ITHACA, N.Y. -- The Cornell men's basketball team will look to slow down red-hot Princeton when the two teams meet on Saturday, Jan. 25 at 2 p.m. at Jadwin Gymnasium. The contest will be broadcast on ESPN+.

• The Big Red will attempt to keep pace with the first-place Tigers, who enter the weekend on a seven-game win streak to up its record to 14-4.
• Games at Jadwin between the teams have been extremely competitive over the past four season, with three of those games being decided by a single possession and five of the past eight contests overall within five or fewer points. 
• Though Princeton leads the all-time series 154-85, it is just 5-4 over the past nine meetings.
• Cornell will attempt to extend its five-game road win streak when it visits the Tigers — the program's longest since the final five road games in the 2009-10 and first of the 2010-11 seasons.
• The last time the Big Red won six straight on the road in the same season was in 2007-08 when it won eight in a row (including sweeping seven Ivy contests that year en route to a 14-0 campaign).
• The Big Red will be looking to rebound from its first conference loss of the season, an 83-82 defeat against Brown on Monday to fall to 2-1 in Ivy play.
• The Big Red offense continued to hum, as the nation's leader in assists (20.3), field goal percentage (.516) and effective field goal percentage (.604) connected on 64 percent of its shots overall and 47 percent from beyond the arc with 21 assists in the loss. 
• Cornell entering the weekend leading Division I in assists (20.3 per game) is little surprise, as the Big Red has ranked in the top 10 in each of the past three seasons (sixth in 2023 and 2024, seventh in 2022). Ironically, the first assist credited in an NBA game was by a Cornellian, Nat Militzok, for the New York Knicks against the Toronto Huskies in Canada on Nov. 1, 1946
• The Big Red has picked up right where it left off a season ago when it went 22-8, finished tied for second in the Ivy League and made its first-ever NIT appearance.
• All five starters are in double figures and nine players are seeing double-digit minutes.
• The Big Red returns two starters and eight letter winners from last season, with former Big Red captain and longtime assistant and associate head coach Jon Jaques '10 taking over the program.
• 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.

GAME INFORMATION
Cornell at Princeton
DATE & TIME: Saturday, January 25 at 2 p.m.
SITE: Jadwin Gymnasium – Princeton, N.J.
RECORDS: Cornell 10-6 (2-1 Ivy); Princeton (14-4, 3-0 Ivy League)
SERIES RECORD: Princeton leads 154-85
BROADCAST: ESPN+
STATS: GoPrincetonTigers.com
DIGITAL PROGRAM: CornellBigRed.com
GAME NOTES: CornellBigRed.com

THE SERIES
Overall: Princeton leads 154-85
In Princeton, N.J.: Princeton leads 90-29    
In Ivy League play: Princeton leads 99-36
On neutral courts: Series tied 2-2
Streak: Princeton, 1
Last 5: Princeton leads 4-1
Last 10: Princeton leads 6-4
Last meeting: Prin 79, Cor 77 (3/2/2024 at Princeton)
Last Cornell win: Cor 83, Prin 68 (1/27/2024 at Cornell)
First meeting: Prin 35, Cor 14 (1/17/1902 at Princeton)

A WIN OVER PRINCETON WOULD ...
• push Cornell's record to 11-6 on the season.
• give the Big Red a 3-1 Ivy League record.
• extend Cornell's road win streak to six games, its longest in a single season since 2007-08 and second-longest since 1966 (seven games that season).
• push its Ivy record to 15-4 over its past 19 league contests.
• narrow the Tigers' lead in the all-time series to 154-86.
• up its all-time record in Ivy League play to 410-531 (.436).
• make Cornell 65-36 overall (.644) since the beginning of the 2021-22 season.
• be the 1,342nd in program history (1,341-1,496-2 in 125th season, .473).

