Shooting woes plague Cornell men in loss at Syracuse

SYRACUSE, N.Y. — One thing has become apparent for the Cornell men the last two seasons: They’ll live and die by the three-pointer.

On Saturday against Syracuse, the Big Red got burnt.

Cornell led by as many as 11 points early in the first half, but a 2-for-17 start from behind the three-point line in the second half plagued the Big Red as they fell, 78-63, to the Orange.

“I thought we had pretty good shots, we just couldn’t make them,” coach Brian Earl said. “It just didn’t go our way at all.

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Jimmy Boeheim credits Cornell experience for success at Syracuse

Jimmy Boeheim averaged 10.3 points and 3.6 rebounds in 78 career games over three seasons for Cornell. {Photo by Erica Denhoff)

Syracuse forward and former Cornell star Jimmy Boeheim has lit up the Atlantic Coast Conference in his first season in league action. He and his younger brother Buddy are the highest-scoring sibling duo in college basketball, averaging around 30 points per game for their father, Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame inductee Jim Boeheim, in his 46nd year at the helm.

Jimmy graduated from Cornell with a finance degree in the spring of 2021 after three years of Ivy hoops. Buddy was a 2020-21 first-team All-ACC preseason selection after averaging 17.8 points per game last season. This season, Buddy and Jimmy are scoring 18.8 and 13.4 points per game, respectively, ranking them both in the top 25 in the ACC.

Jimmy says that the transition from playing in the Ivy League to the ACC isn’t the big jump that people make it out to be.

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Cornell men’s basketball looking to resume upward trajectory under Brian Earl

In Brian Earl’s first three seasons on East Hill, the Cornell men’s basketball team improved from eight to 15 wins, clinching a birth in the 2019 CIT to conclude Matt Morgan’s collegiate career. The Big Red took an expected step back in 2019-20, winning just seven games but setting themselves up for a strong 2020-21 with Jimmy Boeheim and Terrance McBride leading the way.

But, of course, that never happened due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Boeheim now plays for his father, Jim Boeheim, at Syracuse, while McBride now plays for the Rice Owls, tabbed eighth in Conference USA.

Headed into the 2021-22 season, the Big Red are without their star power from two years ago but are hoping to develop under a group of returners.

“We took some lumps [in 2019-20] to have a team last year we thought would’ve been really competitive,” Earl said. “Once we knew those guys were going to move on, I think our team did a really good job of coming together – the younger guys realizing that we’re turning the page.”

While Boeheim and McBride are gone, Cornell has a core of players from two years ago to lead the team in a season filled with unknowns.

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Cornell fades late to Syracuse, loses 72-53

For the second straight year, the Cornell Big Red gave the Syracuse Orange all they could handle but ultimately fell short again, this time, 72-53. The final score hides the fact that Cornell (1-4) was within three points with 10 minutes remaining in the game.

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Behind Enemy Lines: Q&A with The Juice Online

It’s time for Ivy Hoops Online’s annual exchange with Wes Cheng of The Juice Online since another edition of Cornell-Syracuse is upon us. Wednesday will bring the third annual Boeheim Bowl, with Cornell junior forward Jimmy Boeheim squaring off against not only his father, longtime Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim, but brother and Orange sophomore guard Buddy Boeheim. Syracuse is coming off an 89-67 win over Seattle, while Cornell is coming off a 75-54 loss at DePaul.
Ivy Hoops Online: Tell us about The Juice.

The Juice Online: The Juice (then called The Big Orange) was founded in 1992, one of approximately 50 independent publications devoted to the coverage of its school’s athletics programs. In 2002, it became a full-color, glossy magazine which was owned by Fox Sports. The print product ceased publication in June of 2010 and was relaunched as The Juice Online in December of 2010. In February 2012, The Juice Online partnered with SportsNet New York, the official television home of the New York Mets and New York Jets. As part of SNY.tv’s Blog Network, The Juice Online supplements SNY’s coverage of more than 125 college football and basketball games, as well as other college sports programming.

IHO: What are the major storylines with Syracuse coming into this season?

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Cornell men’s basketball releases 2019-20 schedule

Featuring 18 contests against teams ranked in the top 150 and highlighted by trips to the Carrier Dome and the Bryce Jordan Center, the Cornell men’s basketball teams released its 2019-20 schedule on Thursday.  The Big Red will attempt to develop their young squad over a 13-game nonconference schedule to again exceed expectations and return to the Ivy League Tournament after a one-year absence.

