Welcome to the RTC 2009 Mascot Death Match! We’ll post each round of games as they come available, so check back Friday for Saturday’s Round 2 matches and so forth. Voting will close at the end of each day’s matches.
MIDWEST: DAY 2
Minnesota (#10, East, Greensboro pod)
vs. Texas (#7)
Thur. 3/19 at 7:10 pm
Vegas Line: +4
General Profile
Location: Minneapolis, Minnesota
Conference: Big Ten, at large
Coach: Orlando “Tubby” Smith, hired 2007. Record at Minnesota = 42-24.
08-09 Record: 22-10 (9-9)
Last 12 Games: 5-7
Best Win: vs Louisville, 70-64, 12/20/08
Worst Loss: at Northwestern, 65-74, on 1/18/09.
Off. Efficiency Rating: 106.5 (88th)
Def. Efficiency Rating: 90.6 (20th)
Nuts n Bolts
Star Player(s): Lawrence Westbrook (6’0″ junior guard), 12.4 ppg.
Unsung Hero: Ralph Sampson III (6’11” freshman center), leads team with 4.4 rpg and second in blocks at 1.5/game.
Potential NBA Draft Pick: Sampson has some teams interested.
Key Injuries: No significant injuries.
Depth: 40.7% mins. (13th nationally)
Achilles Heel: Guarding the three. Opponents shoot 32.7%, 236th in the nation in that category.
Will Make a Deep Run if…: …their defense can frustrate. They’re 20th nationally in Defensive Efficiency and 4th nationally in blocks.
Will Make an Early Exit if…: …their interior defense breaks down. Despite being poor in defensing the three, they’re in the top 30 as far as guarding shots inside the arc.
Last Year Invited: 2005
Streak: One year.
Best NCAA Finish: 1997 Final Four.
Historical Performance vs. Seed (1985-present): n/a
Other
Distance to First Round Site: 1143 miles
School’s Claim to Fame: A notable alumni list too long to list, but it includes 18 Nobel prize winners. Bob Dylan went here but dropped out.
School Wishes It Could Forget: Yanni is an alumnus.
Prediction: Minnesota doesn’t wow you with statistics but with Smith at the helm you know at the very least they’ll give Texas a ballgame, and maybe win it outright. Minnesota will be a popular 1st round upset pick, but they have to find a way to corral Pittman. If they can…who knows, after that.
Major RTC stories: Big 10 Wrapup and Tourney Preview
Preview written by: John Stevens, Rush The Court.
Cal State Northridge (#15, West, Kansas City pod)
vs. Memphis (#2)
Mar. 19 @ 12:25pm
Vegas Line: Cal St. Northridge +19.5
General Profile
Location: Northridge, CA
Conference: Big West, automatic
Coach: Bobby Braswell, 205-180
08-09 Record: 17-13, 11-5
Last 12 Games: 9-3
Best Win: 71-66, Pacific, 3/15
Worst Loss: 67-65, Cal State Bakersfield, 11/21
Off. Efficiency Rating: 102.2; #162
Def. Efficiency Rating: 97.1; #83
Nuts n Bolts
Star Player(s): Rodrigue Mels, 25.5 ppg in Big West Tournament
Unsung Hero: Tremaine Townsend – 10.2 ppg, 8.3 rebs
Potential NBA Draft Pick(s): None
Key Injuries: Josh Jenkins, G – car accident; Deon Tresvant, G – pending legal case
Depth: 41.4%, #9
Achilles Heel: Just 67.3% from the FT line
Will Make a Deep Run if…: Memphis falls asleep on the court
Will Make an Early Exit if…: They turn the ball over too much (17.7 pg)
Other
Distance to First Round Site: 1,637 miles
School’s Claim to Fame: One of the state’s largest schools (33,000+ students), Northridge finished rebuilding in 2007 after the campus was heavily damaged in the 1994 earthquake that struck the Los Angeles area
School Wishes It Could Forget: Three players (including leading scorer and coach’s son) accused of stealing thousands of dollars in merchandise from a local Best Buy on New Year’s Day this year, and have not played since.
