Big Red Eyes Second Straight 2-0 Start On Sunday At Bryant

The Cornell bench erupts after a 3-pointer is made in the Big Red's 84-64 win over Binghamton on Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2019 at Newman Arena in Ithaca, N.Y.
Cornell will look to start 2-0 for consecutive seasons for the first time in more than 50 years when it visits Bryant on Sunday.

Cornell Big Red (1-0)
at Bryant Bulldogs (0-2) 
 

Nov. 10, 2019 • 1:00 p.m.
Smithfield, R.I. • Chace Athletic Center (2,000)
Cornell leads the series 2-0
Cornell won last meeting 75-49 on Jan. 2, 2010 in Ithaca, N.Y.

Game Links 
Video Stream • Live Stats • Purchase Tickets
Cornell Game Notes • Bryant Game Notes
Cornell Roster • Cornell Schedule & Results • Cornell Stats
Bryant Roster • Bryant Schedule & Results • Bryant Stats 

Cornell-Bryant Game Notes Package, 2019

STREAKS, STORYLINES & SIDEBARS 
• The Cornell men’s basketball team will attempt to do something no Big Red squad has done in more than 50 years when it visits Bryant on Sunday, Nov. 10 at 1 p.m. at the Chace Athletic Center in Smithfield, R.I. 
• The contest will be broadcast on NEC Front Row with Jon Wallach and Hunter Ware on the call. 
• Head coach Brian Earl’s team will attempt to start 2-0 for the second straight season, something it hasn’t done in consecutive years since 1967 and 1968. 
• Cornell is coming off an impressive 84-64 victory over Binghamton on Tuesday evening in the team’s season and home opener. 
• Four Big Red players reached double figures, led by Jimmy Boeheim’s 24 points. 
• Cornell was efficient on offense (.516 shooting, 20 assists on 32 baskets), stout on defense (.414 opponent shooting, leading scorer held to 2-of-10 shooting) and controlled the backboards (38-29 advantage). 
• It was the debut of a new-look Big Red team without Matt Morgan, the No. 2 all-time leading scorer in Ivy League history who is now playing with the Toronto Raptors’ G League team. 
• Cornell has won both previous meetings against Bryant, but the two teams have not met on the hardwood in nearly a decade.

Brian Earl 

The Robert E. Gallagher '44 Head Coach of Men's Basketball

• Brian Earl is in his fourth season as the Robert E. Gallagher ‘44 Head Coach of Cornell Men’s Basketball. 
• 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.

Brian Earl
Head coach Brian Earl

THE SERIES 
Overall: Cornell leads 2-0, first meeting in 2008-09 
In Smithfield, R.I.: 1-0 
Current Streak: Cornell, 2 
Last Meeting: Cornell, 75-49 (1/2/2010 in Ithaca, N.Y.) 
Earl vs. Bryant: First meeting 
Series Notes: Cornell has won both previous meetings after a home-and-home series in 2009 and 2010 • the Big Red won both matchups while eventually claiming Ivy titles those seasons • Cornell has won the two previous meetings by an average of 24.5 points   

A WIN OVER BRYANT WOULD ... 
• make the Big Red 2-0 on the season. 
• be the second straight 2-0 start, a first for Cornell since the 1967 and 1968 seasons (51 years). 
• make Cornell 3-0 all-time against the Bulldogs, including 2-0 in Smithfield, R.I. 
• give Cornell an 11-10 lead against current members of the Northeast Conference. 
• be the 1,271st in program history (1,270-1,440 in 119 seasons, .469).

Head-to-head statistics for Cornell and Bryant prior to their Nov. 10, 2019 meeting in Smithfield, R.I.

