ITHACA, N.Y. -- Three consecutive appearances in the Ivy League Tournament. A 2024 conference runner-up finish and an NIT appearance. One of the nation's highest octane and most efficient offenses.

Cornell men's basketball has launched itself into the national consciousness with the reckless abandon it runs its system. Continuing the upward trend without six graduating seniors, five who will play at other Division I institutions as graduate transfers, as well as successful head coach Brian Earl, is the new challenge.

It's a challenge this Big Red program was built for.

Two starters and eight letter winners are back in red and there is continuity on the bench with Jon Jaques '10 taking over as the Robert E. Gallagher '44 Head Coach of Cornell Men's Basketball. The former team captain was a three-time Ivy champion as a player, has served as an assistant and associate head coach at Cornell for a dozen years, and has spent nearly half his life with Big Red basketball. After helping the Big Red to the Ivy League's highest heights in a half century, he now takes over a Cornell program that is enjoying its newly-minted status as Ivy Tournament regulars.

The on-court success starts with senior guard Nazir Williams, a two-time All-Ivy League selection who is a trigger for the Big Red on both ends of the floor. Williams plays at a controlled pace on the offensive end despite the often-hectic happenings around him and will play a much bigger role as a playmaker as a senior. He enters his final campaign among the school's all-time leaders in points and assists while shooting an impressive 47-36-80 split.

Senior forward Guy Ragland Jr. has exclusively come off the bench as a weapon with the second unit, but this year will move into the starting lineup. The team's leading returning rebounder and shot-blocker, he was a 40 percent shooter from beyond the 3-point arc and is deadly as a trailer on the break. When he establishes position in the post, his footwork and creativity allow him to score at will.

Junior guard Cooper Noard joins Williams as the other Big Red returning starter, and the two form one of the top backcourts in the Ancient Eight. The 6-2 guard had a breakout campaign a season ago, averaging 8.8 points and 3.1 rebounds while shooting 39 percent from 3-point range. A deadeye shooter from beyond the arc, Noard has distinguished himself with his toughness as a rebounder and defender and his ability to cut to the basket.

Fellow juniors AK Okereke and DJ Nix bring plenty of experience and versatility as swingmen. Okereke was a do-it-all player on both ends of the court and more than likely the most improved player in the Ivy League. The former walk-on averaged 7.1 points, 2.3 rebounds and 1.5 assists on 56-32-82 shooting while playing in all 30 contests a season ago. Nix was a disruptive presence on defense, starting 13 contests and averaging 1.2 points and 1.1 rebounds.

Junior Josh Baldwin returns after missing the 2023-24 season due to injury, and his toughness and basketball IQ will be critical to the team's success this season. His athleticism and strength allow him to defend a variety of positions.

Another versatile two-way player is sophomore Jake Fiegen, who is in line to capture one of the open starting spots. Tremendously competitive, he can both shoot and defend at a high level and has become a very good cutting option in the connected offense.

Sophomore Jacob Beccles and junior Adam Hinton played increasingly more important roles as the season progressed and will be breakout candidates in 2024-25. Beccles is a flash with the basketball with a nearly 3:1 assist:turnover ratio as a freshman. Hinton is a high-level shooter and a threat offensively all over the court who has improved markedly on the defensive end.

Returning players Corbin Zentner in the backcourt and Chris Cain, Ian Imegwu, Hayden Franson and Ryan Kiachian in the frontcourt also expect to play increased roles this season. Each bring very different skill sets to the table and will have new opportunity to break into the rotation.

Five freshmen and a sophomore transfer join the Big Red this season, and though there is no pressure to rush them as they adapt to the new style of play, there will be plenty of opportunities to earn playing time. AJ LaBeau joins Cornell after spending his freshman season redshirting at Washington State, while freshmen Ty Iwanonkiw, Anthony Nimani, Gioacchino Panzini, Mateen Rafiq and AJ Rodriguez will also suit up for the first time in the opener.

Cornell will navigate a challenging schedule that includes matchups with defending Southern Conference champion Samford, Patriot League champion Colgate and contests with La Salle (Atlantic 10), Syracuse and Cal (ACC) from the major conferences, not to mention an Ivy League that features the two teams that joined the Big Red as 20-game winners a season ago in defending tournament champ Yale and regular season champ Princeton.

