STORYLINE
• The Cornell men's basketball team will close out a string of four games in three states over seven days when it visits Southern Methodist on Saturday, Dec. 22 at 7 p.m. at Moody Coliseum.
• The game will be broadcast live on ESPN3 with Dave Raymond and Stephen Howard on the call.
• It will be the second contest this season the Big Red has played against a team from the American Athletic Conference (lost at UConn 91-74 on Nov. 20).
• Senior guard Matt Morgan enters the week among the national leaders at 23.1 ppg. while adding 4.8 rpg., 2.7 apg., 1.2 spg. and 0.5 bpg.
• If maintained, Morgan's scoring average would be the highest ever by a Cornell player, matching the late Chuck Rolles '56 in 1955-56 (23.0 ppg.).
• Morgan, who has reached double figures in scoring in 62 consecutive games, is coming off a 24-point effort in the Big Red's 86-70 loss at Toledo on Wednesday.
• He scored 38 points with 13 rebounds and four steals in the Big Red's season-opening win at Binghamton, climbing to No. 2 on the school's career scoring list.
• Morgan is one of four returning starters for the Big Red, who went 12-16 in 2017-18 and earned the program's first-ever bid to the Ivy League Men's Basketball Tournament.
• Seniors Troy Whiteside (4.5 ppg.), Steven Julian (3.5 ppg., 5.4 rpg., 2.5 apg.), Jack Gordon (5.0 ppg., 2.5 rpg., 2.1 apg.) and Joel Davis (2.4 ppg., 1.3 rpg.) join junior Josh Warren (9.4 ppg., 3.5 rpg., 2.9 apg.) and sophomore Terrance McBride (4.5 ppg., 2.2 rpg., 1.9 apg.) as players who have spent significant time as starters and are expected to again play key roles for Cornell in 2018-19.
• Sophomore forwards Jimmy Boeheim (11.2 ppg., 4.2 rpg.), the son of Naismith Hall of Fame Coach Jim Boeheim of Syracuse, and Jake Kuhn (4.2 ppg., 1.9 rpg.) have also been significant contributors off the bench.
• Third-year head coach Brian Earl will look to continue the program's upward swing, as the Big Red made a two-game jump in conference play a year ago.
• The Mustangs, under third-year head coach Tim Jankovich, are off to a 7-4 start and have been hot lately, winning five of their last six.
• SMU features four double figure scorers, led by Jahmal McMurray (18.7 ppg.) and Ethan Chargois (14.1 ppg., 6.9 rpg.).

THE SERIES VS. SMU
Overall: SMU leads 2-0, first meeting in 1980-81
In Dallas, Texas: SMU leads 1-0
Current Streak: SMU, 2
Last Meeting: SMU, 67-59 (3/6/1989 in Dallas, Texas)
Earl vs. SMU: First meeting
Series Notes: SMU has won both previous meetings, including a 67-59 decision on March 6, 1989 in the last matchup and the only previous contest in Dallas • the two teams also played in Cincinnati during the 1980-81 campaign, a 67042 Mustangs win • Cornell is 6-10 all-time against current members of the American Athletic Conference • the last time the Big Red knocked off a current American team was when it dropped then-Atlantic 10 champion Temple 78-65 in the first round of the 2010 NCAA Tournament.

LAST TIME OUT
• Toledo used a 24-4 first half run to erase an early deficit, then hit key shots throughout the night to top Cornell 86-70 on Wednesday evening at Savage Arena.
• Matt Morgan scored 24 points, moving into seventh place on the Ivy League's career scoring list in the process. 
• He connected on all 10 of his free-throw attempts, the eighth-most free throws without a miss in school history. 
• Warren was active all night, ending up with 14 points, seven rebounds, six assists, two blocked shots and a steal in the loss. 
• Jimmy Boeheim chipped in eight points for the Big Red. 
• Overall, Cornell hit all 12 of its free-throw attempts, the eighth-most makes without a miss in a game in school history. 
• Cornell shot just 3-of-14 (21 percent) from 3-point range after halftime.
• Jaelan Sanford had a game-high 29 points and added five rebounds and five assists for the Rockets, while Nate Navigato scored 17 and Chris Darrington had 10. 
• Willie Jackson narrowly missed a double-double with eight points and 10 rebounds and AJ Edu was credited with seven points, six rebounds and five blocked shots. 
• The win was the ninth straight for Toledo, who hit 24-o-26 free throws themselves and dominated the backboards with a 44-22 edge, leading them to a 15-3 edge in second chance points. 

NOTES TO KNOW
• Matt Morgan's 62 consecutive double figure scoring games has surpassed John Sheehy's 34 straight (1953-55) for a school record that had held for 62 years.
• Morgan's nine 30-point games is tied for fifth-most among active players: 25 - Mike Daum, South Dakota State; 19 - Chris Clemons, Campbell; 14 - Tyler Hall, Montana State and Justin Wright-Foreman, Hofstra; 9 - Morgan, Markus Howard, Marquette and Shamorie Ponds, St. John's.
• Cornell's bench has outscored its opponents' reserves in all 11 games this season and 15 straight contests dating back to last year.
• Sophomore Jimmy Boeheim is the eldest son of Syracuse head men's basketball coach and Naismith Hall of Famer Jim Boeheim.
• Head coach 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 (Connecticut) Hurley; Joe (Yale) and James (Boston University) Jones; and Sean (Arizona) and Archie (Indiana) Miller.
• Morgan became the first Cornell player to declare early for the NBA Draft during the spring of 2017 (and again in 2018), withdrawing before the early entry deadline to preserve his final seasons of eligibility.
• Senior Steven Julian has nine brothers and sisters.
• Sixth-year assistant coach Jon Jaques was a starter and senior captain on the 2009-10 Cornell team that advanced to the NCAA Sweet 16.
• 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.
• Cornell has hit a 3-pointer in 840 consecutive games (11th-longest streak in Division I) 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 886 of 890 games (5,772 3-pointers over that span).
• Dating back to the first overtime game against Penn way back in 1922, Cornell is 42-51 in games that go an extra period. Cornell is 7-10 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 30-19 in home overtime games, 2-2 in neutral contests and 11-29 in road games.
• The Big Red ranks among the best according to the annual NCAA Division I Academic Progress Report (APR) for 2016-17 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 10 times in the 13 years since the APR began, including eight consecutive.
• The Big Red will have three junior college transfers (Steven Julian, Chaz Mack and Thurston McCarty) on its roster for the first time in program history in 2018-19.
• The trio are the first junior college transfer to suit up for the Big Red since Drew Ferry (2010-11 and 2011-12 after playing at Palm Beach State College) and first JUCOs who did not first attend a Division I school since Jason Hartford (Chemeketa CC).

NEXT UP
• For the first time in 65 years, Cornell and Navy will compete on the hardwood when the Big Red welcomes to Midshipmen to Ithaca on Sunday, Dec. 30 at 1 p.m. at Newman Arena.
• The two teams last met at the 1954 NCAA Tournament in Philadelphia - the second of two matchups that season - with Navy winning 69-67.
• A 20-foot one-hander by Navy reserve Ken McCally beat the final buzzer by two seconds and spelled the end of Cornell's NCAA championship hopes. The playoff shot broke a 67-67 tie and followed a Navy freeze that lasted nearly two minutes. It nullified a great comeback by Cornell, which trailed by as much as 10 points. Co-captain Lee Morton scored a career-high 34 points despite playing the final 18 minutes with four fouls. He was a perfect 10-of-10 from the free-throw line.