STORYLINE
• It's been nearly 65 years since Cornell and Navy last met, but that streak comes to an end when the Big Red and Midshipmen tip off at Newman Arena on Sunday, Dec. 30 at 1 p.m.
• The game will be broadcast live on ESPN+ with Dave Kudgus and Eric Taylor '05 on the call.
• It will be just the fourth contest between the schools on the hardwood and the first since Navy's Ken McCall hit a 20-foot buzzer beater for a 69-67 win in the 1954 NCAA Tournament at the Palestra in Philadelphia.
• The Big Red will be out to snap a two-game skid after pre-Christmas road losses at Toledo and SMU, while creating a home win streak after topping Longwood 70-64 on Dec. 17.
• Cornell senior guard Matt Morgan enters the week among the national leaders at 23.1 ppg. while adding 4.6 rpg., 2.7 apg., 1.0 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 63 consecutive games, is coming off a 23-point effort in the Big Red's 81-53 loss at SMU on Dec. 22.
• 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 (4.2 ppg.), Steven Julian (3.3 ppg., 5.6 rpg., 2.4 apg.), Jack Gordon (5.0 ppg., 2.5 rpg., 2.1 apg.) and Joel Davis (2.2 ppg.) join junior Josh Warren (9.4 ppg., 3.8 rpg., 2.9 apg.) and sophomore Terrance McBride (4.2 ppg., 2.2 rpg., 1.8 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 (10.4 ppg., 3.8 rpg.), the son of Naismith Hall of Fame Coach Jim Boeheim of Syracuse, and Jake Kuhn (4.8 ppg., 1.8 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.
• Navy is 3-7 under seventh year head coach Ed DeChellis and will also be looking to snap a two-game skid after road losses to Lipscomb and George Mason.

THE SERIES VS. NAVY
Overall: Cornell leads 2-1, first meeting in 1914-15
In Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell leads 1-0
Current Streak: Navy, 1
Last Meeting: Navy, 69-67 (3/12/1954 in Philadelphia, Pa.)
Earl vs. Navy: First meeting
Series Notes: The Big Red and the Midshipmen haven't met on the hardwood since Navy's 69-67, buzzer-beating win in the 1954 NCAA Tournament • Cornell won an earlier meeting that season in Ithaca, as well as a contest in the 1914-15 season in Annapolis, Md. • The Big Red is 148-124 all-time against current members of the Patriot League

LAST TIME OUT
• SMU went on a game-altering 37-7 run that spanned the final 10 minutes of the first half and the first 10 of the second and cruised to a 81-53 victory over Cornell on Dec. 22 at Moody Coliseum. 
• Matt Morgan scored a game-high 23 points to lead three double figure scorers, but the Mustangs shot 69 percent in the first half to build an insurmountable lead and wasn't challenged after the break. 
• Morgan hit 10-of-12 free throws and added two rebounds and two assists in the loss. 
• Jake Kuhn (11 points) and Josh Warren (10 points, seven rebounds, three assists) also reached double figures and Steven Julian chipped in a team-best eight rebounds.
• Jimmy Whitt Jr. scored all 22 of his points in the first half for the Mustangs, hitting 10-of-11 field goals. 
• He added six rebounds, four assists and three steals in the victory. 
• Jahmal McMurray added 14 and Jarrey Foster and Feron Hunt each netted 12.  

NOTES TO KNOW
• Matt Morgan's 63 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 outscored its opponents' reserves in its first 11 games this season and 15 straight contests dating back to last year before SMU held a 19-17 edge in bench scoring in its last outing.
• 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 841 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 887 of 891 games (5,777 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
• The Big Red opens its 2019 portion of the schedule when it visits Wake Forest on Wednesday, Jan. 2 at 7 p.m.
• It will be the third meeting (tied 1-1) between the two programs and the first in nearly 30 years (last meeting - Dec. 2, 1989).
• The contest will be broadcast on ACC Network Extra.