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• The Jon Jaques era begins for the Cornell men's basketball program when the 2024-25 Big Red takes the court for the first time as it welcomes Marywood University to Newman Arena on Monday, Nov. 4 at 7 p.m. The contest will be broadcast on ESPN2.
• The Big Red returns two starters and eight letter winners from last season's 22-8 squad that finished tied for second in the Ivy League and made its first appearance in the NIT Tournament.
• Picked fourth in the Ivy League Preseason media poll, Cornell will be in search of its fourth consecutive appearance in the four-team conference tournament. 
• The Big Red will be attempting to bump its non-conference home streak to 18 games with a season-opening victory and win its season opener for the fifth time in the past six seasons.
• Gone is former head coach Brian Earl and six graduated seniors, five who are playing as graduate transfers at other Division I institutions (the Ivy League does not permit graduate student eligibility).
• The Big Red will play its first-ever against Division III foe Marywood out of Scranton, Pa.
• The Pacers went 14-13 last season under third-year head coach John Showers, averaging 78.4 points per came and hitting 10.6 3-pointers per outing.

GAME INFORMATION
Marywood at Cornell
DATE & TIME: Monday, November 4 at 7:00 p.m.
SITE: Newman Arena – Ithaca, N.Y.
RECORDS: Marywood (0-0, 0-0 Atlantic East), Cornell (0-0, 0-0 Ivy League)
SERIES RECORD: First Meeting
BROADCAST: ESPN+
STATS: CornellBigRed.com
DIGITAL PROGRAM: CornellBigRed.com
GAME NOTES: CornellBigRed.com

THE SERIES
1 Year • 110 Miles • 0 Meetings
Overall: First-ever meeting
In Ithaca, N.Y.: First-ever meeting
Current Streak: N/A
Last Meeting: N/A
Earl vs. Marywood: First-ever meeting

SERIES NOTES
Cornell has almost annually played and beaten a non-Division I team, going 34-0 with an average margin of victory of more than 30 points per game in the past 30 seasons • the 2010-11 season was the only one in the last 25 years where the schedule was made up completely of Division I teams • each of the team's 34 wins have come by double figures except for one • this is the first of two games scheduled against non-Division I teams this season.

A WIN OVER MARYWOOD WOULD
• give Jon Jaques '10 his first victory as a collegiate head coach.
• mean a 1-0 start to a season for the fifth time in the past six seasons.
• make the Big Red 80-45 all-time in season openers.
• make Cornell 55-30 overall (.647) since the beginning of the 2021-22 season.
• up the Big Red's non-conference record to 32-11 over its past 43 contests.
• bump its non-conference home win streak to 18 games.
• up its regular season non-conference win streak to 31 in non-guarantee games. 
• be the 1,332nd in program history (1,331-1,490-2 in 125th season, .473).

LAST TIME VS. NON-DIVISION I OPPONENT
• Sixteen players reached the scoring column as the Cornell men's basketball team extended its non-conference home win streak to 17 games following a 105-49 victory over local Division III foe Wells College at Newman Arena. 
• The Big Red put three players in double figures, as freshman Ian Imegwu and senior Max Watson each drilled four 3-pointers and junior Guy Ragland Jr. tallied 12 in just six minutes of action off the bench. 
• Cornell shot 48 percent from the floor and made 17 3-pointers, tied for the fourth most in a game in school history. 
• The 105 points marks the 10th time the Big Red has reached the century mark under head coach Brian Earl and the 31st time total in school history. 
• The team's 28 assists are tied for sixth in a single game, while the 39 field goals made are tied for 12th. 
• A total of 25 of the team's 51 rebounds came on the offensive glass, leading to a 32-6 edge in second chance points. 
• Cornell also dominated in points off turnovers (33-2) and bench points (77-10).
 
LAST TIME OUT
•  One of the great seasons in Cornell men's basketball history came to an end after a hard-fought 88-83 loss at second-seeded Ohio State in the first round of the NIT at Value City Arena. 
• The Big Red led into the game's final minute in a contest that featured six ties and 17 lead changes thanks to an electric offense that assisted on 26 of its 33 baskets, shot 49 percent overall and connected on 12 3-pointers. 
• Cornell turned the ball over just nine times and featured four double figure scorers led by Isaiah Gray with 19 points, five rebounds, four assists and two steals. 
• The senior made 8-of-10 field goals, including 7-of-8 shots in the final 20 minutes as the visitors made 58 percent of its attempts. 
• Guy Ragland Jr. chipped in 17 points and nine rebounds off the bench, Nazir Williams posted 14 points and four assists and Cooper Noard netted 10. 
• The Buckeyes dominated the glass all evening, holding a 51-32 edge with 22 of its rebounds coming on the offensive end. 
• Roddy Gayle Jr. and Jamison Battle scored 17 apiece while combining for 15 boards.