Following early games with Binghamton and Bryant, Cornell welcomes NJIT to Newman Arena on November 13.  Last season, the Big Red defeated the Highlanders by six in Newark and look to make it two-in-a-row over the ASUN’s second best team.  Three days later, the Red head to the midwest to take on DePaul of the Big East.  This game would have had more intrigue had Bill Courtney remained on the Blue Demons’ staff, but the former Cornell head coach (2010-2016) left for Miami in June.

On November 20, Cornell heads up I-81 for its yearly trip to Syracuse.  This year’s game will be third meeting between junior Jimmy Boeheim and his Hall of Fame father Jim, as well as the 125th overall between the nearby schools.  Last year’s 63-55 loss was the 39th in a row, but the closest game against the Orange since 2005.

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Cornell fades late, falls in upset bid against Syracuse

The hoopla over Saturday’s Cornell-Syracuse tilt being the Battle of the Boeheims gave way to a good basketball game, with the Big Red clinging to a lead with six minutes to play.

But several bad shots and turnovers down the stretch along with a couple of tough shots falling for the lethal Tyus Battle-Frank Howard combo for Syracuse brought the Big Red down, resulting in a 63-55 Syracuse victory.

and because of that Syracuse was able to escape with a 63-55 victory. Cornell dropped back to 4-4 while Syracuse went to 5-2.

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Behind Enemy Lines: Q&A with The Juice Online

It’s time for Ivy Hoops Online’s annual exchange with The Juice Online since another edition of Cornell-Syracuse is upon us. Saturday will bring another family affair between the Big Red and the host Orange, with Cornell sophomore forward Jimmy Boeheim squaring off against not only his father, longtime Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim, but brother and Orange freshman guard Buddy Boeheim. Syracuse is coming off a Wednesday win at Ohio State, which was No. 1 in the first NCAA NET college basketball rankings. Cornell is coming off a Wednesday overtime win at Lafayette.
Ivy Hoops Online: Tell us about The Juice.
The Juice Online: The Juice (then called The Big Orange) was founded in 1992, one of approximately 50 independent publications devoted to the coverage of its school’s athletics programs. In 2002, it became a full-color, glossy magazine which was owned by Fox Sports. The print product ceased publication in June of 2010 and was relaunched as The Juice Online in December of 2010. In February 2012, The Juice Online partnered with SportsNet New York, the official television home of the New York Mets and New York Jets. As part of SNY.tv’s Blog Network, The Juice Online supplements SNY’s coverage of more than 125 college football and basketball games, as well as other college sports programming.
IHO: What are the major storylines with Syracuse coming into this season?

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Cornell’s stellar defense makes up for poor offense in overtime win at Lafayette

It wasn’t much warmer in the Kirby Sports Center in Easton, Pa. than it was in Ithaca Wednesday, with teams from both towns

shooting percentages not much higher than the temperature, but it wouldn’t matter as Cornell was able to sneak by for a 63-58 victory in overtime. Cornell improved to 4-3, while Lafayette dropped to 2-4. Lafayette and Cornell each shot 36 percent and 37 percent respectively from the field.

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Matt Morgan: Watch him while you can

Matt Morgan’s Twitter photo shows an image Ivy fans should be glad is sticking around for one more year: Morgan in a Cornell uniform. (Matthew Clyburn via Twitter)

For the last three years, I have attended Cornell’s season opener against the Binghamton Bearcats. Both schools are a manageable drive north on I-81 from my home near Scranton. Each of these games has offered an interesting sideline, a story within the story, beyond the final score.

Two years ago, Brian Earl was making his head coaching debut at Cornell. At the same time, Binghamton’s shooting guard, J.C. Show, a product of my local high school who had been mildly pursued by Earl’s Tigers, took the court for the first time since transferring from Bucknell. Show’s 26 points helped Binghamton spoil Earl’s first game, while rather thoroughly mixing my emotions.

Last year, the teams tipped off in Ithaca. For the first time, Jimmy Boeheim, son of the Hall of Famer, appeared in a Cornell uniform. His parents and I were there to witness the event. The elder Boeheim first came to my attention when he played for the Scranton Miners in the old Eastern League in the 1960’s. His gritty, baseline-to-baseline combativeness won the hearts of thousands of fans in blue collar Scranton. When I encountered him at a concession stand during halftime, his reaction was typical coach Boeheim: “Get out of my way … ”

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