ITHACA, N.Y. -- The Cornell men's basketball team kicks off the second half of Ivy League play and begins a four-game conference road swing when it visits Harvard on Friday, Feb. 14 at 7 p.m. at Lavietes Pavilion. The contest will be broadcast on ESPN+.

• At 5-2 in league play and tied for second place through the midpoint of the season, Cornell has put itself in prime position to qualify for the four-team Ivy League Tournament for a fourth consecutive season.
• The Big Red will attempt to complete a sweep of the Crimson for a second straight season and get closer to clinching a spot in Ivy Madness with a victory.
• The team has had great success on the road, winning six consecutive away from Newman Arena (tied for the fourth-longest streak in the country — Houston with 10 is no. 1).
• Cornell will be attempting to rally from last weekend's 103-88 defeat at home against Ivy leader Yale.
• The Big Red ran into a buzz-saw, as the Bulldogs shot 63 percent from the floor behind 32 points from John Poulakidas, 25 more from Nick Townsend and a triple-double by Bez Mbeng (15 points, 10 rebounds, 12 assists, five steals). 
• Junior Cooper Noard scored 28 points, a career high, and hit six 3-pointers in the loss for the Big Red to lead four double figure scorers. 
• Cornell entering the weekend atop the Division I in assists (19.5 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.
• Cornell also has a direct connection to one of its biggest weapons — the 3-point shot. Cornell has finished in the top 20 in Division I in 3-pointers made and attempted in each of the past three seasons, and Big Red alum Ed Steitz '43, a member of the Basketball and FIBA Basketball Halls of Fame, was the original founder and president of Amateur Basketball Association of the United States of America (ABAUSA). He was instrumental in the reinstatement of the dunk in 1976 and was an advocate of the 45-second shot clock and 3-point shot. 
• 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 Harvard
DATE & TIME: Friday, February 14 at 7 p.m.
SITE: Lavietes Pavilion – Cambridge, Mass.
RECORDS: Cornell 13-7 (5-2 Ivy); Harvard 7-13 (2-5 Ivy)
SERIES RECORD: Cornell leads 99-87
BROADCAST: ESPN+
STATS: CornellBigRed.com
DIGITAL PROGRAM: CornellBigRed.com
GAME NOTES: CornellBigRed.com

THE SERIES
Overall: Cornell leads 99-87
In Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard leads 46-45    
In Ivy League play: Harvard leads 72-64
Streak: Cornell, 3
Last 5: Cornell leads 3-2
Last 10: Tied 5-5
Last meeting: Cornell 75, Harvard 60 (3/1/2025 at Cornell)
Last Harvard win: Harvard 73, Cornell 56 (2/18/2023 at Cornell)
First meeting: Cornell 34, Harvard 26 (1/18/1902 at Harvard)
 


A WIN OVER HARVARD WOULD ...
• push Cornell's record to 14-7 on the season and 6-2 in Ivy League play.
• extend its road win streak to seven games, the program's longest since winning eight in a row during the 2007-08 season.
• improve its Ivy record to 18-5 over its past 23 league contests.
• up its all-time record in Ivy League play to 413-532 (.437).
• make Cornell 68-37 overall (.648) since the beginning of the 2021-22 season.
• be the 1,345th in program history (1,344-1,497-2 in 125th season, .473).

LAST TIME VS. HARVARD
• Cornell shot 67 percent in the second half and closed out a weekend sweep with a 75-60 victory over Harvard at Newman Arena. 
• After falling behind by as many as 12 points in the first half, Cornell bridged the break with a 22-2 run that built a double-digit lead.
• Cornell had four players reach double figures led by junior AK Okereke with 15 points and senior Guy Ragland Jr. with 15 along with six assists, three rebounds and two steals. 
• Senior Nazir Williams netted 11 points, Jake Fiegen scored 10 and Cooper Noard scored eight points. 
• The Big Red shot 57 percent from the floor overall and connected on 22-of-29 shots from inside the arc (.759). 
• Cornell held a 32-23 edge on the backboards in the win and a 44-26 scoring edge in the paint.
• Harvard got 14 points apiece from Thomas Batties II and Chandler Piggem with Battie adding five rebounds and Pigge accumulating three assists and three steals. 
• Austin Hunt chipped in 10 points and three boards for the Crimson. 
• Harvard shot 42 percent overall.



LAST TIME OUT
• Yale shot 63 percent from the floor overall and 48 percent from beyond the arc to remain unbeaten in Ivy League play, running past Cornell 103-88 at Newman Arena. 
• Junior Cooper Noard scored a career-high 28 points to lead four double figure scorers for the home team.
• AK Okereke, Nazir Williams and Adam Hinton each scored 14. 
• Okereke added six assists and five rebounds, while Noard hit six 3-pointers on the night as Cornell connected on 15 as a team. 
• Cornell shot 47 percent overall and assisted on 21 baskets in the defeat.
• Yale got 32 points from John Poulakidas, including three step-back 3-pointers as the shot clock was expiring in the second half to keep the Big Red at arm's length. 
• Nick Townsend added 25 points, six rebounds and five assists on 11-of-13 shooting, making the duo 23-of-31 from the floor. 
• Neither could outshine guard Bez Mbeng, who had a 15-point, 12-assist, 10-rebound and 5-steal triple-double. 



