LAST TIME OUT: #20/21 Penn State 90, Cornell 59
GAME STORY I BOX SCORE I BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
• Mike Watkins recorded a double-double and four Penn State players scored in double figures as the 20th-ranked Nittany Lions topped Cornell 90-59 at the Bryce Jordan Center.
• Watkins hit 9-of-10 shots from the floor, including all eight attempts in the first half, as the home team shot 52 percent for the the game.
• Lamar Stevens added 19, Myreon Jones had 18 and Izaiah Brockington posted 11.
• Penn State held a 43-28 edge on the backboards and dominated the paint, outscoring Cornell 44-20.
• Jimmy Boeheim led the Big Red with 17 points and six rebounds while chipping in three assists, a blocked shot and a steal.
• Fellow junior tri-captain Terrance McBride scored 12 points with five assists and Greg Dolan notched eight points, three rebounds and two steals off the bench to pace Cornell.
• The Big Red turned the ball over 17 times, resulting in 30 Nittany Lion points.
• The Nittany Lions pulled away six minutes in, using their superior size to build a sizable lead and never allowing Cornell back in.
NOTES TO KNOW
• Over the last three seasons, Cornell is 17-10 at home (.630).
• 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 31-13 overall when outshooting its foe.
• Cornell has hit a 3-pointer in 871 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 917 of 921 games (5,994 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 played just seven players against Hartford on Dec. 22, the fewest in a game by a Cornell team since prior to 2000.
• Cornell had just three turnovers against Lafayette, matching a Cornell record for fewest in a single game (SMU on Dec. 30, 1980 and Penn on March 5, 1983) and establishing a Newman Arena mark.
• The Big Red’s 54 rebounds vs. Coppin State were the most in a single game since grabbing 56 against Clarkson in 2010 and the highest total against a Division I opponent since hauling in 59 in a 69-45 triumph over Dartmouth on Feb. 20, 2004, while the squad’s 26 offensive rebounds are tied for the second-most in a single game in school history behind only 31 against Hobart on Dec. 11, 1994.
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 four active sets of brothers directing Division I programs, joining Bobby (Arizona State) and Danny (Connecticut) Hurley; Joe (Yale) and James (Boston University) Jones; and Sean (Arizona) and Archie (Indiana) 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
• A late addition to the schedule, Cornell will welcome Division III Elmira College to Ithaca on Monday, Jan. 13 at 6 p.m. at Newman Arena.
• The contest will be broadcast on ESPN+.
• The game replaces a Dec. 1 contest against Towson that was canceled due to a winter storm.
• The teams have played twice previously, with the Big Red earning a pair of wins.
