Cornell men’s basketball was 14-0 when giving up 76 or fewer points this season.
Make that 14-1, as Yale defeated the Big Red, 69-57, at Levien Gym to advance to the Ivy League Tournament final against Brown at noon Sunday.
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It’s a wide-open field in the Ivy Madness men’s semifinals
The men’s competition in the Ivy League Tournament kicks off on Saturday afternoon at Columbia University and for the first time since the advent of Ivy Madness there is no clear favorite. While the Princeton Tigers enter the tournament as the No. 1 seed and the regular season champion, each of the four teams competing on Saturday at Levien Gym legitimately has a chance to advance to the championship game on Sunday.
Let’s take a closer look at the two semifinal matchups in the men’s competition:
Cornell women’s basketball moving on from Dayna Smith
Two days after Cornell women’s basketball ended its season in a blowout loss to Columbia, Cornell athletic director Nicki Moore announced that Dayna Smith would no longer be the program’s head coach.
“Dayna Smith has led the Big Red women’s basketball program for more than two decades with integrity and drive, dedicating herself to developing successful student-athletes on and off the court,” Moore said in a statement released by Cornell Athletics on Monday morning. “She is a well-respected coach, a well-liked colleague and a true ambassador for the game of basketball. I thank her for her service to Cornell athletics, and wish her the very best. Coach Smith will always be an important part of this program’s history.”
Smith, the dean of Ivy women’s basketball coaches following the 2022 retirement of Harvard’s Kathy Delaney-Smith, finishes her 22-year career on East Hill with 32 All-Ivy players, an overall record of 224-345 record and an Ancient Eight championship in 2007-08.
Cornell men’s basketball earns No. 3 seed in Ivy Madness, even matchup with No. 2 Yale
Heading into the final day of the regular season, the Cornell men still had an outside shot at a share of the Ivy League regular-season title. For starters, the Big Red needed to beat Columbia. That happened.
Cornell shot 55% from the field and six players scored in double digits as the Big Red won 98-76. Sophomore guard Cooper Noard had 17 points off five triples, junior guard Nazir Williams and senior forward Sean Hansen each had 14 and junior forward Guy Ragland Jr. scored 13.
Then, the Big Red needed Yale to lose to Brown — which also happened as Aaron Cooley sunk an improbable last-second shot in overtime. Lastly, Princeton needed to lose to Penn, but that didn’t happen as the Tigers dropped 105 on the Red and Blue.
LISTEN: Thoughts on Princeton men’s basketball after its 79-77 win over Cornell
Ivy Hoops Online contributor George “Toothless Tiger” Clark sizes up a scintillating 79-77 win for (23-3, 11-2 Ivy) over Cornell (21-6, 10-3) Saturday at a sold-out Jadwin Gym:
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.
LISTEN: Princeton men’s basketball press conference after 79-77 win over Cornell
Tigers senior guard Matt Allocco, senior forward Zach Martini and coach Mitch Henderson take stock of a 79-77 win qualifying as an instant classic for Princeton men’s basketball (23-3, 11-2 Ivy) over Cornell (21-6, 10-3) Saturday at a sold-out Jadwin Gym:
LISTEN: Thoughts on Princeton men’s basketball after its 84-70 win over Columbia
Ivy Hoops Online contributor George “Toothless Tiger” Clark reflects on Friday’s 84-70 win for Princeton men’s basketball (22-3, 10-2 Ivy) over Columbia (13-12, 4-8) and looks ahead to the Tigers’ high-stakes matchup with Cornell (21-5, 10-2) Saturday evening:
Quakeaways from Penn men’s basketball’s 87-81 loss to Cornell
Penn did just about everything right against Cornell on Friday night at the Palestra.
The Quakers came out with more energy despite having no postseason hopes, forcing eight turnovers in the game’s first eight minutes. They hit 15 three-pointers on 33 attempts. They built a 14-point lead in the second half.
It still wasn’t enough.
The Big Red staved off a Quakers upset bid thanks to the efforts of AK Okereke, who backed up into an uncontested go-ahead three-point jumper with 2:12 to go that put Cornell up for good in an 87-81 win. Okereke finished with a team-high 18 points for Cornell (21-5, 10-2 Ivy).
Penn (10-17, 2-10) got two clean three-point looks to tie from star freshmen Sam Brown and Tyler Perkins in the final two minutes, but neither went down. It’s been that kind of season for the Red and Blue.
What did Penn fans learn from a game effort against one of the best teams in the Ivy League?
Penn women’s basketball comes back to win at Cornell, 61-54
The Penn women’s basketball team averted disaster Saturday and came from behind to escape from Cornell with a 61-54 win and keep its Ivy Madness hopes alive.
It wasn’t pretty.