ITHACA, N.Y. -- The Cornell men's basketball team will attempt to get back on track when it heads to Dartmouth on Saturday, Feb. 15 at 5 p.m. at Leede Arena. The contest will be broadcast on ESPN+.

• The Big Red has dropped consecutive games, including Friday night's 75-73 defeat at Harvard, and will attempt to avoid its first three-game skid since dropping three in a row on the road against Princeton, Penn and Brown late in the 2022-23 campaign.
• Cornell trailed by as many as 17 and got within a single point in the final minute, but game-tying free throws and a game-winning halfcourt shot that rimmed out in the final 10 seconds came up short.
• Junior Cooper Noard answered a career-high 28 points against Yale with 22 points and six rebounds against the Crimson.
• The Big Red shot 50 percent from the floor, including 62 percent in the second half, but the Crimson were able to hold on late.
• 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 Dartmouth
DATE & TIME: Saturday, February 15 at 5 p.m.
SITE: Leede Arena – Hanover, N.H.
RECORDS: Cornell 13-8 (5-3 Ivy); Dartmouth 11-10 (5-3 Ivy)
SERIES RECORD: Cornell leads 118-109
BROADCAST: ESPN+
STATS: CornellBigRed.com
DIGITAL PROGRAM: CornellBigRed.com
GAME NOTES: CornellBigRed.com

THE SERIES
Overall: Cornell leads 118-109
In Ithaca, N.Y.: Dartmouth leads 65-48    
In Ivy League play: Cornell leads 72-63
Streak: Cornell, 5
Last 5: Cornell leads 5-0
Last 10: Cornell leads 7-3
Last meeting: Cornell 76, Dartmouth 64 (1/31/2024 at Cornell)
Last Dartmouth win: Dartmouth 71, Cornell 59 (2/18/2022 at Dartmouth)
First meeting: Dartmouth 26, Cornell 12 (1/18/1901 at Dartmouth)



A WIN OVER DARTMOUTH WOULD ...
• push Cornell's record to 14-8 on the season and 6-3 in Ivy League play.
• complete a season sweep of the Big Green.
• keep the Big Red in second place in the Ancient Eight standings.
• improve its Ivy record to 18-6 over its past 24 league contests.
• up its all-time record in Ivy League play to 413-533 (.437).
• make Cornell 68-38 overall (.642) since the beginning of the 2021-22 season.
• be the 1,345th in program history (1,344-1,498-2 in 125th season, .473).

LAST TIME VS. DARTMOUTH
• Junior AK Okereke's monster floor game and the Big Red's first half effort on the offensive glass was the difference as Cornell topped Dartmouth 76-64 at Newman Arena. 
• Okereke scored 19 points with seven rebounds, four assists, three steals and three blocked shots to lead three double-figure scorers for the home team. 
• Senior Nazir Williams, who was honored pregame for becoming the school's 28th 1,000-point scorer, netted 14 points with four rebounds and four assists, while junior Cooper Noard scored 12, including hitting three of the team's 10 3-pointers on the evening. 
• Senior Guy Ragland Jr. had seven points, seven rebounds, two steals and two blocks in an active performance. 
• Cornell connected on eight of its final nine shots on the day to end the day at 44 percent shooting, assisting on 17 baskets and collecting a season-best eight blocked shots.
• Ryan Cornish scored 28 points to go along with six rebounds to lead the Big Green, with Romeo Myrthil adding 12 with a game-best eight rebounds. 
• The Big Green was limited to 37 percent shooting and connected on just 6-of-28 3-pointers (21 percent).
 

LAST TIME OUT
• Cornell battled back from a 17-point halftime deficit to get two shots to tie, but Harvard held on for a 75-73 victory over the Big Red at Lavietes Pavilion. 
• Junior Cooper Noard scored 22 points and grabbed six rebounds and Nazir Williams added 18 points and five boards, but Cornell fell behind by as many as 19 in the first half and ran out of time late. 
• Cornell shot 62 percent from the field in the second half and 50 percent overall, but 16 turnovers and nine offensive rebounds allowed at critical times hurt the cause. 
• AK Okereke scored 10 points to be the third double figure scorer. 
• Adam Hinton (six points, five rebounds) and Jacob Beccles (five points, four assists) provided key second half minutes to spark the comeback.
• Thomas Batties II scored 21 points to lead four Crimson players in double figures, adding five rebounds, four assists and three steals in the win. 
• Evan Nelson (13 points, five rebounds), Chandler Pigge (13 points, seven rebounds, four assists, three steals) and Robert Hinton (12 points) joined Batties in double figures. 