Prediction: Northridge does all of the things that Memphis does… only Memphis does them much, much better. The Matadors won the Big West despite missing some key players, but that grit won’t get them far against the Tigers.
Major RTC stories: None
Preview written by… (Ryan ZumMallen, LBPOSTSports.com)
Ohio State (#7, Midwest, Dayton pod)
Thanks to Vegas Watch for providing these graphs that measure the moving average of a team’s spread (moving avg.) over time vs. the spread for each individual game (indiv). If a team’s moving average is higher than zero, then Vegas currently has a higher opinion of them than Pomeroy, and vice versa.
Nuts n Bolts
Star Player(s): Evan Turner (6’7″ sophomore forward); 17.1 ppg, 7.0 rpg, 1.8 spg.
Unsung Hero: William Buford (6’5″ freshman forward); 11.3 ppg, shooting 45.2% FG and 89.6% FT.
Potential NBA Draft Pick: 7’0″ freshman center B.J. Mullens is currently projected as the 12th overall pick in the 2009 mock NBA draft at www.nbadraft.net.
Key Injuries: Would-be star player David Lighty (6’7″ junior F) injured his left 5th metatarsal against Jacksonville on 12/17/08 and was slated to miss 6-12 weeks. No recent mention of possible return.
Depth: 26.6% mins (271st nationally)
Achilles Heel: The boards. The Buckeyes pull down 28.2 rebounds/game, which is 301st nationally.
Will Make a Deep Run if…: …they shoot well, and the Buckeyes know how to do that. 9th nationally in FG% (48.9), and 7th nationally on shots inside the arc (54.5%).
Will Make an Early Exit if…: …they don’t take advantage of limited possessions; OSU only gets an average of 63.1 chances per game, which is 315th nationally.
NCAA History
Last Year Invited: 2007
Streak: 1
Best NCAA Finish: 1960 National Champions.
Historical Performance vs. Seed (1985-present): -0.12 wins per appearance
Western Kentucky University (#12, South, Portland pod)
vs. Illinois (#5)
Thur. 3/19 at about 9:50 pm
Vegas Line: +4.5
General Profile
Location: Bowling Green, Kentucky
Conference: Sun Belt, automatic bid
Coach: Ken McDonald, hired as head coach 2008. Record at WKU = 24-8.
08-09 Record: 24-8 (15-3)
Last 12 Games: 11-1, won 7.
Best Win: vs Louisville, 68-54, 11/30/08
Worst Loss: at Denver, 74-78, on 1/24/09.
Off. Efficiency Rating: 108.6 (68th)
Def. Efficiency Rating: 101.3 (168th)
Nuts n Bolts
Star Player(s): A.J. Slaughter (6’3″ junior guard), 15.8 ppg.
Unsung Hero: Sergio Kerusch (6’3″ senior guard), 11.2 ppg/7.4 rpg.
Potential NBA Draft Pick: None.
Key Injuries: No significant injuries.
Depth: 25.3% (295th nationally)
Achilles Heel: Guarding the three. Opponents shoot 34.9%, 206th in the nation in that category.
Will Make a Deep Run if…: …they get Slaughter lots of touches, and if they continue hitting the offensive glass hard, something they’ve done well all year.
Will Make an Early Exit if…: …they think just because they pulled off an upset last year, it will automatically happen this year.
Last Year Invited: 2008
Streak: Two years.
BestNCAA Finish: 1971 Final Four. Defeated Kansas in consolation game.
Historical Performance vs. Seed (1985-present): +0.08
Other
Distance to First Round Site: 2326 miles
School’s Claim to Fame: Darrin Horn (South Carolina head coach), Clem Haskins are both alums, as is the PGA’s Kenny Perry. And everyone loves Big Red, the seemingly amorphous Hilltopper mascot.
School Wishes It Could Forget: Last year’s Sweet 16 loss. The ‘Toppers had their chances against UCLA.
