Cornell (0-0, 0-0 Ivy) at Syracuse (0-0, 0-0 ACC)
November 10, 2017 • 7:00 pm
ACC Network Extra (Brian Higgins, Matt Rowe)
Syracuse, N.Y. • The Carrier Dome (49,250)
QUICK HITS
• A new season, a short drive, a familiar foe. The Cornell basketball team opens its 2017-18 campaign when it heads up I-87 to face perennial national power Syracuse on Friday, Nov. 10 at 7 p.m. at the Carrier Dome.
• The game will be broadcast on ACC Network Extra, with Brian Higgins and Matt Roe providing the call.
• Cornell will be out to snap a 37-game losing skid against the Orange, the third-longest by any school against an opponent in the country (Syracuse-Colgate at 51, Marquette-UW Milwaukee at 39), and take its first win in the series since Dec. 4, 1968 (93-81 Big Red victory in Ithaca).
• Cornell begins its season with games against its three closest Division I foes — Syracuse (53 miles), Binghamton (46 miles) and Colgate (66 miles) over the span on six days.
• Legendary Syracuse coach and Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame member Jim Boeheim will be coaching against his son, Jimmy, who will be making his collegiate varsity debut in the Carrier Dome for the Big Red.
• The Big Red played its first public exhibition game since 2004 when it defeated Cortland 96-70 on Saturday, Nov. 4 at Newman Arena.
• Cornell returns two-time All-Ivy League selection
Matt Morgan, the conference's leading scorer in each of his first two seasons en route to becoming the first Big Red basketball player to reach 1,000 points in two seasons.
• Morgan had 25 points in just 23 minutes against the Red Dragons, connecting on 9-of-12 field goals (5-of-7 3-pointers).
• Senior
Wil Bathurst had 14 points, seven assists, six rebounds, a blocked shot and a steal, while both Jake Kuhn and Josh Warren scored 10 points in the win.
• The Big Red shot 62 percent from the floor (12-of-24 3-pointers), dominated the glass (39-28) and dished out 21 assists against SUNY-Cortland.
• Morgan is joined by all-conference candidate
Stone Gettings, who may have been the most improved player in the league a year ago.
• The introduction of six newcomers into the mix will help cover the graduation loss of
Robert Hatter, a top 10 scorer in school history, and experienced guards
JoJo Fallas and
Desmond Fleming.
• The Big Red, picked to finish sixth in the preseason Ivy League media poll, returns 72 percent of its scoring, 74 percent of its rebounding and 71 percent of its assists from last season — one of just 16 Division I teams nationwide to bring back 70 percent of its scoring, rebounding and assists from a year ago.
• The Carrier Dome is named in honor of famed Cornellian Willis Haviland Carrier '01, creator of the first modern air conditioning system in 1902. He started what became the largest heating, ventilation and air conditioning distributor in the world. The company he created purchased the naming rights to the arena in perpetuity in 1980.
• Cornell is 1-24 all-time at the Carrier Dome, picking up its lone victory with a 75-54 triumph over Saint Francis (Pa.) to open the 2005-06 season as part of the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic. The Big Red is 0-23 all-time against the Orange in the Dome and has also played Kentucky, dropping the 2010 regional semifinal game to the top-seeded Wildcats.
• The Big Red will also be attempting to snap a 31-game losing skid over 66 years against teams from the ACC, with its last victory coming at Wake Forest during the 1951-52 campaign (58-51).
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HEAD COACH BRIAN EARL
•
Brian Earl is in his second season as the Robert E. Gallagher '44 Head Coach of Cornell Men's Basketball (8-21, .276; 4-10 Ivy, .286).
• He became Cornell's 22nd head coach in April of 2016.
• Earl helped his alma mater, Princeton, return to national prominence during nine seasons as an assistant and associate head coach.
• The Tigers had posted a 143-69 overall record and a 72-26 record in Ancient Eight games since 2009-10, never finishing lower than third place and winning 20 or more games five times.
• His Ivy League peers voted him as the league's top assistant coach in a November 2010 FoxSports.com poll, earning the recognition prior to a 2011 season in which Princeton won the Ivy League title and returned to the NCAA Tournament.
CORNELL-SYRACUSE SERIES
Overall: Syracuse leads 91-31, first meeting in 1900-01
In Syracuse: 12-61
In The Carrier Dome vs. Syracuse: 0-23
Current Streak: Syracuse, 37
Last Meeting: Syracuse, 80-56 (12/27/2016 in Syracuse, N.Y.)
