Big Red Back On The Road At Coppin State On Saturday

STREAKS, STORYLINES & SIDEBARS 
• The Cornell men’s basketball team will attempt to snap a four-game skid when it visits Coppin State on Saturday, Nov. 23 at 7 p.m. at PEC Arena in Baltimore, Md. 
• The Big Red has dropped four consecutive games, including two by a single point, including losses at DePaul and Syracuse. 
• It will be the first meeting between the teams since the 1989-90 season, an 86-79 Eagles’ win as part of the Chaminade Christmas Classic. 
• Cornell will also be out to end an eight-game road losing streak that dates back to last year. 
• The Big Red is coming off a 72-53 loss at Syracuse on Wednesday evening as Cornell’s Jimmy Boeheim (25 points) and Syracuse’s Buddy Boeheim (16 points) were the among the leading scorers for their respective teams while playing on the court that bears their father’s name, Naismith Hall of Fame coach Jim Boeheim. 
• Jimmy Boeheim paces the Big Red in scoring (17.2 ppg.), while junior classmate Terrance McBride is second in both points (11.6 ppg.) and assists (3.6 apg.). 
• Senior Josh Warren (9.6 ppg., 6.2 rpg., 4.2 apg.) paces the team in rebounding and assists. 
• Freshman Jordan Jones is coming off a career-high 15 points and five rebounds at Syracuse.

ABOUT COPPIN STATE
• Coppin State has a 1-5 overall record and will be looking to snap a three-game skid after road losses to Northern Illinois (81-69), Northern Kentucky (82-70) and Pacific (64-60) as part of the Collegiate Hoops Roadshow tournament. 
• The Eagles’ lone win came at Loyola (Md.), topping the 2017 Final Four participant 76-72 on Nov. 12. 
• That win was the program’s first non-conference road victory since 2013. 
• Dejuan Clayton (15.8 ppg., 4.5 rpg., 3.0 apg., 2.5 spg.) became the 23rd player in school history to reach 1,000 career points in his last outing, a 21-point effort at Pacific.   
• He is one of three players to average double figures, being joined by Kamar McKnight (14.3 ppg., 4.0 rpg., 1.3 spg.) and Andrew Robinson (12.0 ppg., 5.2 rpg.). 
• The Eagles are shooting just 35 percent from the field and 25 percent from 3-point range, but are limiting opponents to 30 percent shooting beyond the arc and 44 percent overall. 
• Third-year head coach Juan Dixon, who led Maryland to a national title and was ACC Player of the Year and a two-time All-American, played nine seasons in the NBA before beginning his coaching career. 
• Dixon has a 14-57 and increased the team’s win total three games from his first to second seasons.  

THE SERIES 
Overall: Coppin State leads 1-0, first meeting in 1989-90 
In Baltimore, Md.: 0-0 
Current Streak: Coppin State, 1 
Last Meeting: Coppin State, 86-79 (12/23/1989 in Honolulu, Hawaii) 
Earl vs. Coppin State: 0-0 (0-0 on the road) 
Series Notes: The two teams have only met once, with the Eagles earning an 86-79 victory in the consolation game of the 1989 Chaminade Christmas Classic  • it will be the first time the two schools have met on the mainland • Cornell has a 3-1 all-time record against current members of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference 

LAST TIME VS. COPPIN STATE 
• Steve Johnson scored 23 points and Frank Ableson had 21 off the bench, but Coppin State earned an 86-79 victory over Cornell in a consolation game of the Chaminade Christmas Classic. 
• Johnson hit 6-of-12 3-pointers and Cornell connected on 11-of-24 treys in the loss. 
• Reggie Isaac scored a game-high 33 points and Larry Yarbray added 10 points, 10 assists and five steals to lead the Eagles. 
• Future NBA player Larry Stewart notched 18 points and 12 rebounds while playing all 40 minutes for CSU. 
• Coppin State turned the ball over just seven times while forcing 19 Big Red turnovers.

A WIN OVER COPPIN STATE WOULD ... 
• make the Big Red’s record stand at 2-4 on the season. 
• end a four-game losing streak. 
• even the series record at 1-1. 
• improve Cornell’s record to 4-1 all-time against current members of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference. 
• snap an eight-game road losing streak dating back to last season. 
• be the 1,271st in program history (1,270-1,444 in 119 seasons, .468).