Prediction: Not a team to take lightly. Wouldn’t be surprised to see at least one semi-upset win, since they are indeed peaking at the right time.
Major RTC stories: Sun Belt Conference Tourney Wrapup
Preview written by: John Stevens, Rush The Court.
RTC asked its legion of correspondents, charlatans, sycophants, toadies and other hangers-on to send us their very favorite March Madness memory, something that had a visceral effect on who they are as a person and college basketball fan today. Not surprisingly, many of the submissions were excellent and if you’re not fired up reading them, then you need to head back over to PerezHilton for the rest of this month. We’ve chosen the sixteen best, and we’ll be counting them down over the next two weeks as we approach the 2009 NCAA Tournament.
The Hunter S. Thompson of College Basketball (submitted by Ray Floriani of College Chalktalk)
SOUTH ORANGE, NJ – The NCAA tournament in 1979 turned out to be truly memorable. And not simply because of Magic vs. Bird. First, a little background. I was writing and doing some photographic work for Eastern Basketball magazine. EB was produced in the Long Island home of founders Ralph and Rita Pollio and enjoyed a good following. The three of us plus Rita’s brother Ray took a twelve-hour drive to Raleigh for the first two rounds. On Friday evening Penn stopped Iona (coached by the late Jim Valvano) and St. John’s upset a good Temple team. On Sunday it was the day still known in ACC country as “Black Sunday.” Penn upset top ranked North Carolina and St. John’s, who upset Duke in December’s Holiday Festival consolation, made it two straight over the Devils with another upset victory.
The following weekend it was off to Greensboro for the regionals. I traveled with EB writer Happy Fine. An extremely knowledgeable basketball analyst and excellent writer, Happy knew a good number of people and was well connected. We flew to Greensboro, had regular hotel rooms, credentials and ate at good restaurants and covered some memorable games. Greensboro Coliseum was half (or more empty) with no ACC representatives. Even the local papers billed the regionals as the “frost belt four.” For the record, Penn upset Syracuse and St.John’s did the same to Rutgers in the semis. Then Penn edged St. John’s in a thrilling regional final. As the sign Penn fans held in post game celebrations read, “weese going to Utah.”
Now in 1979 there was no Big East. Penn naturally was in the Ivy, but schools like St. John’s were part of ECAC regional affiliations while Rutgers was in the Eastern Eight (now Atlantic Ten). We did not cover the ACC at EB – only the “traditional East.” We had an agreement with the NCAA that if we got a team in we could get a Final Four credential (as in… one credential). As much as Rita tried, we could not secure a second for yours truly. Happy and I would drive to Philadelphia (about 2 hours) and fly on the Penn fan charter – the bad news was that I did not have a ticket nor did we have hotel rooms in Salt Lake City. Talk about “survive and advance.”
We flew out Thursday morning , two days before the semis. Happy secured us a ‘room’ in the suite of SI’s Curry Kirkpatrick. A heavy hitter on SI’s team, I met Curry through Happy in Greensboro and felt him humble and passionate about the game. An hour into the flight, Happy had already secured tickets for me to the semis and finals with the whole cost setting me back only about $30. No complaints, at least I was in. The charter was mostly Penn students and we had a great time discussing basketball with them on the flight out. That night I went to the NABC (National Association of Basketball Coaches) all-star game at the old Salt Palace, where the Jazz played. Pleased to see James Bailey of Rutgers star in the contest which had a number of solid players.
The Final Four was held at the Arena on the University of Utah campus. On Friday at open practice I met with Al McGuire. There was no ESPN back then. NBC televised the tournament and some national games. Eastern teams like Syracuse got maybe a date or two or national TV. McGuire wanted to know more about Penn so Rita arranged for me to meet with him. She prepared a sizable portfolio on the Quakers. After meeting McGuire, quite a thrill since I idolized him and his coaching style since high school, he put the packet aside. In his unique style he jotted down key points about Penn. Their marquee players Tony Price and Bobby Willis. The multi-talented center Matt White. The coaching philosophy of Bob Weinauer. The streamers thrown after the first basket. Even the watering hole, Smokey Joe’s, which had cheap tap brews and great cheesesteaks. We met for about a half hour then McGuire gave me his card. Safe to say, from my vantage point, the McGuire meeting was a highlight of that Final Four (an example of his peculiar eloquence is below).