NOTES FROM THE YALE GAME
• Junior Cooper Noard scored a career-high 28 points and connected on six 3-pointers on the evening.
• The team's 15 3-pointers was the most by the Big Red in a game against a Division I opponent in Newman Arena since it also hit 15 in a win over Lehigh on Dec. 20, 2022.
• The 21 assists marked the ninth time this season Cornell has posted at least 20 helpers in a contest.
• Junior Adam Hinton bettered his career high with 14 points and also added three rebounds, matching a season high.
• The 15-point margin of defeat was Cornell's biggest since Harvard earned a 73-56 victory over the Big Red on Feb. 18, 2023.
• Yale's Bez Mbeng recorded the second triple-double in Newman Arena by a men's player with 15 points, 10 rebounds and 12 assists. Yale also had the first in 2020 when Jordan Bruner had 14 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists in an 81-80 Yale victory in double overtime. Cornell has never had a player register a triple-double.

TRENDING UP
• The Big Red entered the weekend leading the nation in field goal percentage (.510), effective field goal percentage (.599) and assists (19.5 per game). The Big Red also ranks in the top 10 in scoring offense (sixth, 85.5) and 3-point field goals made (sixth, 10.8). Additionally, it stands in the top 25 in fastbreak points (13th, 15.3), 3-point field goal attempts (18th, 28.9) and assist:turnover ratio (21st, 1.56). 
• Entering the weekend, the Big Red ranked as the Ivy League leader in scoring offense (85.5), assists per game (19.5), assist:turnover ratio (1.56), field goal percentage (.510), effective field goal percentage (.599), 3-point field goals made (10.8) and attempted (28.9) and fastbreak points (15.3).
• In Ivy League play so far, Cornell is shooting .526 from the field, .404 from beyond the 3-point arc and .779 from the free-throw line while averaging 83.7 points per game.  
• All five starters are averaging double figures in scoring, and no player in averaging more than 27.3 minutes per game (senior Nazir Williams).
• Prior to Yale's offensive explosion, Cornell's defense had limited Princeton, Dartmouth and Harvard to 66.7 points on .383 shooting from the floor (70-of-183) in a three-game stretch.
• Senior Nazir Williams is averaging 17.2 points, 4.6 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 0.9 steals over his past 13 games against Division I teams, shooting 56 percent from the floor overall (85-of-152) and 40 percent from 3-point range (21-of-53).
• Williams has reached double figures in scoring in 14 consecutive contests.
• Over his past 13 games against Division I teams, junior Cooper Noard is averaging 14.9 points and 3.2 rebounds while connecting on 43-of-90 shots from 3-point range (.478). He is 23-for-29 from inside the arc over that span (.793) and is 30-for-41 (.732) from two-point range for the year.
• Junior AK Okereke is posting 16.2 points, 4.0 rebounds, 3.7 assists, 1.6 blocks and 1.4 steals in his past 10 contests against Division I teams.
• Okereke has reached double figures in scoring in 11 consecutive contests.
• Senior Guy Ragland Jr. is shooting 59 percent (62-of-105) from the floor in his last 15 games, including 48 percent from 3-point range (27-of-56).
• After shooting 31 percent from beyond the arc in his first two seasons, Ragland Jr. is connecting on a .417 clip over the past two (75-180).
• Junior Adam Hinton has made 9-of-13 3-pointers (.692) over his past five contests.
• Junior DJ Nix (99 minutes) has not committed a turnover in Ivy League play.

MILESTONE WATCH
• Senior Nazir Williams enters the contest with 1,108 points to rank 21st all-time at Cornell in scoring. He is six points from reaching the top 20 (Jerry Szachara '63 with 1,114 points).
• At 12th all-time in assists with 275, Williams is six away from reaching 11th all-time and 10 from joining the top 10.
• Senior Guy Ragland Jr. ranks 13th all-time at Cornell with 143 3-pointers and needs two to reach 12th all-time, seven to hit 11th and 11 to jump into the top 10.
• With his 452 rebounds, Ragland Jr. is 48 away from becoming the 28th player in Cornell history to reach 500 career boards.

TEAM NOTES TO KNOW
• Since its return from COVID, Cornell men's basketball has posted a 67-37 record (.644), a mark that is 66-26 when removing regular season guarantee games (.717).
• Over the past four seasons, the Big Red is averaging 18.0 assists per game and hitting 10.4 3-pointers per game while averaging 81.9 points per game. Over that stretch, Cornell is shooting .599 from two-point range.
• Cornell is 37-10 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 992 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 1,041 of 1,045 games (7,204 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 will look to complete the season sweep of Dartmouth when it meets the Crimson on Saturday, Feb. 15 at 5 p.m. at Leede Arena.
• The contest will be broadcast live on ESPN+.
• The Big Red will attempt to extend its win streak over the Big Green to six games.
• Cornell earned a 76-64 triumph over Dartmouth in the first meeting in Ithaca on Jan. 31 behind 19 points, seven rebounds, four assists, three steals and three blocks from AK Okereke..