ITHACA, N.Y. -- The two highest scoring teams in the Ivy League meet in the conference opener as Cornell travels to face Columbia on Saturday, Jan. 11 at 2 p.m. at Levien Gymnasium. The contest will be broadcast on ESPN+.

• Cornell and Columbia both enter Ivy League play after successful non-league seasons that set them up to be teams to watch now that Ancient Eight play is here.
• The Big Red closed out non-league play with a dominant win over USCAA foe Penn State Schuylkill, setting a school record for points in a 123-71 victory.
• In the win, seniors Nazir Williams (28th player to reach 1,000 career points) and Guy Ragland Jr. (school record 15 consecutive made field goals, including 3-for-3 vs. PSU Schuylkill) were able to shine.
• The victory was also the 250th all-time at Newman Arena.
• Cornell enters the game leading Division I in assists (20.6 per game and ranks seventh at all levels. That's 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 Columbia
DATE & TIME: Saturday, January 11 at 2 p.m.
SITE: Levien Gymnasium – New York, N.Y.
RECORDS: Cornell (8-5, 0-0 Ivy League), Columbia (11-2, 0-0 Ivy League)
SERIES RECORD: Columbia leads 131-109
BROADCAST: ESPN+
STATS: CornellBigRed.com
DIGITAL PROGRAM: CornellBigRed.com
GAME NOTES: CornellBigRed.com

THE SERIES
Overall: Columbia leads 131-109
In New York, N.Y.: Columbia leads 80-39    
In Ivy League play: Cornell leads 67-66
On neutral courts: N/A
Streak: Cornell, 7
Last 5: Cornell leads 5-0
Last 10: Cornell leads 8-2
Last meeting: Cor 98, Col 76 (3/9/2024 at Columbia)
Last Columbia win: Col 75, Cor 61 (1/18/2020 at Columbia)
First meeting: Col 29, Cor 13 (1/17/1903 at Cornell)    

A WIN OVER COLUMBIA WOULD ...
• push Cornell's record to 9-5 on the season.
• give the Big Red a win in its Ivy opener.
• extend its win streak over Columbia to eight games.
• narrow the Big Red's deficit in the all-time series to 131-110.
• extend Cornell's road win streak to four games.
• up its all-time record in Ivy League play to 408-530 (.435).
• make Cornell 63-35 overall (.643) since the beginning of the 2021-22 season.
• be the 1,340th in program history (1,339-1,495-2 in 125th season, .472).

LAST TIME VS. COLUMBIA
•  Six players scored in double figures and the Cornell men's basketball team earned its 22nd win of the season with a 98-76 win over Columbia at Levien Gymnasium. 
• Cornell shot 55 percent from the floor, hit 14 3-pointers and assisted on 28 baskets in a complete team effort. 
• Sophomore Cooper Noard scored 17 points and hit five 3-pointers, while junior Guy Ragland Jr. notched 13 points, 11 rebounds and three assists to post his fourth career double-double. 
• Junior Nazir Williams scored 14 points with six boards and senior Sean Hansen, playing his final regular season game, connected on all six of his shots for 14 points while grabbing seven boards. 
• The Big Red held a 37-30 edge on the glass. 
• Rounding out the double figure scorers were Chris Manon (10 points, three rebounds, three assists) and AK Okereke (11 points, three assists). 
• Zavian McLean posted 17 points to go along with five rebounds to pace the Lions, with both Blair Thompson and Geronimo Rubio De La Rosa score 15 apiece.



LAST TIME OUT
• The Cornell men's basketball team's 250th all-time win at Newman Arena was memorable in more ways than one as the Big Red capped off non-league play by blitzing Penn State Schuylkill 123-71 at Newman Arena. 
• Cornell set school records for points in a half (67 in the first half) and a game (123) and captured second place on the charts in field goals (48), 3-pointers (20) and assists (37) in a game in a contest that saw none of its regulars play more than 20 minutes. 
• Senior Nazir Williams became the 28th player in Cornell history to reach 1,000 career points, while classmate Guy Ragland Jr. hit all three field goals to give him 15 consecutive makes over his last four games - also a record for a Cornell player.
• All 15 Cornell players that dressed found the scoring column and grabbed at least one rebound, 12 dished out an assist and 11 had at least a steal in the balanced victory. 
• Freshman Anthony NImani had a career-best 15 points and four rebounds to lead the way, with both Nazir Williams and AK Okereke also hitting double figures with 12 apiece and rookie Gio Panzini adding a career-high with 10. 
• Ten additional players scored at least six points in the victory. 