Got back to the hotel and Happy asked if I wouldn’t mind going to another hotel. No problem, even though I quietly arose at 7 a.m. that morning to go running. Seems Curry had ‘overbooked’ his guests. We arranged for me to stay with Mike Madden of the Boston Globe. I met Mike covering some BC games. We got along well and had no problems with the situation.
Saturday. Game day. Rode the NABC shuttle to the arena and one coach had a remark that could be etched in stone when he said, “there is no better day in basketball than today.” He’s right because as special as the finals are, the semifinal Saturday gives you four teams all with national championship hopes and dreams. Penn-Michigan State was the first game. The Quakers got inside Michigan State’s patented 2-3 matchup zone, but could not hit a thing, picking the most inopportune time to play their worst game. The margin was in the thirties in the first half as MSU cruised. The second game came down to the final minutes as Indiana State edged DePaul. Thought it was a special story that the same Ray Meyer who coached DePaul to prominence with George Mikan three decades prior was back in the limelight.
Through post game receptions with the NABC and media on Saturday night and into Sunday the talk was over Michigan State dismantling Penn and now Magic vs. Bird on Monday night. They told us Salt Lake City was dry. With the commerce dollars coming in that weekend, the city’s ‘good fathers’ probably looked the other way as the beer flowed like an amber cascade. Made some phone reports to Ralph but his phone was disconnected so we called the neighbor who would run across the street to get him.
Met Basketball Times publisher Larry Donald on Sunday. It’s ironic that about a decade later I would be working for him. Snapped some shots around the picturesque Utah campus and chatted with students. Arkansas coach Eddie Sutton stopped by a media reception on Sunday evening. Sutton’s Arkansas team dropped a heart breaker to Indiana State in a regional final but the coach was cordial and an interesting personality to discuss the game with. Happy and Bob Ryan told Sutton about this young high school player doing some work in Boston, Patrick Ewing.
On Monday I went to a few NABC clinics. As a basketball fanatic I’m always looking for information on the game. Ohio State’s Don Devoe gave a great talk. Really impressed with a coach who would fall afoul to recruiting violations a few years later; New Mexico’s Norm Ellenberger also spoke about the fast break. Back in those days they had a consolation game and Penn was thrilled to go out and prove they belonged. I ‘borrowed’ Happy’s press pass to get some photos on the floor. Penn played well and lost a tough one to DePaul. The Quakers gained back some respect, but unfortunately the game was not televised.
The final saw Magic Johnson’s Michigan State vs. Larry Bird’s Indiana State. A great game. Greg Kelser was an inside factor for the Spartans and, though there was no three point shot, Jud Heathcote had a few good outside shooters that kept the defense honest. Michigan State held about a nine point lead through the second half. That nine felt like eighteen as they were in command throughout. Got on the floor for the post game awards. Snapped some shots then caught some of the post game press conference in a huge area to accommodate several hundred media. Shortly after, Happy and I went to the airport to catch our charter. It was a redeye and as we boarded, a Penn student brought a PENN sign from a side scoreboard at the arena. Why not ?
We flew cross-country in the middle of the night. Penn students slept. At times I stayed awake thinking about it all, wondering will Indiana State stay a major player or was this their “fifteen minutes of fame?” Penn will be a major Ivy player, but was this like Princeton’s ’65 final Four run where everything came together? Magic’s greatest attribute is his ability to raise his teammates’ games, and what a great story the DePaul resurgence was.
As years passed the ’79 final went down as a classic. In truth, for me, the whole weekend was.
