, but in the short term, Columbia has won seven of the last 10 contests.
• The teams split the series a year ago, with each team winning on the road.
 
ABOUT COLUMBIA
• Columbia enters Ivy League play with an impressive 11-6 record, including a 7-1 mark in its last eight contests.
• The Lions are 9-2 at home and just 2-4 on the road through non-conference play.
• Senior Maodo Lo leads four double figure scorers at 16.2 ppg. to go along with 3.5 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 2.0 steals per contest.
• Alex Rosenberg (14.1 ppg., 4.4 rpg., 2.0 apg.), Grant Mullins (13.2 ppg., 3.6 rpg., 3.4 apg.) and Luke Petrasek (12.6 ppg., 5.6 rpg., 1.9 apg., 1.3 bpg.) are also posting double figures in the scoring column.
• The Lions are shooting 45 percent from the floor, 38 percent from 3-point range and 72 percent from the line and are averaging nearly 16 assists per contest.
• Nearly half of Columbia's shot attempts come from beyond the 3-point arc (47.0 percent).
• Sixth-year head coach Kyle Smith has posted an 87-78 record with the Lions and guided them to a 21-13 record a season ago with a spot in the Collegeinsider.com Postseason Tournament, the program's first postseason appearance since 1968.

A WIN OVER COLUMBIA WOULD ...
• make Cornell 8-7 on the season, including 3-1 in its last four contests
• extend its road win streak to three games.
• give Cornell a win in its Ivy opener for the first time since the 2011-12 campaign and boost its record in Ivy openers to 21-39.
• be the 100th for Cornell in the series with Columbia (99-125).
• be the 1,232nd in program history (1,231-1,376 in 117 seasons, .472).
 • Cornell's defense, so active all season in putting together the nation's top turnaround, put together a masterpiece on Jan. 24, 2015 at a packed Levien Gymnasium.
• This time, the offense did its part and the result was a season split with Columbia, knocking off the Lions 57-47.
• Cornell limited the Lions to 33 percent shooting, including 24 percent from 3-point range, held the home team to one field goal in the first eight minutes of the second half, posted nine blocked shots and stole six passes.
• Columbia only stayed in the game thanks to its ability to offensive rebound, picking up 19 errant shots off the glass.
• The Big Red, meanwhile, hit on 45 percent of their shots on the night and nine different players hit the scoring column.
• Shonn Miller led the way with 18 points, nine rebounds, four blocked shots and two assists and all but closed off the lane.
• Galal Cancer chipped in 16 points, Devin Cherry notched nine points and freshman Jordan Abdur-Ra'oof had a productive three minutes with five points, including a key 3-pointer, and a blocked shot.
• The nine blocks on the night ranked seventh in a single game in Cornell history.
• Columbia's Maodo Lo scored 11 points, but was harassed into 4-of-16 shooting and four turnovers in 37 minutes after going scoreless against the Big Red the previous weekend.
• Isaac Cohen had 13 points, four rebounds, four assists, two blocks and a steal while hitting 6-of-10 shots from the floor.
• Aside from Cohen, the rest of the Lions connected on just 13-of-48 shots (.271).
• Cory Osetkowski had a game-high 11 rebounds and blocked two shots.



LAST TIME OUT
• Junior Robert Hatter had a game-high 27 points and freshman Matt Morgan had 19, but it was junior Desmond Fleming's eight points and first career blocked shot of a game-tying 3-pointer at the buzzer that saved Cornell in an 84-81 win at Howard on Jan. 6, 2016 at Burr Gymnasium.
• Fleming scored a career high eight points, grabbed three rebounds and blocked a Keon Hill 3-point attempt at the buzzer, his only miss from 3-point range of the night (4-of-5).
• He entered the game with just over five minutes left in the first half and helped slow down James Daniel III, the nation's leading scorer, on the defensive end.
• After scoring 14 points in the first 14:38, he scored just eight the rest of the way.
• While Fleming's contributions were the spark, the regular suspects also showed up in a big way.
• Hatter hit 10-of-17 shots from the floor en route to 27 points and added four assists, a steal and a rebound.
• Morgan chipped in 19 points, four rebounds and two steals and junior Darryl Smith had 10 points on 5-of-5 shooting.
• Junior David Onuorah had seven points, 11 rebounds, a block and a steal and sophomore Wil Bathurst had nine points and three boards.
• The Big Red shot 53 percent from the floor for the game, including 60 percent from inside the arc and overcame a 10-of-18 effort from 3-point range (56 percent) for Howard.
• Daniel, who entered the game averaging a Division I high 29 points per game, netted 22 points and had six assists, while Damon Collins netted 17 points with 10 rebounds, three assists and three steals.
• Hill, who attempted the game-tying 3-pointer, had 14 points.
 
