STORYLINE
• The Cornell men's basketball team will have an early chance to make a statement to the rest of the conference when defending Ivy champion Penn visits Newman Arena on Friday, Feb. 1 at 5 p.m.
• The contest, the first game of a doubleheader with the women's team, will be broadcast on ESPNU with Jon Meterparel and Noah Savage on the call.
• After splitting its first two Ivy League contests, the Big Red will have a chance to knock off the defending conference champion at home for the second straight year (defeated 2017 champion Princeton 107-101 in 3OT last season).
• Cornell enters the game as winners of four of its last six contests and is in the midst of its first four-game home win streak in three seasons.
• The Big Red will be attempting to bounce back from its first Ivy defeat, a 73-70 decision last weekend at Columbia despite 22 points from Jimmy Boeheim and 21 from Matt Morgan.
• Morgan, a two-time Ivy League Player of the Week, enters the matchup among the national leaders at 23.3 ppg. while adding 4.7 rpg., 2.8 apg. and 1.2 spg.
• Morgan, who holds the nation's third-longest double figure scoring streak at a school and Ivy-record 69 games, is coming off a 21-point effort last weekend at Columbia and ended the night with 2,065 points - good for No. 4 all-time in conference history.
• He enters Friday three 3-pointers shy of becoming the second Ivy League player with 300 career treys (Ryan Wittman '10 with 377) and 25 points away from matching Yale's Butch Graves at No. 3 on the conference's all-time scoring list (2,090 points).
• 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 (3.6 ppg.), Steven Julian (3.6 ppg., 6.6 rpg., 2.3 apg., 1.6 bpg.), Jack Gordon (4.7 ppg., 2.2 rpg., 2.0 apg.) and Joel Davis (2.6 ppg.) join junior Josh Warren (9.4 ppg., 4.5 rpg., 3.1 apg.) and sophomore Terrance McBride (3.7 ppg., 2.1 rpg., 1.9 apg.) as players who have spent significant time as starters and are expected to continue playing key roles for Cornell in 2018-19.
• Sophomore forwards Jimmy Boeheim (10.8 ppg., 3.3 rpg.), the son of Naismith Hall of Fame Coach Jim Boeheim of Syracuse, and Jake Kuhn (5.0 ppg., 1.8 rpg.) have also been significant contributors off the bench, with Boeheim joining Davis in the starting lineup for the last four games (3-1).
• 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.
• Penn head coach Steve Donahue returns to Newman Arena 10 years after leading the Big Red to its second of three Ancient Eight titles (2008-09).

THE SERIES VS. PENN
Overall: Penn leads 156-74
In Ithaca, N.Y.: Penn leads 67-48
Current Streak: Penn, 11 games
Last Meeting: Penn won 79-71, 2/17/18 in Ithaca, N.Y.
Earl vs. Penn: 0-4
Series Notes: Series dates back to the 1903-04 season • the Big Red's 11-game losing streak against Penn is tied for its longest against a league opponent (Yale - 11) • that streak reaches 13 of the last 14 meetings • prior to that, Cornell won 7-of-8 contests • Penn swept the series a year ago, knocking off the Big Red 69-61 in Philadelphia and toppling Cornell 79-71 a month later in Ithaca.

A WIN OVER PENN WOULD ...
• give Cornell a 10-9 overall mark and a 2-1 start in Ivy League play.
• give Cornell an 8-6 record in its last 14 Ivy regular season contests.
• extend the Big Red's home win streak to five games, its longest since capturing five consecutive spanning the final three games of the 2010-11 and first two of the 2011-12 campaigns.
• give Cornell a three-game home win streak in Ivy competition.
• cut the Quakers' lead the series to 156-75 and snap Penn's 11-game win streak over the Big Red.
• give the Big Red a home win over the defending Ivy regular season champion for the second straight season (defeated Princeton 107-101 in 3OT in 2017-18).
• be the first for head coach Brian Earl against Penn (0-4).
• be the 1,264th in program history (1,263-1,433 in 118 seasons, .468).

