Guess it will just have to wait at least one more year.
Cornell men’s basketball’s Mount Everest remained unscaled once again in the 2023 edition of their game against Syracuse, falling to the Orange 81-70 at the JMA Wireless Dome Tuesday.
But the game came down to the final minute. With 2:59 remaining, senior guard Isaiah Gray threw down a thunderous dunk over Syracuse redshirt sophomore guard Kyle Cuffe Jr. to cut it down to three. Sophomore guard J.J. Starling connected on a mid-range jumper shortly after, and four free throws and two late slams later, the Orange walked away with another double-digit victory over the visitors from East Hill.
Ultimately, games at the Dome for Cornell come down to the ability to make shots. Though the Orange scored 81 points, the Big Red restricted them to 43% shooting, which seems like a valiant enough effort for a team ranked 217th in KenPom in adjusted defensive efficiency. But the Big Red made just 40% of their shots and 27% of their threes, which just isn’t enough over a much stronger and physical Syracuse squad.
Cornell sophomore guard Cooper Noard connected on three shots from downtown and sophomore forward DJ Nix, who averages just 11 minutes a game but starts, connected on two. Senior Keller Boothby came off the bench and drilled a pair, junior Guy Ragland Jr. had one and junior Nazir Williams, who played just 16 minutes, also had one.
That was it. Nine- for-33 won’t beat the Orange.
Over a much more meticulous Syracuse defense, the Big Red had to play slower than they were likely comfortable with. Averaging possessions of 15.1 seconds, good for 16th quickest in the country, Cornell has to go quicker to remain comfortable. Unless they came up with a steal and had numbers, the Big Red couldn’t do that on Tuesday.
Other numbers: getting outrebounded by just three (45-42) — certainly a positive. Thirteen of those came on the offensive glass, which is a major plus. Nine for 17 from the free throw line — not something to write home about.
But nonetheless, the Big Red have numbers to analyze over their two-week break. They’ll have a better idea of where they’re at before they take on Baylor in January. Opponents like Baylor show how Cornell matches up against the rest of the country. When the Big Red play a team like Siena, who’s No. 359 in KenPom, in two weeks, that doesn’t exactly show what Cornell lacks. It just shows how well the Big Red might be able to run up the score.
Regardless, Cornell is in a decent place. The Big Red will have a few more games to get their ducks in a row before the games start to really matter.