Cornell men’s basketball drops crucial game at Princeton, 79-77

When the final horn sounded at a sold out Jadwin Gymnasium, Cornell had to think back to last weekend.

The Big Red fell to Princeton 79-77 on Saturday, making it a split with the Tigers on the season. But that’s not what sunk Cornell in the fight for a share of the regular-season title and the top seed in Ivy Madness. The fatal flaw came last weekend, losing to Brown at Newman Arena.

Still, the Big Red could have redeemed themselves in front of a white-hot Princeton squad.

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LISTEN: Tiger Takeaways on Princeton men’s basketball’s 77-70 win over Penn

Ivy Hoops Online contributor George “Toothless Tiger” Clark shares his takeaways from Saturday’s 77-70 win for Princeton men’s basketball (17-3, 5-2 Ivy) over Penn (9-3, 1-6), including why the Tigers are sophomore guard Xaivian Lee’s team now:

Yale men’s basketball notches comeback win over Cornell in battle of Ivy unbeatens

Yale men’s basketball coach James Jones described his team’s 80-78 home win over Cornell in a high-stakes clash of Ivy unbeatens Saturday as “helter skelter.”

The last 40 seconds of the game epitomized that.

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Cornell men’s basketball pulls away from Harvard in the second half to remain unbeaten in Ivy League play

After hard-fought wins for both teams on Friday night, Cornell men’s basketball looked to use its depth, while Harvard hoped its physical defense would be the difference in the second night of the opening weekend of back-to-back contests.

While the two teams slugged it out in the first half, the Big Red’s relentless roster wore down the Crimson over the final 20 minutes and came away with an 89-76 win in front of an Alumni Night crowd that featured NCAA president and Ivy Basketball Legend Charlie Baker.

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Cornell men’s basketball makes statement with convincing win over Princeton

Statement made.

If someone predicted that Cornell men’s basketball would beat Princeton in Ithaca, most wouldn’t be overly surprised. That’s exactly what happened Saturday afternoon.

But what may have surprised people is the way the Big Red did it.

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LISTEN: In-depth Q&A with Cornell men’s basketball coach Brian Earl

Brian Earl (Cornell Athletics)

Cornell men’s basketball coach Brian Earl reflects on the Big Red’s 14-3 (3-0 Ivy) start this season, how he sells recruits on his hockey-like substitutions, playing fast, his relationship with Princeton coach and former teammate Mitch Henderson and more in this in-depth interview with Ivy Hoops Online contributor George “Toothless Tiger” Clark ahead of his team’s showdown with Princeton (15-1, 3-0) Saturday:

Cornell men’s basketball’s defense, tighter rotation stepped up in win over Penn

Down 31-28 at the half, the shots just weren’t falling for Cornell men’s basketball at Newman Arena against Penn on Monday. When a team like the Big Red live and die with offense, 36% shooting wasn’t going to cut it against a Quakers squad that rolled Dartmouth by 29 in its conference opener.

But Cornell went on to make 10 triples in the second stanza as it defeated the visitors, 77-60.

Senior guard Chris Manon stuffed the stat sheet for the hosts — recording 16 points, eight rebounds and finishing with five helpers. He swatted a pair of shots and came up with four steals. Junior forward Guy Ragland Jr. had an efficient afternoon, scoring 16 points off 6-for-10 shooting in front of 1,462 at Newman. Senior guard Isaiah Gray and junior guard Nazir Williams each poured in 10 while senior forward Keller Boothby knocked down three triples.

Here’s are two things we learned after Cornell improved to 2-0 in the Ivy League:

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Nazir Williams leads Cornell men’s basketball to Ivy League-opening win over Columbia

Junior guard Nazir Williams led Cornell to a 91-79 win over Columbia Tuesday night. (Cornell Athletics)

ITHACA, N.Y. – For the first time this season, Brian Earl finally gave junior guard Nazir Williams the nod to start. After an offseason knee procedure, he had been coming off bench and playing fewer minutes than last year.

Naturally, he delivered.

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Three players to watch for Cornell men’s basketball heading into Ivy League play

Cornell men’s basketball huddles up at Baylor’s Foster Pavilion Tuesday. (Photo by Noah Weber)

Cornell men’s basketball headed into Tuesday night’s out-of-conference matchup against the No. 18 Baylor Bears with nothing to lose and everything to gain.

The Big Red were sitting at 10-2 on the year and playing their best basketball of the season as of late. Heading into its matchup with Baylor, Cornell had won seven of its last eight games.

Although Cornell fell 98-79 at Baylor Tuesday, there is still plenty to be excited about if you’re a Big Red fan. Here are three players to watch heading into conference play: 

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