PLAYER NOTES TO KNOW
• Over his last seven contests, junior Robert Hatter is averaging 23.3 points, 4.1 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 2.1 steals per game while hitting 16 3-pointers.
• Hatter has 57 assists this season and has tripled his total of 19 assists during the entire 2014-15 season when he played off the ball.
• Hatter's 11 assists against Binghamton nearly doubled up his previous career high of six set against Western Michigan as a freshman.
• The last time a Cornell player had double figure assists in a game before Hatter was when Devin Cherry had 10 against Brown in the 2013-14 campaign.
• Hatter ranked 70th nationally in free-throw percentage a year ago (.833) after making just 46 percent from the line as a freshman (19-of-41).
• David Onuorah became the sixth player in school history to reach 100 career blocks with one in the win at Howard.
• In the seven games that he has played at least 28 minutes, Onuorah is averaging 10.4 rebounds and 3.1 blocks per game, while he is averaging 5.7 rebounds and has five total blocks in the other seven contests.
• Onuorah is averaging 8.5 rebounds over his last 13 games, including a career-high 15 wins over Binghamton and Penn State-Harrisburg after averaging 3.6 per game entering the season.
• Onuorah is just the fourth Big Red player since 1977 to have consecutive games with at least 14 rebounds (Bernard Jackson in 1988-89; Greg Barratt in 2000-01 and Shonn Miller is 2012-13) after he had 14 at Colgate and 15 vs. Binghamton.
• Onuorah's 15-rebound games tie for 12th in a single game in school history.
• The junior center has shot at least 50 percent in 11 of his 14 games this season.
• Onuorah is averaging 2.1 blocks over his last 11 games after blocking four shots total in his first three contests of the year.
• After going scoreless in the opener against Georgia Tech, Darryl Smith has reached double figures in seven of his 13 games and has averaged 9.7 points over that span, including hitting 10-of-19 from 3-point range (53 percent).
• Smith is shooting 53 percent from 3-point range (10-of-19) and 70 percent from the free-throw line (21-of-30) so far this season.
• Over his last eight contests, Smith has made 43-of-68 shots from the floor (63 percent).
• Freshman Matt Morgan scored 20 points against Georgia Tech, the most by a Cornell freshman in a season opener since Nolan Cressler put in 20 in a win over Western Michigan to kick off the 2012-13 campaign.
• Morgan was the first Big Red freshman to start a season opener since - current Big Red juniors Robert Hatter and David Onuorah were out for the tip at Syracuse in 2013-14.
• He was the first Big Red freshman to hit for double figures in each of his first five collegiate games since Adam Gore '09 during the 2005-06 campaign (most this century - Ka'Ron Barnes '04 with 7 in 2000-01).
• Morgan has 19 assists and 10 turnovers over his last nine games, spanning 246 minutes of action.
• Junior JoJo Fallas competed for Team USA at the 14th European Maccabi Games in Berlin, Germany from July 27-August 5. Fallas was one of the leaders on a team that won a silver medal, going 4-0 before dropping the gold medal game to Russia 98-87 despite a game-high 28 points. The event was the largest gathering of Jewish people in Berlin since World War II, as more than 2,000 Jewish athletes from 36 countries attended.
• Senior center Braxston Bunce was a two-year member of Team Canada's Under-18 national team, including competing at the 2012 FIBA Americas Championship in Brazil. Canada went 4-1, with Bunce averaging 1.5 points, 2.0 rebounds and 1.5 assists in two contests.
• The Big Red lost 47 percent of the team's scoring, 59 percent of its rebounding, 73 percent of its assists, 51 percent of its steals and 49 percent of its blocked shots to graduation.
• Cornell's roster features eight freshmen, the most on a Big Red roster since the 2001-02 season when there were also eight rookies, including future 1,000-point scorers Eric Taylor'05 and Cody Toppert '05.
 