MORGAN JOINS THE RAPTORS 
• Senior Matt Morgan ‘19 signed a contract with defending NBA Champion Toronto Raptors on Oct. 17. 
• He has been assigned to the Raptors 905 of the NBA G League. 
• Cornell’s all-time leading scorer who ranks No. 2 in Ivy League history, Morgan graduated with career records for points scored (2,333), scoring average (20.5 ppg.), field goals made (743), field goals attempted (1,580) and free throws made (513), season records for points scored (687 in 2018-19) and 3-pointers made per game (3.32 in 2018-19), and game records for 3-pointers in a game (9, twice).  
• In addition, he ranks in the top 10 in career 3-pointers made (second, 334), games started (second, 112), minutes played (third, 3,705), games played (third, 113), free-throw percentage (fourth, .834) and assists (eighth, 296) and just outside the top 10 in steals (12th, 126). 
• Morgan is attempting to become the first Cornellian to play in the NBA since Jeff Foote ‘10 for the New Orleans Hornets in March 2012.  
• In his first game with the 905 on Nov. 10, Morgan had 11 points (4-of-10 shooting, 2-of-7 from 3-point range) to go along with six assists, three rebounds, a block and a steal in 29 minutes during a 109-94 loss to the Grand Rapids Drive. 
• He is averaging 11.3 points, 4.3 assists, 2.7 rebounds and 0.7 steals per game in three contests. 

LAST TIME OUT: Syracuse 72, Cornell 53
GAME STORY I BOX SCORE I GALLERY I BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
• Jimmy Boeheim scored a game-high 25 points, but Syracuse pulled away in the second half to top Cornell 72-53 at the Carrier Dome.  
• The home team shot 60 percent from the floor after the break and hit 10 total 3-pointers to slowly pull away from the Big Red, who trailed just 26-25 at the half. 
• Playing the team coached by his dad and opposite his brother Buddy, who scored 16 himself, the eldest Boeheim son hit on 7-of-16 shots from the floor and 9-of-11 from the line to go along with two rebounds and two assists.  
• Freshman Jordan Jones added career highs of 15 points and five rebounds for the visitors, who lost against the Orange for the 40th straight time. 
• Besides Buddy Boeheim’s 16, Elijah Hughes tallied 22 points and seven assists, while Joe Girard III notched nine points, six rebounds and four assists.

NOTES TO KNOW
• Over the last three seasons, Cornell is 17-9 at home (.654). 
• Cornell was 6-0 last season and 13-3 in four years under head coach Brian Earl when holding opponents under 40 percent shooting and were 10-2 in 2018-19 and 31-11 overall when outshooting its foe. 
• Cornell has hit a 3-pointer in 865 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 911 of 915 games (5,957 3-pointers over that span). 
• The November 5 date vs. Binghamton was the earliest start to a Cornell men’s basketball season in the school’s 121 seasons. 
• Cornell had 20 assists and just six turnovers in the win over Binghamton, just the 13th time since 1976 that Cornell had 20 or more assists and single-digit turnovers in a game. 
• Cornell dropped consecutive one-point games to Bryant (82-81) and NJIT (59-58), the first time since December 1942 when the Big Red dropped games on the road to Rochester (36-35) and Seton Hall (29-28) on December 19-21. 
• The Big Red has posted a positive assist:turnover ratio in four of its five games this season.  

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES 
• This year marks the 10th anniversary of Cornell’s 2009-10 NCAA Sweet 16 team with a reunion planned the weekend of February 7-8. 
• The 1987-88 squad that won an Ivy title will also return to campus that weekend to be honored for their achievements. 
• 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 (Dayton) Miller. 
• Seventh-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. 
• Junior Jimmy Boeheim is the oldest son of Syracuse head men’s basketball coach and Naismith Hall of Famer Jim Boeheim. 
• The Big Red ranks among the best according to the annual NCAA Division I Academic Progress Report (APR) for 2017-18 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 14 years since the APR began, including seven consecutive. 
• The Big Red’s 17-man roster represents 11 states and the District of Columbia. 
• Freshman Jordan Jones’ father Max played in the NFL (Buffalo Bills) and the USFL (Birmingham Stallions), while his uncle Sean Jones played in the NFL with the Los Angeles Raiders, Houston Oilers and Green Bay Packers, winning a Super Bowl title in 1997 with the Packers and twice capturing All-Pro honors. 
• Sophomore Dean Noll helped guide Shawnee HS (N.J.), the alma mater of Cornell head coach Brian Earl, to a state title as a senior, earning MVP honors for the championship game. He broke the school’s single-season scoring record with 737 points - besting the previous mark of 675 set by Dan Earl, Brian’s older brother. 
• Junior Sarju Patel will sit out the 2019-20 season as a transfer after averaging 10.2 points, 3.6 rebounds, 1.2 assists and 0.9 steals per game at VMI under head coach Dan Earl.  

CAPTAINS 
• A trio of first-year captains will lead the Big Red into the 2019-20 campaign. 
• Senior Josh Warren and juniors Jimmy Boeheim and Terrance McBride will take the leadership mantle. 

NEXT UP 
• Cornell will conclude its four-game road swing when it heads to Navy on Tuesday, Nov. 26 at 7 p.m. in Annapolis, Md. 
• The Big Red leads the all-time series between the teams 3-1. 
• Cornell earned a 61-50 victory over the Midshipmen last season at Newman Arena thanks to 25 second half points from Matt Morgan. 
• Prior to that, the two teams last met in the 1954 NCAA Tournament, a 69-67 win for the Midshipmen.

Photos by Dave Burbank, Madison Epperson, Eldon Lindsay, Patrick Shanahan and Darl Zehr