Mississippi St. (#13, West, Portland pod)
vs. Washington (#4)
Mar. 19 @ 5pm
Vegas Line: Mississippi St. +5
General Profile
Location: Starkville, Mississippi
Conference: SEC, automatic
Coach: Rick Stansbury, 231-127
08-09 Record: 23-12, 9-7
Last 12 Games: 7-5, 6-game win streak
Best Win: 67-57, #20 LSU, 3-14-09 or 64-61, Tennessee, 3-15-09
Worst Loss: 64-70, Charlotte, 12-10-08
Off. Efficiency Rating: 108.1; #74
Def. Efficiency Rating: 94.3; #59
Nuts n Bolts
Star Player(s): Jarvis Varnado, Junior center, 4.7 bpg – leads nation and more than 318 D1 teams and this year broke SEC single-season block record currently held by him and Shaquille O’Neal – 9.0rpg – 4th in SEC – 55.1% FG – 3rd in SEC – 13.1ppg, Reigning and likely two-time National Defender of the Year, SEC Tournament MVP, All-SEC First Team, SEC Defender of the Year
Unsung Hero: Dee Bost, Freshman point guard, 4.34 apg – 4th in SEC and 1st among SEC freshmen, 1.51 a/to – 7th in SEC and 1st among SEC freshmen – 1.46spg – 11th in SEC and 1st among SEC freshmen – 72.1% FT – 12th in SEC and 1st among SEC freshmen – 11.1ppg, SEC Freshman of the Year Runner-Up, Consensus All-SEC Freshman, Two-Time SEC Freshman of the Week
Potential NBA Draft Pick(s): none
Key Injuries: Elgin Bailey, ankle – out indefinitely
Depth: 25.2% of mins from bench, #296
Achilles Heel: Rebounding, #11 in SEC in rebounding margin
Will Make a Deep Run if…: Some threes will fall for MSU. State leads the SEC in 3-pointers made and ranks fourth in 3PT%. The team starts four guards and is very, very difficult to beat when the threes are falling
Will Make an Early Exit if…: The effort on the boards is below par. State was outrebounded 44-24 in an 81-57 raping at LSU earlier this season.
NCAA History
Last Year Invited: 2007-08, 2nd round 74-77 loss to #1 seed Memphis
Streak: 2 consecutive years
Best NCAA Finish: 1995-96, Final Four 69-77 loss to Syracuse
Historical Performance vs. Seed (1985-present): RTC will provide
Other
Six Degrees to Detroit: None
Distance to First Round Site: 2,519 miles
School’s Claim to Fame: Before Rick Stansbury: 3 NCAA’s, 4 NIT’s all-time. Under Rick Stansbury: 5 NCAA’s, 3 NIT’s. If you’re talking about MSU as a whole…MSU has won the prestigious Challenge X competition for engineering the past two years.
School Wishes It Could Forget: MSU hasn’t produced a successful high-round NBA pick in well over a decade despite losing players such as SEC Player of the Year Lawrence Roberts and infamous All-SECers Jamont Gordon and Charles Rhodes. If you’re looking for MSU as a whole, State is by far the poorest school in the Southeastern Conference.
Prediction: Mississippi State’s disgraceful 13 seed could be a blessing in disguise, as the Bulldogs don’t see a team higher than a four-seed in the first two rounds. State is hot at the moment and if the team continues to play with passion, the Bulldogs could be a darkhorse to reach the Sweet Sixteen.
Major RTC stories: n/a
Preview written by… (Kurt Wirth/SEC Hoops: The Good. The Bad. The Dirty)
Robert Morris University (#15, Midwest, Minneapolis pod)
vs. Michigan State (#2)
Fri. 3/20 at about 9:50 pm
Vegas Line: +16.5
General Profile
Location: Moon Township. Pennsylvania
Conference: Northeast — Tournament Champion
Coach: Mike Rice, hired 2007. Record at Robert Morris = 50-18.
08-09 Record: 24-10 (15-3)
Last 12 Games: 9-3, won 5.