TEAM NOTES TO KNOW
• Over the team's last seven contests, the Big Red is averaging 9.9 steals per contest.
• Cornell is averaging 6.3 blocks over its last four games.
• After averaging 15.8 turnovers in its first 11 contests, the Big Red is averaging 10.0 over its last three games.
• The Big Red is limiting foes to .409 shooting over its last six games (152-of-372) after allowing opponents to shoot .454 in the first eight games (239-of-526).
• Cornell has forced 140 turnovers (17.5 per game) over its last eight games.
• Cornell has scored at least 76 points in regulation in eight of 14 games this season, something the Big Red did just once all last year — that coming against Division III Alfred State.
• Penn State-Harrisburg's .299 field goal percentage is the lowest by an opponent since Cornell upset eventual Ivy champion Harvard by limiting the Crimson to .254 shooting on Feb. 27, 2015.
• Cornell's 51 rebounds against Colgate were the most by a Cornell team since piling up 56 in a win over Clarkson in 2010.
• The Big Red hit the 100-point mark against a Division I team for the first time since scoring 104 in a 104-98 overtime win at Bucknell during the 2009-10 season when it scored 101 in a double overtime win at Colgate.
• The Big Red had last played a multiple overtime game in a 79-76 double overtime victory at home over Dartmouth during the 2008-09 campaign.
• The Big Red made 13 3-pointers in the opener against Georgia Tech, a mark that ranks 13th in a single game in Cornell history.
• Cornell reached double figures in 3-point field goal makes in each of its first three games, the first time it had reached that mark three games in a row since it hit the mark four straight times in non-league matchups with Lehigh, Albany, Illinois and Penn State during the 2011-12 campaign.
• In all, Cornell has hit double figure 3-pointers in eight of its 14 games.
• Third-year assistant coach Jon Jaques was a starter and senior captain on the 2009-10 Cornell team that advanced to the NCAA Sweet 16.
• For the third straight year a Big Red men's basketball player will use his fifth and final year of eligibility at a BCS school.
• Errick Peck '13 spent the 2013-14 campaign at Purdue. He served as a captain and part-time starter for the Boilermakers while averaging 4.6 points and 4.4 rebounds and shooting 48 percent from the floor in 32 contests (10 starts).
• Dwight Tarwater '14 played his final season as a graduate student at California in 2014-15. Tarwater averaged 3.4 points and 2.9 rebounds while playing 18.8 minutes per game as a key reserve and spot starter in 33 games (13 starts). He hit a game-winning 3-pointer with 20 seconds to play to lift Cal over UCLA.
• Shonn Miller '15 is playing as a graduate student at Connecticut (11-3) in 2015-16 (13.1 ppg., 5.3 rpg., 1.1 bpg., 0.7 spg.), while Galal Cancer '15 (3.7 ppg., 2.3 rpg., 1.6 apg., 0.7 spg.) is suiting up for Kent State (10-5). Miller has started every game for UConn, while Cancer has been in the Golden Flashes' lineup in 11 of its 15 contests.
• Members of the Cornell basketball team represent 11 states and one Canadian province.
• Cornell has played in 46 different states, as well as in Cuba, Puerto Rico, Australia and France. The only states the Big Red has not played in are Alaska, North Dakota, Mississippi and Wyoming.

CORNELL EIGHTH IN IVY PRESEASON POLL
• The Cornell men's basketball team was picked to finish eighth when the 2015-16 Ivy League preseason media poll was announced during the annual conference call with the league's eight head coaches.
• Yale, which shared last season's conference title with Harvard and lost in a one-game playoff with the Crimson, took five first place votes and 117 points overall to take the preseason poll.
• Columbia (114) and Princeton (108) weren't far behind, and each actually had more first place votes than the Bulldogs with six apiece.
• Harvard rounded out the top half with 96 points.
• The Big Red received 25 points, finishing behind Brown (54), Dartmouth (50) and Penn (48).
• Two media members from each school and one national representative voted in the poll.
 