LAST TIME VS. PENN
 • Ryan Betley and AJ Brodeur combined for 44 points and a quick second half start for Penn allowed the first-place Quakers to remain in that spot, topping Cornell 79-71 on Feb. 17, 2018 at Newman Arena. 
• Betley hit six 3-pointers on his way to 23 points and Brodeur connected on 8-of-10 shots form the floor as part of a 21-point effort. 
• The Quakers hit on 11 3-pointers, assisted on 20 of its 26 baskets and generally controlled the second half after forcing the home team into a scoring drought of nearly four minutes to take control. 
• Penn connected on three 3-pointers in the span of four possessions to go from a two-point deficit to a seven-point lead and never trailed over the final 18 minutes.
• Four Cornell players reached double figures, led by a career-high 14 points from Terrance McBride. 
• The freshman connected on all six shots from the field and added four assists. 
• Junior Matt Morgan had 12 points, five assists and five rebounds, classmate Jack Gordon made all five of his shots en route to 12 points and five boards, and Stone Gettings had 11 points and seven rebounds in a balanced effort. 
• Cornell shot 50 percent from the floor, but made just 6-of-21 shots from beyond the arc.
 

PLAYER NOTES TO KNOW
• Matt Morgan's 2,065 points ranks 14th among all active men's college basketball players (all divisions)
• Morgan's 69 consecutive double figure scoring games has now more than doubled John Sheehy's 34 straight (1953-55) for a school record that had held for 62 years.
• Morgan is making his bid to lead the Ivy League in scoring for the fourth straight year, as his 23.3 ppg. is well ahead of Brown's Desmond Cambridge (17.9 ppg.).
• Morgan is the only Cornell player ranked in the top 18 in Ivy League scoring.
• He is averaging 25.1 points, 3.7 rebounds, 2.9 assists, 1.0 steals in the team's last seven contests against Division I opponents.
 • Sophomore Jimmy Boeheim has made multiple 3-pointers in each of the team's last five games.
• Boeheim is the eldest son of Syracuse head men's basketball coach and Naismith Hall of Famer Jim Boeheim.
• During Cornell's last four games (3-1), Josh Warren has shot 18-of-27 (67 percent) from the floor (3-of-5 from 3-point range) and has averaged 11.8 points, 6.3 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.0 blocks.
• Senior Steven Julian has nine brothers and sisters.
• He is averaging 8.0 rebounds (2.1 offensive) and 2.0 blocked shots over his last 10 games.
• Julian has four double figure rebounding games in the team's last 10 outings and seven contests with at least seven boards over that stretch.
• 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.
• Sophomore Riley Voss has been credited with 15 assists and just four turnovers on the season.
• Classmate Terrance McBride has 13 assists and two turnovers in the last four contests.

TEAM NOTES TO KNOW
• Cornell is 4-0 this season and 11-2 in three years under head coach Brian Earl when holding opponents under 40 percent shooting and are 6-1 in 2018-19 and 26-9 overall when outshooting its foe.
• Cornell has averaged 10.5 3-pointers per game in its last four contests on .396 shooting after making just 22 treys total in its previous four games (5.5 per game) while shooting .237 from beyond the arc.
• Cornell has hit a 3-pointer in 847 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 893 of 897 games (5,828 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.

DALE '10 NAMED LEGEND OF IVY BASKETBALL
• For the third consecutive year, the Ivy League Legends of Basketball will recognize a distinguished class of 16 individuals who embraced the pursuit of excellence in academics and athletics to make a lasting impact on their respective basketball programs, schools, communities and professions.
• Among the class is Cornell great Louis Dale '10.
• A four-time All-Ivy League pick, including a three-time first team selection, Dale was exceptional throughout his career in helping lead Cornell to three conference titles and NCAA appearances. 
• The two-time Bob Cousy Award nominee as the nation's top point guard, he set the school's career assist record with 470 and became one of five Ivy League players to post 1,300 points, 400 rebounds, 400 assists and 100 steals in their career. 
• He was selected Ivy League Player of the Year and Associated Press honorable mention All-American as a sophomore in 2008. 
• Dale graduated ranked among the school's top 10 all-time in scoring (third, 1,452), assists (first, 470), three-pointers (fifth, 164), three-point percentage (fifth, .401), free throws made (third, 332) and free-throw percentage (third, .838), among other categories.
• Each Ivy League institution is represented by one male and one female honoree, as selected by their university athletic department. 
• They will all be honored during the semifinals of the 2019 Ivy League Men's and Women's Basketball Tournaments, Saturday, March 16, in New Haven, Conn. 
• Previous Cornell inductees were Garry Munson '66 in 2017 and Ryan Wittman '10 in 2018.

NEXT UP
• After welcoming Princeton on Saturday at 7:30 p.m., Cornell will visit Ivy rivals Dartmouth (Friday, Feb. 8 at 7 p.m.) and Harvard (Saturday, Feb. 9 at 7 p.m.) for its first full Ivy weekend.