NOTES FROM THE PENN STATE SCHUYLKILL GAME
• Cornell's 123 points established a new record for points in a game, surpassing the 122 scored against Keuka on Dec. 5, 2021.
• The team's 48 field goals, 20 3-point field goal and 37 assists all rank second on the team's single-game charts.
• The win was the 250th all-time at Newman Arena (250-171, .594).
• Senior Nazir Williams became the 28th player in school history to record 1,000 points with his offensive putback in the opening minutes of the second half.
• Senior Guy Ragland Jr. made all three shots from the floor to extend his streak of made field goals to 15, surpassing Darryl Smith '16 (14 straight) for the school record.
• Junior Cooper Noard hit his 100th career 3-pointer, the 24th Big Red player to reach that milestone.
• Freshman Anthony Nimani posted career highs of 15 points and four rebounds.
• Rookie AJ Rodriguez scored his first career points, while classmate Gio Panzini made his first field goals.
• It was the 33rd time in school history the Big Red reached the 100-point plateau.
• The Big Red shot better than 50 percent from the floor for the fifth time in the past six contests. 
• All 15 Big Red players that suited up found the scoring column with 14 different players scoring at least six points.
• Sophomore Jacob Beccles had a career-best eight assists, one more than the entire PSU Schuylkill roster.
• Junior Corbin Zentner had career highs of eight points, thress assists, two rebounds and a steal.

MILESTONE WATCH
• Senior Guy Ragland Jr. has made a school-record 15 consecutive field goals, including five straight 3-pointers. His last miss came midway through the second half in the win over Cal on Dec. 10, 2024 — more than a month ago.
• Ragland Jr. has 799 career points entering the Columbia game and would be the 52nd player in school history to reach 800.
• With 246 assists, senior Nazir Williams needs four to become the 17th player in school history to reach 250.
• Williams is also two rebounds shy of 250 for his career.
• He'd become the ninth player at Cornell to reach 1,000 points, 250 rebounds and 250 assists in a career.
• Sophomore Jake Fiegen's next 3-point field goal will be the 50th of his career.
• Junior AK Okereke's next assist will be his 100th.

TRENDING UP
• The Big Red leads the nation in assists (20.6 per game) and ranks in the top 20 in effective field goal percentage (fifth, .590), scoring offense (10th, 86.4), field goal percentage (11th, .502), fastbreak points (13th, 16.8), 3-point field goals made (13th, 10.8), 3-point field goal attempts (14th, 30.3) and assist:turnover ratio (18th, 1.65).
• The Big Red ranks as the Ivy League leader in scoring offense (86.4), assists per game (20.6), assist:turnover ratio (1.65), field goal percentage (.502), effective field goal percentage (.590) and fastbreak points (16.8).
• Despite the lofty team stats, the only individual ranked in the top 100 in any statistical category is senior guard Nazir Williams in field goal percentage (98th, .516).
• All five starters are averaging double figures in scoring, and no player in averaging more than junior Cooper Noard's 26.2 minutes per game.
• Senior Nazir Williams is averaging 19.2 points, 4.5 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 0.7 steals over his past six games against Division I teams, shooting 61 percent from the floor overall (45-of-74) and 46 percent from 3-point range (12-of-26).
• Over his past seven games against Division I teams, junior Cooper Noard is averaging 16.1 points and 2.9 rebounds while connecting on 22-of-52 shots from 3-point range (.423). He is 15-for-18 from inside the arc over that span (.833) and is 22-for-30 (.733) from two-point range for the year.
• Junior AK Okereke is posting 18.0 points, 4.3 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 1.3 blocks and 1.7 steals in his past three contests against Division I teams.
• Senior Guy Ragland Jr. has eight or more points in 10 consecutive contests.
• Ragland Jr. is shooting .729 (35-of-48) from the floor in his last eight games, including 60 percent from 3-point range (15-of-25). His field goa percentage bumps up to 81 percent overall in his past six contests (26-of-32) and 62 percent beyond the arc (8-of-13).

TEAM NOTES TO KNOW
• Since its return from COVID, Cornell men's basketball has posted a 62-35 record (.639), a mark that is 61-24 when removing regular season guarantee games (.718).
• 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 81.8 points per game. Over that stretch, Cornell is shooting .597 from two-point range.
• Cornell is 35-8 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 985 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 1,034 of 1,038 games (7,130 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
• Cornell remains on the road to begin Ivy League season when it visits perennial Ancient Eight contender Penn on Saturday, Jan. 18 at 2 p.m.
• The contest will be broadcast on ESPN+.
• The Quakers hold a commanding 162-78 lead in the all-time series, though the Big Red swept last season's home-and-home and has won three of the past four matchups.
• Cornell is looking for its first win streak at the Palestra since the 2008 and 2009 seasons.