SEASON OPENERS
• Cornell will attempt to build on its 79-45 all-time record in 124 previous season openers.
• The Big Red is 12-6 over the last 18 seasons, including six straight wins from 2005-2010.
• Cornell is 13-10 to open seasons in the 21st century with victories over Northwestern (2006-07), Alabama (2009-10) and George Mason (2014-15) in guarantee games.
• The Big Red is 32-35 in openers since Ivy play began in 1956-57.
• Cornell won its 2023-24 season opener at Lehigh 84-78 on Nov. 6, 2023 behind 25 points from Sean Hansen '24.

TEAM NOTES TO KNOW
• The Big Red had its streak of 23 consecutive non-conference wins against opponents from conferences other than the ACC or Big Ten dating back to an 80-76 loss at Hartford on Dec. 22, 2019 snapped at George Mason— a streak that spanned 1,424 days.
• At the same time, Cornell has now won 30 straight regular season non-guarantee non-conference games dating back to that same loss to Hartford.
• Cornell earned two votes in the USA Today Coaches Poll on Jan. 29, 2023 after its victory over Princeton, the first time the Big Red earned recognition in the poll since ranking No. 17 in the final poll in 2010 (April 6, 2010).
• Since its return from COVID, Cornell men's basketball has posted a 54-30 record (.643), a mark that is 54-21 when removing regular season guarantee games (.720).
• Cornell is 31-5 at home over the past three seasons, including a perfect 15-0 against non-conference opponents over that span.
• The team's 22 wins last season were tied for second-most by a Big Red, matching the 2007-08 Ivy League champion squad and trailing the 29 wins from the 2009-10 squad.
• Seven of Cornell's eight losses came away from home against top 100 NET teams — nationally-ranked Baylor (No. 15 in NET, 24-11), Ohio State (No. 49 in NET, 22-14), Princeton (No. 55 in NET, 24-5), Yale twice (No. 83 in NET, 23-10),  Syracuse (No. 84 in NET, 20-12) and George Mason (No. 93 in NET, 20-12), six teams that each reached 20 wins and combined to go 133-64 (.675). 
• Over the past three seasons, the Big Red is averaging 17.7 assists per game and hitting 10.3 3-pointers per game while averaging 81.1 points per game. Over that stretch, Cornell is shooting .590 from two-point range.
• A year ago, the Big Red led Division I in bench scoring (36.0 ppg.) and ranked in the top 20 in effective field goal percentage (sixth, .572), assists per game (sixth, 18.1 apg.), 3-pointers (10th, 10.3), field goal percentage (14th, .487) and scoring offense (16th, 82.1).
• In 14 Ivy games this season, Cornell assisted on 241 baskets with 153 turnovers (1.58 assist-turnover ratio).  
• The Big Red was 18-2 this season when leading at halftime, with the two losses on the road at Ivy leaders Yale (46-38) and Princeton (35-33).
• Cornell has hit a 3-pointer in 972 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 1,021 of 1,025 games (6,989 3-pointers over that span).

MISCELLANEOUS TEAM NOTES
• Head 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.
• The Big Red continues to be ranked among the best according to the annual NCAA Division I Academic Progress Report (APR). 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 since the APR began in 2005, including seven consecutive (2009-16).

THE BIG RED IN OVERTIME
• Dating back to the first overtime game against Penn way back in 1922, Cornell is 42-51 in games that go an extra period. 
• Cornell is 7-10 in multiple overtime games, with the longest game for the Big Red being a five overtime contest against Princeton, won by the Tigers 66-61 on Feb. 24, 1979 at Barton Hall. 
• Cornell is 31-19 in home overtime games, 2-2 in neutral contests and 10-29 in road games.

ARE CORNELL STUDENT-ATHLETES ON SCHOLARSHIP?
• The easy answer is no. Cornell student-athletes are awarded need-based financial aid, just as any other student who applies to the school - that package can come in the form of student loans and grants. 
• The basic intent of the original Ivy League agreement of 1954 was to improve and foster intercollegiate athletics while keeping the emphasis on such competition in harmony with the educational purpose of the institutions. 
• The Ivy League is nationally recognized for its level of success — absent of athletic scholarships — while rigorously maintaining its self-imposed high academic standards. 
• The Ivy League has demonstrated a rare willingness and ability, given the current national pressures on intercollegiate success, to abide by these rules and still compete successfully in Division I athletics.

UP NEXT
• Cornell remains at home to face 2024 Southern Conference regular season and tournament champion Samford on Friday, Nov. 8 at 6 p.m. at Newman Arena in Bartels Hall.
• The contest will be broadcast on ESPN+.
• It will be the first-ever meeting between the teams on the hardwood.
• The Bulldogs lost to Kansas 93-89 in the first round of the 2024 NCAA Tournament to complete a 29-6 campaign.