Cornell Returns Home, Faces Ivy Leader Yale At Newman Arena

STREAKS, STORYLINES & SIDEBARS 
• With six games remaining in the regular season, including four at home, the Cornell men's basketball team will kick off the home stretch when first-place Yale visits Newman Arena on Friday, Feb. 21 at 7 p.m. 
• The contest will be broadcast on ESPN+ with Dave Kudgus and Eric Taylor ‘05 on the call. 
• The Big Red will try and right the ship after being swept last weekend on the road, dropping contests at Harvard (85-63) and Dartmouth (75-53). 
• Junior Jimmy Boeheim, who missed a majority of the contest against Dartmouth with an injury, is averaging 17.3 points and 5.9 rebounds per contest, while classmate Terrance McBride is the team's only other double figure scorer at 10.9 ppg. to go along with 3.8 rebounds and 3.2 assists. 
• Josh Warren is having a strong senior season with averages of 9.6 points, 5.0 rebounds and 3.1 assists. 
• Yale, meanwhile, is coming off a 69-61 loss at Penn this past Saturday, splitting the weekend after an 88-64 defeat of Princeton the night before. 
• The Bulldogs stand tied with the Tigers at 6-2 with three Ivy League weekends to play. 
• The Big Red is 4-1 at home since the calendar turned to 2020.

ABOUT YALE
• Yale is 18-6 on the season (6-2 Ivy) after dropping a 69-61 contest at Penn last Saturday night. 
• Paul Atkinson (17.5 ppg., 7.6 rpg., 1.3 spg., 0.8 bpg.) paces three double figure scorers, with Azar Swain (16.5 ppg., 3.8 rpg., 1.9 apg.) and Jordan Bruner (11.5 ppg., 9.1 rpg., 3.5 apg., 1.9 bpg.) aren’t far behind. 
• Atkinson is shooting 64 percent from the floor. 
• The Bulldogs have been suffocating on defense, allowing opponents to score just 63.7 ppg. on 38 percent shooting from the field and 30 percent from beyond the arc. 
• James Jones, in his 21st season on the Yale sidelines, has won more than 300 games and ranks in the top three all-time in Ivy League history in total wins and Ivy wins. 
• He has guided the Bulldogs to four Ivy League championships – 2002, 2015, 2016, 2019 - two NCAA Tournament appearances and five postseason appearances. 
• A year ago, Yale won the Ivy League regular season and tournament titles, falling in the first round to LSU.      

THE SERIES 
Overall: Yale leads 117-110 
In Ithaca, N.Y.: Yale leads 64-47 
Current Streak: Yale, 14 games 
Last Meeting: Yale won 86-71, 2/1/20 in New Haven, Conn. 
Earl vs. Yale: 0-7 
Series Notes: Yale was Cornell’s first intercollegiate opponent when  the  two  teams  met  on  Feb.  25,  1899  in  Poughkeepsie, N.Y. (Yale won 49-7) • Yale has had the better of it recently, winning 15 of the last 16 meetings between the squads, including 14 straight  • prior to that, the Big Red had gone 10-4 over a seven-year stretch (2005-13) 

A WIN OVER YALE WOULD ... 
• make the Big Red’s overall record stand at 6-16 on the season. 
• improve to 3-6 in Ivy League play. 
• give Cornell a 5-1 record at home in 2020. 
• narrow Yale's lead in the all-time series to 117-111. 
• snap the Bulldogs' 14-game win streak in the series. 
• be the 1,275th in program history (1,274-1,456 in 119 seasons, .467).

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 7.5 points, 2.0 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 0.7 steals per game in 32 contests. 

LAST TIME OUT: Dartmouth 75, Cornell 53
GAME STORY I BOX SCORE I BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
• Dartmouth raced out to a 19-point halftime lead and fended off every Cornell challenge after the break to secure a 75-53 victory at Leede Arena.  
• Terrance McBride scored a game-high 17 points and Bryan Knapp added 10 to pace the Big Red.  
• Dean Noll added eight points, Josh Warren had five to go along with four assists and Kobe Dickson notched four points, six rebounds and three blocked shots. 
• Cornell turned the ball over just seven times, but connected on just 36 percent from the floor. 
• Dartmouth dominated the game, outrebounding the Big Red 39-23 with Chris Knight securing 10 to go along with 17 points.  
• James Foye matched Knight with 17 points and Aaryn Rai had 13.

NOTES TO KNOW
• After shooting .402 from the floor (209-520) and .257 from 3-point range (57-of-222) over the first nine contests, the Big Red has connected on .446 shooting overall (304-of-682) and .333 beyond the arc (92-of-276), respectively, over the last 12 outings. 
• Since the start of 2020, the Big Red has also done a good job defending at the 3-point line, surrendering just .314 shooting (60-of-191) on 6.0 makes per game. 
• In 10 contests played since Christmas, junior Terrance McBride has recorded 38 assists and just 14 turnovers and classmate Riley Voss has 25 assists and six miscues). 
• Cornell has hit a 3-pointer in 880 consecutive games (12th-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 926 of 930 games (6,057 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. 
• With victories over Purchase (100-68) and Elmira (70-33) in January, the Big Red posted consecutive 30-point wins for the first time since dropping Dartmouth (71-37) and Harvard (86-50) on Jan. 29-30, 2010.

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 (Boston University) and James (Yale) 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 16-man roster represents 10 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 
• In the chase for a spot in the Ivy League Tournament, the Big Red will welcome Brown to Newman Arena on Saturday, Feb. 22 at 6 p.m. 
• The contest will be broadcast on ESPN+ with Dave Kudgus and Eric Taylor '05 on the call. 
• Cornell leads the all-time series 80-54 after the Bears topped the Big Red 74-63 on Jan. 31 in Providence, R.I. despite 17 points from Josh Warren. 

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