LAST TIME VS. PRINCETON
•  In a back-and-forth battle that lived up to the billing, Princeton was one possession better in a 79-77 win over Cornell at a sold-out Jadwin Gymnasium. 
• Nazir Williams scored a game-high 23 points and added six rebounds and five assists, while Chris Manon netted 16 with six boards, three helpers and a pair of blocked shots in the loss as the lone double figure scorers. 
• Cooper Noard and Guy Ragland Jr. each scored nine. 
• The Big Red struggled from beyond the 3-point arc (9-of-32) and forced just six Tiger turnovers.
• Caden Pierce had 23 points, eight rebounds, four assists and three steals, while Matt Allocco had 19 points and four boards on Senior Day. 
• Xaivian Lee recorded a double-double with 16 points, 10 rebounds and two assists in the win. 
• The Tigers, meanwhile, outscored the Big Red 15-6 off turnovers - a difference-making total in a two-point contest.
• The final 18 minutes saw 10 lead changes and five ties with neither team backing down.
 

LAST TIME OUT
• Senior Nazir Williams led four double figure scorers for Cornell, but Brown's Kino Lilly Jr. shook off an uncharacteristically cold shooting night to hit the game-winning free throw with 10 seconds remaining to lift the visiting Bears to an 83-82 victory at Newman Arena. 
• Williams scored 17 points and added five rebounds and five assists to lead the Big Red, while AK Okereke netted 18 points, four boards, four assists and two steals. 
• Jake Fiegen (13 points) and Guy Ragland Jr. (11 points, six rebounds) rounded out the double figure scorers. 
• Cornell shot 64 percent from the floor in the loss, including a torrid 77 percent in the first half. 
• Aaron Cooley scored a game-high 28 points on 10-of-13 shooting, with Landon Lewis adding 17 and both AJ Lesburt Jr. and Lyndel Erold scoring 11 for the Bears. 
• Brown shot 53 percent from the floor and turned the ball over just seven times, allowing the Bears to attempt eight more shots than the Big Red, who coughed the ball up 14 times. 
• Combined with its nine missed free throws, the Big Red couldn't make up the difference.
 

NOTES FROM THE BROWN GAME
• Cornell's .635 shooting percentage was the eighth-best in school history and its highest ever in a loss.
• After winning seven straight at home against Ivy opponents, Cornell has dropped consecutive Ivy contests — both against Brown.
• The Big Red's hot shooting upped its field goal percentage in Ivy play to .580 through three games, including .663 from inside the arc.
• Brown's 9-4 advantage on the offensive boards gave the visitors a decisive 12-1 edge in second chance points.
• Senior Nazir Williams posted his fourth game with double figure points and at least five rebounds and five assists. 
• Junior AK Okereke made 7-of-10 field goals, his sixth game this season shooting 70 percent or better.
• In the past two games against the Big Red, Brown's high-scoring guard Kino Lilly Jr. has been held to 7.0 points per game on 15 percent shooting (5-of-33), including 13 percent from 3-point range (2-of 15).

TRENDING UP
• The Big Red entered the weekend leading the nation in assists (20.3 per game), field goal percentage (.516) and effective field goal percentage (.604) and ranks in the top 10 in scoring offense (sixth, 86.6) and 3-point field goals made (eighth, 10.8). • Additionally, it stands in the top 25 in fastbreak points (19th, 15.1), assist:turnover ratio (19th, 1.60) and 3-point field goal attempts (22nd, 29.0). 
• Entering the weekend, the Big Red ranked as the Ivy League leader in scoring offense (86.6), bench points per game (25.5), 3-point field goals made per game (10.8), assists per game (20.3), field goal percentage (.516), effective field goal percentage (.604) and fastbreak points (15.1).
• In Ivy League play so far, Cornell is shooting .580 from the field, .457 from beyond the 3-point arc and .737 from the free-throw line while averaging 87.3 points per game.  
• All five starters are averaging double figures in scoring, and no player in averaging more than 26.6 minutes per game (junior Cooper Noard and senior Nazir Williams).
• Senior Nazir Williams is averaging 17.3 points, 4.8 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 0.8 steals over his past nine games against Division I teams, shooting 58 percent from the floor overall (63-of-108) and 38 percent from 3-point range (13-of-34).
• Over his past 10 games against Division I teams, junior Cooper Noard is averaging 15.6 points and 3.1 rebounds while connecting on 32-of-68 shots from 3-point range (.471). He is 20-for-25 from inside the arc over that span (.800) and is 27-for-37 (.730) from two-point range for the year.
• Junior AK Okereke is posting 16.5 points, 3.5 rebounds, 3.8 assists, 1.5 blocks and 1.3 steals in his past six contests against Division I teams.
• Senior Guy Ragland Jr. is shooting .625 (45-of-72) from the floor in his last 11 games, including 53 percent from 3-point range (19-of-36).
• After shooting 31 percent from beyond the arc in his first two seasons, Ragland Jr. is connecting on a .419 clip over the past two (67-160).

