GAME 11: Cornell (8-2) at Syracuse (6-5)

Date & Time: Wednesday, Dec. 29 - 7:00 p.m.
Venue: The Carrier Dome (49,250) - Syracuse, N.Y.
Twitter: @CUBigRedGameday | @CUBigRedHoops
 

STORY LINES

• After a forced three-week break for final exams and COVID-19 cancellations, the Cornell men's basketball team returns to action when it visits Central New York rival Syracuse on Wednesday, Dec. 29 at 7 p.m. at The Carrier Dome.
• Evan Lepler and Mike Gminski will be on the call on the ACC Network-produced broadcast that will air on RSN's around the  country, including the YES Network.
• The Big Red is off to an 8-2 start, its best record after 10 games since the 2009-10 Sweet 16 season, and has won 10 of its last 12 non-league contests dating back to the 2019-20 campaign.
• The Big Red has already surpassed its win total from the 2019-20 campaign (7-20) with wins over defending conference champions from the Patriot League (Colgate) and MEAC (Coppin State).
•The Orange features former Big Red leading scorer Jimmy Boeheim (14.3 ppg., 5.7 rpg.), one of four starters from the 2019-20 team playing at Division I schools as graduate transfers (Bryan Knapp, George Washington; Terrance McBride, Rice; Riley Voss, Wright State).
• Cornell, ranked second in the nation in scoring at 88.1 ppg., plays at the fastest pace in the country in terms of shortest average possession time in Division I.
• The Big Red will be taking the court for the first time since a 93-60 loss at Virginia Tech on Dec. 8 and will be playing the Orange eight days after their originally-scheduled matchup.
• The contest against Syracuse will be the final tuneup before Ivy League competition begins on Sunday, Jan. 2 at home vs. Dartmouth.
• The Carrier Dome is named in honor of famed Cornellian Willis Haviland Carrier '01, creator of the first modern air conditioning system in 1902. He started what became the largest heating, ventilation and air conditioning distributor in the world. The company he created purchased the naming rights to the arena in perpetuity in 1980.
• The Big Red will also be attempting to snap a 36-game losing skid over 70 years against teams from the ACC, with its last victory coming at Wake Forest during the 1951-52 campaign (58-51).
 

SERIES HISTORY

Overall: Syracuse leads 94-31, first meeting in 1900-01
In Syracuse: 12-64
In The Dome vs. Syracuse: 0-26
Current Streak: Syracuse, 40
Last Meeting: Syracuse, 72-53 (11/20/2019 in Syracuse, N.Y.)
Earl vs. Syracuse: 0-4 (0-4 on the road)
Series Notes: The Big Red's last win in the series came on Dec. 4, 1968, a 93-81 victory in Ithaca • Cornell is 1-27 all-time in the Dome and 0-26 against the Orange • the program's only win in the Dome was a 75-54 victory over Saint Francis (Pa.) to open the 2005-06 season at the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic • the Big Red is 38-141 against current members of the Atlantic Coast Conference • Cornell's last win over a team in the conference at the time of the game came vs. Wake Forest during the 1951-52 season, a 58-51 victory on the road • since then, the Big Red has lost 36 consecutive games to current members of the ACC • Cornell has 31 wins all-time against Syracuse, the last coming in 1968, but all were prior to its time in the conference • the Big Red has previously played contests against Boston College (0-3), Clemson (0-2), Duke (0-5), Georgia Tech (0-4), Louisville (0-1), Miami (FL) (0-1), North Carolina (0-3), NC State (0-5), Notre Dame (1-8), Pittsburgh (5-12), Virginia Tech (0-1) and Wake Forest (1-2) • Cornell has never faced Florida State or Virginia. 
 

A WIN OVER SYRACUSE WOULD

• make Cornell 9-2 to start the season.
• up Cornell's non-conference record to 11-2 over its last 13 contests. 
• snap a 40-game losing streak to the Orange.
• be the first win over an ACC school since 1951-52, snapping a 36-game skid.
• give the Big Red nine non-conference wins for the first time since the 2009-10 campaign.
• be the 1,286th in program history (1,285-1,462 in 120 seasons, .468).
 

10 NOTES TO KNOW

• Cornell has held seven of its 10 opponents to 40 percent shooting or below, and seven to sub-33 percent shooting from beyond the arc.
• During Cornell's last five contests (4-1), Cornell has shot .538 from the floor (168-312) and .437 from the 3-point arc (66-of-151).
• After starting out his career 0-for-3 from 3-point range, sophomore Keller Boothby has made 27-of-44 treys over his last nine games (.614).
• Since going 0-for-5 from the field at Penn State, freshman Guy Ragland Jr. has made 12-of-15 field goals (9-of-12 from 3-point range) and at one point made nine straight 3-pointers to set a Cornell record.
• Cornell is averaging 12.6 3-pointers made per game over its last seven.
• Over its last seven contests, Cornell is averaging 24.9 assists and has a 1.87 assist:turnover ratio.
• No Big Red player has recorded more than 30 minutes of playing time in a game this season, with senior captain Kobe Dickson's 29:53 against Binghamton being the high-water mark.
• The Big Red is averaging 43.6 points per game off the bench, including 83 against Keuka.
• Cornell has outscored opponents 209-77 on fastbreak points so far this season.
• Cornell has clinched its first winning non-conference slate since the 2009-10 season (16-4).
 

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES TO KNOW

• After the Ivy League didn't compete during the 2019-20 season, Cornell's first game against Binghamton, a 76-67 Big Red victory, was its first in 612 days.
• The Big Red features an 18-player roster for sixth-year head coach Brian Earl that includes 11 that had never suited up for Cornell and 10 that had never played a collegiate game prior to Nov. 9.
• No player that had previously suited up for a full season for the Big Red averaged 20 minutes per game. Along with the 11 players that have never played a minute for Cornell, two of the returners combined to play 41 total minutes.
• The Big Red's home win over Colgate on Nov. 16 was its first contest at Newman Arena since a 67-58 defeat at the hand of Harvard on Feb. 29, 2020 - a span of 627 days.
• Cornell has hit a 3-pointer in 897 consecutive games 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 943 of 947 games (6,225 3-pointers over that span).
• Brian Earl and his brother Dan (VMI) one of three active sets of brothers directing Division I programs, joining Bobby (Arizona State) and Danny (Connecticut) Hurley and Joe (Boston University) and James (Yale) Jones.
 

NEXT UP

• Cornell kicks off the 2021-22 Ivy League season and the new Ancient Eight schedule when it welcomes Dartmouth to Newman Arena on Sunday, Jan. 2 at 2 p.m.
• Cornell leads the all-time series 112-108, including winning 26 of the last 34 contests overall.
• The Big Green swept the series from Cornell two seasons ago, snapping a six-game Big Red win streak with 75-53 and 82-70 triumphs.