Best Win: vs Mount St. Mary’s, 48-46, on 3/11/09 for the NEC tournament title.
Worst Loss: at Monmouth, 57-60, on 2/19/09.
Off. Efficiency Rating: 101.3 (170th)
Def. Efficiency Rating: 97.3 (91st)
Nuts n Bolts
Star Player(s): Jeremy Chappell (6’3″ senior guard), 16.9 ppg, 6.3 rpg, 2.5 spg, and over 85% from the FT line.
Unsung Hero: Rob Robinson (6’8″ junior forward), 11.4 ppg, 5.6 rpg and shoots almost 53% from the field.
Potential NBA Draft Pick: None.
Key Injuries: No significant injuries.
Depth: 34.6% mins. (89th nationally)
Achilles Heel: Taking care of the ball. RoMo gives up 15.1 TOs per game, 279th in the nation.
Will Make a Deep Run if…: …they can take care of the ball and Chappell catches fire. And some divine intervention wouldn’t hurt. Doesn’t hurt that they shoot 39.7% from three, 17th in the nation.
Will Make an Early Exit if…: …they are intimidated by their opponent and the TV cameras.
Last Year Invited: 1992.
Streak: One year.
Best NCAA Finish: 1983; went 1-1, winning in the preliminary round then losing to Purdue in the Round of 64.
Historical Performance vs. Seed (1985-present): n/a
Other
Distance to First Round Site: 860 miles
School’s Claim to Fame: Named after a Declaration of Independence signer and a man who helped pay for the Revolutionary War.
School Wishes It Could Forget: That there’s a Robert Morris College in Chicago. And RMU’s last three first-round games? Kansas, UCLA, Arizona. Not exactly friendly draws.
Prediction: Another tough draw to add to the list — so likely another 0-1.
Major RTC stories: NEC Wrapup and Tourney Preview
Preview written by: John Stevens, Rush The Court.
Villanova (#3, East, Philadelphia pod)
vs. American (#14)
Mar. 19 @ 7:20pm
Vegas Line: -17
Thanks to Vegas Watch for providing these graphs that measure the moving average of a team’s spread (moving avg.) over time vs. the spread for each individual game (indiv). If a team’s moving average is higher than zero, then Vegas currently has a higher opinion of them than Pomeroy, and vice versa.
General Profile
Location: Villanova, Pa.
Conference: Big East, at-large
Coach: Jay Wright, 8th season (174-90)
08-09 Record: 26-7 overall, 13-5 conference
Last 12 Games: 9-3
Best Win: 67-57, Pittsburgh, Jan. 28
Worst Loss: 67-58, Texas, Dec. 9
Off. Efficiency Rating: 114.0; 26
Def. Efficiency Rating: 91.2; 25
Nuts n Bolts
Star Player(s): Scottie Reynolds (15.5 ppg, 3.6 apg, .810 FTP), Dante Cunningham (16.0 ppg, 7.2 rpg, .529 FGP)
Unsung Hero: Corey Stokes (9.7 ppg, .434 3-point percentage)
Potential NBA Draft Pick(s): Cunningham, late 2nd round
Key Injuries: None
Depth: 29.2% mins
Achilles Heel: Playing against size. Cunningham is having a tremendous year, but at 6-8 he’s not a legit center.
Will Make a Deep Run if…: Reynolds rises to the occasion. ‘Nova has a few different guys who can score, but this tournament is all about veteran guards. And in that department, Reynolds is one of the best.
Will Make an Early Exit if…: They play a slow, plodding game and don’t establish Cunningham.
NCAA History
Last Year Invited: 2008, Sweet 16
Streak: 5 years
Best NCAA Finish: 1985, national champions
Historical Performance vs. Seed (1985-present): +0.29 wins per appearance
Other
Six Degrees to Detroit: Villanova star guard Scottie Reynolds committed and then decommitted to Oklahoma, Jeff Capel is the coach at Oklahoma, Jeff Capel played for Duke, where he played against Rasheed Wallace, who currently plays for Detroit.