RED-WHITE GAME
• Junior Robert Hatter hit a runner in the lane just before the buzzer to cap a 25-point night as Cornell's White team topped the Red squad 75-73 at the annual Red-White Game on Oct. 24 at Newman Arena.
• Hatter added eight assists, five rebounds and five steals in the win.
• Freshman Matt Morgan chipped in 22 points, six rebounds and four assists in his first appearance as Hatter's backcourt mate, while sophomore Wil Bathurst had seven points and six rebounds.
• Four players went for double figures for the Red team, including junior David Onuorah's 20 points and 12 rebounds.
• Freshmen Donovan Wright (14 points, 10 rebounds, four steals) and Troy Whiteside (14 points) and junior Darryl Smith (10 points, six rebounds) also hit for double figures.
• The Red team led by 12 (69-57) with five minutes to play before the White team ended on a 18-4 run.
• Hatter had eight points and Morgan had six during the game-ending run, including consecutive 3-pointers to knot the score at 73-73.

HOW TO FOLLOW CORNELL
• There are numerous way to follow the Big Red through the 2015-16 basketball season.
• Men's basketball games will be broadcast on 98.7 FM The Buzzer for the 2015-16 season. Longtime voice of the Big Red Barry Leonard returns on the call with the play-by-play, while former All-Ivy center Eric Taylor '05 is on board to do color analysis.
• A half-hour pregame show and postgame analysis will enable Big Red fans to follow Coach Bill Courtney's team throughout the season.
• The audio of all games will also be available as part of the IvyLeagueDigitalNetwork subscription service.
• The Big Red's home contests will all be broadcast live with streaming video as part of the IvyLeagueDigitalNetwork subscription service. Visit www.IvyLeagueDigitalNetwork.com for all the latest information on Cornell broadcasts.
• Cornell will use SIDEARM Live Stats for each of the Big Red's home games in 2015-16. Visit www.CornellBigRed.com for all of the official statistics.
• You can follow the team on YouTube, Facebook and Twitter. Highlights, interviews and features on all 37 of Cornell's varsity sports can be found at www.youtube.com/cornellathletics, www.facebook.com/cornellathletics or www.twitter.com/cornellsports.
 
CORNELL BASKETBALL HONORED BY NCAA ... AGAIN
• Cornell University ranks among the best according to the annual NCAA Division I Academic Progress Report (APR) for 2013-14 that was released this past May.
• The APR measures semester-by-semester records for every individual team in Division I with regard to each team members' continuing eligibility, retention and progress toward graduation.
• The NCAA "commends" teams that have APR scores in the top 10 percent within their sport, with the minimum necessary score ranging from 975 to a perfect mark of 1000 depending on the range of team scores within that sport.
• Men's basketball has been recognized seven times in the 10 years since the APR began, including five consecutive years.
 
CORNELL BEYOND THE ARC - 700 AND COUNTING
• Cornell hit six 3-pointers at Howard on Jan. 6, 2016, its 758th straight game with at least one made 3-point field goal.
• With six 3-pointers against Oberlin on Jan. 11, 2014, Cornell extended its streak of games with at least one 3-pointer to 700.
• Matt Morgan hit the program's 5,000th 3-pointer when he hit a long 3-pointer at the halftime buzzer at Georgia Tech on Nov. 13, 2015.
• 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 804 of 808 games, connecting on 5,113 treys, an average of 6.3 per game.
 
CORNELL IN OVERTIME
• Head coach Bill Courtney's record is 6-4 in overtime games during his six seasons, including 1-0 this year after its 101-98 double overtime victory at Colgate.
• Cornell went 3-1 in overtime in 2011-12, matching a school record for most overtime games in a season.
• All-time, dating back to the first overtime game against Penn way back in 1922, Cornell is 40-48 in games that go an extra period.
• Cornell is 6-9 in multiple overtime games, with the longest game for the Big Red being a five overtime contest against Princeton, won by the Tigers 66-61 on Feb. 24, 1979 at Barton Hall.
• Cornell is 29-18 in home overtime games, 2-2 in neutral contests and 10-27 in road games.
 
60TH SEASON OF IVY LEAGUE ATHLETICS
• Throughout the 2015-16 season, the Ivy League will be celebrating its 60th season with impactful content across IvyLeagueSports.com, The Ivy League Digital Network and the League's social media outlets.
• Be on the lookout for the #IvyAt60 hashtag to keep up the coverage of the League's 60th season.
 
NEXT UP
• Cornell will return the trip to complete the home-and-home series with Columbia when the Big Red and the Lions match up at Newman Arena on Saturday, Jan. 23 at 4 p.m.
• The game will be the second of a doubleheader with the Big Red women meeting Columbia at 1 p.m.