The WVBR Sports Blog:
The Voice of the Big Red
The Voice of the Big Red
Cornell Hoops More Than Deserving of Its Ranking
Original Airdate: Tuesday, February 2, 2010. This is a part of the 93-Second Sports Shot series. 93-Second Sports Shots air weekday nights at 6pm.
The talk of East Hill over the last week centered first around the supposed battle of titans-Cornell and Harvard-and after Cornell's dominating win, about Cornell being ranked in the Top 25 for the first time in 59 years. The ranking is a tremendous accomplishment for an Ivy League school, but it of course begs the question, how good is this team really?
Well, Cornell really is at least the 25th best team in the nation. The Red's defense has turned what was a rather mediocre team that lost at home to Seton Hall by 10 earlier this season into one that coach Steve Donahue feels confident taking into battle against any team in the nation. On defense, their depth has allowed them to play aggressively and cut off the passing lanes. Since the new year, South Dakota, which shot exactly 40% from the field, is the only team, including Kansas, to shoot at least 40% against the Big Red. That's huge because Cornell typically scores in the 70's. Because they have so many great three-point shooters, Cornell typically scores about the same amount against every opponent. When a shooter has a bad night, it's usually compensated for by another shooter who has an above average shooting night.
Depth, good inside presence, and a plethora of snipers beyond the arc means Cornell really that good. You can say that Harvard didn't play their best game Saturday, but neither did Cornell. They had a below average night from the foul line, Ivy League Player of the Year candidate Ryan Wittman spent most of the game in foul trouble, and they still won by 36!
The talk of East Hill over the last week centered first around the supposed battle of titans-Cornell and Harvard-and after Cornell's dominating win, about Cornell being ranked in the Top 25 for the first time in 59 years. The ranking is a tremendous accomplishment for an Ivy League school, but it of course begs the question, how good is this team really?
Well, Cornell really is at least the 25th best team in the nation. The Red's defense has turned what was a rather mediocre team that lost at home to Seton Hall by 10 earlier this season into one that coach Steve Donahue feels confident taking into battle against any team in the nation. On defense, their depth has allowed them to play aggressively and cut off the passing lanes. Since the new year, South Dakota, which shot exactly 40% from the field, is the only team, including Kansas, to shoot at least 40% against the Big Red. That's huge because Cornell typically scores in the 70's. Because they have so many great three-point shooters, Cornell typically scores about the same amount against every opponent. When a shooter has a bad night, it's usually compensated for by another shooter who has an above average shooting night.
Depth, good inside presence, and a plethora of snipers beyond the arc means Cornell really that good. You can say that Harvard didn't play their best game Saturday, but neither did Cornell. They had a below average night from the foul line, Ivy League Player of the Year candidate Ryan Wittman spent most of the game in foul trouble, and they still won by 36!
WVBR SPORTS BLOG ARCHIVE
~ECAC Hockey Playoffs scenarios (Sun 3/14) 3 Comments
~Pointless March Madness Speculation (Fri 3/12)
~Video Technology in Sports (Thu 3/11)
~UOBBS (Wed 3/10)
~2010 NFL Mock Draft (Tue 3/9)
~Sad thing is...Part II (Tue 3/9)
~Sad thing is... (Mon 3/8)
~Cornell to face Harvard at Lynah next weekend (Sun 3/7)
~Women's Sports at Cornell (Thu 3/4)
~Women in Baseball? (Wed 3/3) 1 Comment
~Cornell's Keys to Advancing in the NCAA's (Tue 3/2)
~Cornell and ECAC Hockey Rundown (Sun 2/28) 1 Comment
~Cornell Victorious on Senior Night (Sat 2/27)
~Cornell Tames the Tigers (Fri 2/26)
~Changes for the 2014 Games (Thu 2/25)
~How important is player-franchise loyalty in sports? (Wed 2/24) 1 Comment
~Preview to the NFL Draft (Tue 2/23)
~The MLB Off-season In Review (Thu 2/18) 1 Comment
~Cornell Hockey Keys to Success (Wed 2/17)
~Cornell Vs. Colgate Men's Ice Hockey (Tue 2/16)
~Pointless March Madness Speculation (Fri 3/12)
~Video Technology in Sports (Thu 3/11)
~UOBBS (Wed 3/10)
~2010 NFL Mock Draft (Tue 3/9)
~Sad thing is...Part II (Tue 3/9)
~Sad thing is... (Mon 3/8)
~Cornell to face Harvard at Lynah next weekend (Sun 3/7)
~Women's Sports at Cornell (Thu 3/4)
~Women in Baseball? (Wed 3/3) 1 Comment
~Cornell's Keys to Advancing in the NCAA's (Tue 3/2)
~Cornell and ECAC Hockey Rundown (Sun 2/28) 1 Comment
~Cornell Victorious on Senior Night (Sat 2/27)
~Cornell Tames the Tigers (Fri 2/26)
~Changes for the 2014 Games (Thu 2/25)
~How important is player-franchise loyalty in sports? (Wed 2/24) 1 Comment
~Preview to the NFL Draft (Tue 2/23)
~The MLB Off-season In Review (Thu 2/18) 1 Comment
~Cornell Hockey Keys to Success (Wed 2/17)
~Cornell Vs. Colgate Men's Ice Hockey (Tue 2/16)