NOTES FROM THE HARVARD GAME
• With his 18 points, senior Nazir Williams joined the top 20 all-time inscoring in school history with 1,126 points.
• Junior Cooper Noard posted his second straight 20-point game (22 points) and fifth of his career — all coming this season over the last 16 games.
• Junior Adam Hinton (six points, five rebounds) and freshman Robert Hinton of Harvard (12 points) were greeted by dozens of Tawainese fans who attended the game to see the brothers play. The Hinton's have played for the Taiwanese national team.
• A 19-point deficit would have been the second-largest ever made up by the Big Red in a win and the biggest ever on the road (16 at Army West Point in 2000-01.
• Cornell shot 50 percent or better for the fourth time in eight conference games.

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 .523 from the field, .401 from beyond the 3-point arc and .760 from the free-throw line while averaging 82.4 points per game.  
• All five starters are averaging double figures in scoring, and no player in averaging more than 27.6 minutes per game (senior Nazir Williams).
• Senior Nazir Williams is averaging 17.3 points, 4.6 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 0.9 steals over his past 14 games against Division I teams, shooting 56 percent from the floor overall (92-of-164) and 39 percent from 3-point range (22-of-56).
• Williams has reached double figures in scoring in 15 consecutive contests.
• Over his past 14 games against Division I teams, junior Cooper Noard is averaging 15.4 points and 3.4 rebounds while connecting on 47-of-99 shots from 3-point range (.475). He is 26-for-34 from inside the arc over that span (.765) and is 33-for-46 (.717) from two-point range for the year.
• Over his past two games, Noard is averaging 25.0 points and 4.5 rebounds while connection on 10-of-22 shots from beyond the arc (.455).
• Junior AK Okereke is posting 15.6 points, 4.0 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 1.5 blocks and 1.4 steals in his past 11 contests against Division I teams.
• Okereke has reached double figures in scoring in 12 consecutive contests.
• Senior Guy Ragland Jr. is shooting 59 percent (65-of-110) from the floor in his last 16 games, including 48 percent from 3-point range (28-of-58).
• After shooting 31 percent from beyond the arc in his first two seasons, Ragland Jr. is connecting on a .418 clip over the past two (76-182).
• Junior Adam Hinton has made 11-of-15 3-pointers (.733) over his past six contests.
• Junior DJ Nix (110 minutes) has not committed a turnover in Ivy League play.

MILESTONE WATCH
• Senior Nazir Williams enters the contest with 1,126 points to rank 20th all-time at Cornell in scoring. He is five points from 19th (Steve Cram '66 with 1,131), seven from 18th (Gregg Morris '68 with 1,133) and 27 from 17th (Drew Martin '86 with 1,153).
• 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 144 3-pointers and needs one to reach 12th all-time, six to hit 11th and 10 to jump into the top 10.
• With his 458 rebounds, Ragland Jr. is 42 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 67-38 record (.638), a mark that is 66-27 when removing regular season guarantee games (.710).
• Over the past four seasons, the Big Red is averaging 18.0 assists per game and hitting 10.3 3-pointers per game while averaging 81.8 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 993 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 1,042 of 1,046 games (7,213 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 will continue its four-game road swing when it visits Ivy League leader Yale on Friday, Feb. 21 at 7 p.m. at John J. Lee Amphitheater.
• The contest will be broadcast live on ESPN+.
• The Bulldogs won the first meeting between the teams with a 103-88 victory over the Big Red on Feb. 8 at Newman Arena.
• Yale leads the all-time series 124-113 and has won 10 consecutive meetings between the programs in New Haven.