TEAM NOTES TO KNOW
• Since its return from COVID, Cornell men's basketball has posted a 64-36 record (.640), a mark that is 63-25 when removing regular season guarantee games (.716).
• Over the past four seasons, the Big Red is averaging 18.1 assists per game and hitting 10.3 3-pointers per game while averaging 81.9 points per game. Over that stretch, Cornell is shooting .599 from two-point range.
• Cornell is 35-9 at home over the past three seasons, including 19-3 against non-conference opponents over that span.
• 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).
• 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). 
• 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 last season, Cornell assisted on 241 baskets with 153 turnovers (1.58 assist-turnover ratio).  
• The Big Red was 18-2 last 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 988 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 1,037 of 1,041 games (7,162 3-pointers over that span).

MISCELLANEOUS 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 was picked fourth in the Ivy League Preseason Media Poll after being chosen third a season ago.
• In the past two seasons, the Big Red has led the Ivy League in scoring offense (81.7 and 82.1 ppg.), assists (17.5 and 18.1 apg.), steals (9.7 and 8.3 spg.) and effective field goal percentage (.556 and .572) both years.
• 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 won 33 straight regular season non-guarantee non-conference games dating back to that same loss to Hartford prior to its defeat against Robert Morris.
• Cornell's non-conference home win streak of 20 games, its longest since the 1920s, was snapped with the Robert Morris loss.

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.

BIG RED GRAD TRANSFERS
• Graduated seniors Keller Boothby '24 (William & Mary), Isaiah Gray '24 (Akron), Sean Hansen '24 (George Washington), Chris Manon '24 (Vanderbilt), and Evan Williams (Prairie View A&M) have moved on to play as graduate transfers at other Division I institutions (Ivy League does not allow graduate student eligibility).
• Over the past four seasons, 13 grad transfers have gone on to play Division I basketball elsewhere — Jimmy Boeheim '21 (Syracuse), Kobe Dickson '22 (Howard), Bryan Knapp '21 (George Washington), Terrance McBride '21 (Rice), Dean Noll '22 (Stony Brook), Sarju Patel '22 (UAlbany), Riley Voss '21 (Wright State), Greg Dolan '23 (Loyola Chicago) and Marcus Filien '23 (UAlbany).
• Dating back even further, Big Red student-athletes have gone on to graduate transfer success at UConn (Shonn Miller '15 and David Onuorah '17), Purdue (Errick Peck '13), California (Dwight Tarwater '14) and Kent State (Galal Cancer '15).

UP NEXT
• The Big Red begins a three-game conference homestand when it welcomes Dartmouth to Newman Arena on Friday, Jan. 31 at 7 p.m.
• The contest will be broadcast on ESPN+.
• Cornell leads the all-time series 117-109 and has won four straight against the Big Green.
• That extends to an 11-3 Big Red advantage over the past seven seasons.
• Cornell won two very different games against Dartmouth last winter, earning a 56-53 triumph on the road and capturing an 89-80 win at home.