LAST TIME THEY MET: Cornell 75, Bryant 49
Jan. 2, 2010 I Ithaca, N.Y.
GAME STORY I BOX SCORE

• Cornell opened the game on a 30-4 run and controlled all aspects of the game in winning its 10th consecutive game, a 75-49 triumph over Bryant on Jan. 2, 2010 at Newman Arena in Bartels Hall. 
• Senior Ryan Wittman, the Ivy League’s all-time leader in 3-point field goals, set a Newman Arena record by going 5-of-5 from beyond the arc and 7-of-7 overall en route to a game-high 19 points in just 14 minutes, while Max Groebe had his second straight hot shooting night with 13 points.  
• Cornell’s five starters, none of whom played more than 20 minutes in the win, combined to make 17-of-21 shots from the floor and 8-of-10 from beyond the arc with 13 assists and just four turnovers.  
• Jon Jaques added nine points, Geoff Reeves had eight to go along with three assists, and both Mark Coury and Andre Wilkins had six points.  
• Overall, Cornell shot 49 percent from the floor, 52 percent from 3-point range (12-of-23) and assisted on 21 baskets.  
• Defensively, the Big Red showed continued improvement, limiting Bryant to 35 percent overall and 27 percent from beyond the arc. 
• Vlad Kondratyev had a team-best 15 points off the bench for Bryant, while Michael Chroney had 10 points and six rebounds.  
• Raphael Jordan notched nine points and Chris Birrell had a team-best four steals. 

Ryan Wittman vs. Seton Hall, 2009-10
Ryan Wittman set a Newman Arena record by going a perfect 5-for-5 from 3-point range in a 75-49 win over Bryant on Jan. 2, 2010 at Newman Arena in Ithaca, N.Y.
2009-10 Men's Basketball Ivy Champions
The 2009-10 Cornell men's basketball team celebrates its third consecutive Ivy League title after a win over Brown on March 5, 2010 in Providence, R.I.

10th Anniversary of the 2009-10 Sweet 16 Team
Results I Roster I Statistics

The Big Red reached new heights in 2009-10, winning the program’s third straight Ivy League title en route to an Ivy League-record 29 wins and recording not only the program’s first NCAA win, but a trip to the Sweet 16. 

Cornell closed the season ranked No. 17 in the national rankings, a first in 59 years, and set an Ivy record for 3-pointers in a season (326). The team also set single-season school records in points (2,545), field goals (913), assists (543) and blocked shots (127).  

The Big Red won the MSG Holiday Festival with a victory over St. John’s, Cornell’s first win over a Big East school since 1969 and captured a season-opening win at Alabama, the team’s first win over a school from the Southeastern Conference since 1972.  

Cornell shocked the college basketball world as a No. 12 seed, knocking out both fifth-seeded Temple and fourth-seeded Wisconsin by double figures to advance before losing to No. 1 seed Kentucky.

For his efforts, Steve Donahue was named the Clair Bee Coach of the Year and the NABC District Coach of the Year. Senior Ryan Wittman graduated as the school’s all-time scoring leader and was named the unanimous Ivy League Player of the Year and an AP honorable mention All-American, while Jeff Foote was a first-team All-Ivy pick and the Ivy League Defensive Player of the Year. Louis Dale rounded out three Big Red players on the All-Ivy first team. 

Cornell Big Red senior Matt Morgan poses for feature photos in Newman Arena in Ithaca, NY on Tuesday, January 15, 2019.

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.  

CORNELL, IVY LEAGUE BASKETBALL FEATURED ON ESPN+ 
• ESPN+ is ESPN’s new direct-to-consumer offering.
• Similar to Netflix and Hulu, fans are able to buy a subscription to ESPN+, which will be completely separate from their cable/satellite bill.
• The cost for ESPN+ is $4.99/month and $49.95/year.
• ESPN+ is available on all of ESPN’s existing platforms: Website, mobile app, OTT (Apple TV/Roku) app.

ESPN+ Ad Sidearm 2019

NOTES TO KNOW
• Over the last three seasons, Cornell is 17-8 at home (.680). 
• Cornell was 6-0 last season and 13-2 in four years under head coach Brian Earl when holding opponents under 40 percent shooting and were 10-2 in 2018-19 and 31-10 overall when outshooting its foe. 
• Cornell has hit a 3-pointer in 861 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 907 of 911 games (5,928 3-pointers over that span).  

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 
• The Big Red returns home to play 2019 postseason foe NJIT on Wednesday, Nov. 13 at Newman Arena in Bartels Hall. 
• Tip-off will be at 7 p.m. and the game will be broadcast on ESPN+. 
• Cornell has won all three previous meetings between the teams dating back to the first matchup during the 2006-07 campaign, including an 86-73 road win last November against a 22-win Highlanders squad that eventually earned a bid to the CIT Postseason Tournament. 

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

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