Earl vs. Syracuse: 0-1 (0-1 on the road)
Series Notes: The Big Red's last win in the series came on Dec. 4, 1968, a 93-81 victory in Ithaca • Cornell is 1-24 all-time in the Carrier Dome and 0-23 against the Orange • Program's only win in the Dome was a 75-54 victory over Saint Francis (Pa.) to open the 2005-06 season at the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic • the Big Red is 38-137 against current members of the Atlantic Coast Conference • Cornell's last win over a team in the conference at the time of the game came vs. Wake Forest during the 1951-52 season, a 58-51 victory on the road • since then, the Big Red has lost 31 consecutive games to current members of the ACC.
THE LAST TIME CORNELL DEFEATED SYRACUSE
• Things have changed mightily since the last time Cornell defeated Syracuse, a 93-81 Big Red win during the 1968-69 season in Ithaca.
• Some of the things that have happened since Dec. 4, 1968 — man has landed on the moon (July 20, 1969); Cornell head coach
Brian Earl was born (1977); 13 U.S. Presidential elections have been held; there have been 102 solar eclipses; the earth's population has increased by 3.7 billion; a human being alive in 1968 has had their heart beat more than two billion times; Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim joined the SU staff as an assistant coach (1969), was promoted to head coach (1976), won a national title (2003) and more than 900 games on the Orange sidelines.
• Below are some highlights from 1968, when the Big Red last earned a victory over the Orange.
Category      1968                             2017
Loaf of bread    $0.22                            $2.32
Milk (Gallon)Â Â Â Â $1.21Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â $3.24
New Car       $2,450                           $20,191
Gas (Regular)Â Â Â Â $0.34Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â $2.34
New House        $26,500                          $202,700
Postage Stamp    $0.06                $0.49
Household Income  $9,670                           $46,550
No. 1 Song       I Heard It Through The Grapevine  Rockstar
          Marvin Gaye                      Post Malone feat. 21 Savage
NOTES TO KNOW
•
Brian Earl and his brother Dan (VMI) one of five active sets of brothers directing Division I programs, joining Scott (Baylor) and Bryce (Vanderbilt) Drew; Bobby (Arizona State) and Danny (Rhode Island) Hurley; Joe (Yale) and James (Boston University) Jones; and Sean (Arizona) and Archie (Dayton) Miller.
• Fifth-year assistant coach Jon Jaques was a starter and senior captain on the 2009-10 Cornell team that advanced to the NCAA Sweet 16.
• Members of the Cornell basketball team represent 10 states and the District of Columbia.
• Cornell has played in 47 different states, as well as in Cuba, Puerto Rico, Australia, France and Spain. The only states the Big Red has not played in are Alaska, North Dakota and Mississippi after crossing Wyoming off the list late last week.
• Cornell has hit a 3-pointer in 801 consecutive games dating back to a contest 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, the Big Red has hit at least one shot behind the arc in 847 of 851 games (5,469 3-pointers over that span).
• Dating back to the first overtime game against Penn way back in 1922, Cornell is 40-49 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 29-19 in home overtime games, 2-2 in neutral contests and 10-27 in road games.
• The Big Red ranks among the best according to the annual NCAA Division I Academic Progress Report (APR) for 2015-16 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. Cornell has been recognized nine times in the 12 years since the APR began, including seven consecutive.
CORNELL TOPS SUNY-CORTLAND IN EXHIBITION
• Cornell shot 62 percent from the foor, built a double digit first half lead and cruised to a 96-70 exhibition win over SUNY-Cortland on Nov. 4 at Newman Arena.
• Junior
Matt Morgan led four Big Red players in double figures with a game-high 25 points in just 23 minutes off the bench.
• The two-time All-Ivy League selection connected on 9-of-12 field goals, including 5-of-7 3-pointers, and added three rebounds, an assist and a steal.
•
Wil Bathurst chipped in 14 points, seven assists and six rebounds and both sophomore Josh Warren (five assists, three rebounds) and freshman Jake Kuhn (four rebounds) scored 10 points in Cornell's first exhibition game since 2004.
• The Big Red shot 57 percent in the first 20 minutes in taking a 43-26 lead, then connected on 66 percent shooting after the break in scoring 53 points.
• The Red Dragons made a run early in the second half to cut what was a 20-point lead to eight, but the home team answered with an 8-0 run that featured six points by Morgan to put the game out of reach.
• The visitors never climbed within 14 points in the final 17 minutes.
• Cornell dominated the glass (39-28) and assisted on 21 of its 37 field goals while connecting on 12-of-24 3-pointers.
NEXT UP
• Cornell will welcome Central New York rival Binghamton to Newman Arena for its home opener on Monday, Nov. 13 at 7 p.m.
• The Big Red leads the all-time series 8-4, though the Bearcats won last season's meeting 68-62 in Vestal in the opener for both teams.