Distance to First Round Site: A whopping 16 miles.
School’s Claim to Fame: Their stunning win over goliath Georgetown in the 1985 national championship game when they shot nearly 80 percent from the floor. To this day, the Wildcats remain the lowest seed (No. 8) to ever win the whole thing.
School Wishes It Could Forget: Starting guard Gary McLain’s ensuing admission that he did cocaine during the aforementioned championship run.
Prediction: With Wright and this core of players, it’s hard to imagine Villanova not returning to the Sweet 16. But the Wildcats will need some good fortune to make it all the way to Detroit.
Major RTC stories: RTC will provide
Preview written by… Dave Zeitlin
Cornell (#14, West, Boise pod)
vs. Missouri (#3)
Mar. 20 @ 3pm
Vegas Line: Cornell +13
General Profile
Location: Ithaca, New York
Conference: Ivy, Automatic
Coach: Steve Donahue, 117-132 (ninth year)
08-09 Record: 21-9 overall, 11-3 Ivy
Last 12 Games: 9-3
Best Win: 79-70, La Salle, Dec. 20
Worst Loss: 61-41, Princeton, Feb. 6
Off. Efficiency Rating: 107.2; 79
Def. Efficiency Rating: 100.0; 143
Nuts n Bolts
Star Player(s): Ryan Wittman (18.5 ppg, .419 3-point percentage, .818 free throw percentage); Louis Dale (13.5 ppg, 3.6 apg, .483 field goal percentage); Jeff Foote (7.1 rpg; 2.1 bpg; 534 field goal percentage)
Unsung Hero: Chris Wroblewski, (.449 3-point percentage)
Potential NBA Draft Pick(s): Foote or Wittman? Both are darkhorses for sure.
Key Injuries: None
Depth: 28.5 %
Achilles Heel: Quickness. Besides Dale, Cornell will certainly lack the athleticism of other tournament teams. When they have lost this season, the coaches have typically said it’s because they didn’t move well enough without the ball.
Will Make a Deep Run if…: They make their threes and play smart, fundamental basketball – the same way any Ivy team would have a chance of pulling an upset. They’ll need a lot of luck, too.
Will Make an Early Exit if…: Any of their ‘Big Three’ have off games. Dale needs to control the tempo, Wittman needs to shoot well and Foote needs to stay out of foul trouble inside.
NCAA History
Last Year Invited: 2008, 1st-round loss to Stanford
Streak: Two
Best NCAA Finish: This is only Cornell’s fourth trip to the tournament (1954, 1988, 2008). The Big Red have never made it out of the first round, though in 1954 they got a bye into the Sweet 16 before losing to Navy (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1954_NCAA_Men’s_Division_I_Basketball_Tournament).
Historical Performance vs. Seed (1985-present): n/a
Other
Six Degrees to Detroit: Before Mark Coury transferred into Cornell from Kentucky, he was an all-state player at Detroit County Day School. Coury, however, is not eligible until next season.
Distance to First Round Site: 2350 miles
School’s Claim to Fame: There are too many famous alumni to count. So let’s go with their most famous fake alumni: Andy from The Office. I think Donahue’s pregame pep talk should go something like this: “You, me, bars, buzzed. Wings. Shots Drunk. Waitresses, hot. Football – Cornell/Hofstra. Slaughter. Then a quick nap at my place and we’ll hit the tiz-own.”
School Wishes It Could Forget: that Ann Coulter graduated from there. And her absurd recent feud with Keith Olbermann over who has the better Cornell diploma.
Prediction: The Big Red will keep it closer than last year’s 24-point whitewashing at the hands of Stanford, but pulling the upset might be too mush to ask. Next year, they shock the world.
Major RTC stories: n/a
Preview written by… Dave Zeitlin
Overnight 5: February 16, 2023
2021-22 Rush The Court Preseason All-America TeamsRTC 16: 2021-2022 Pre-Season Rankings
Preseason Stock Report: Buy Now
Preseason Stock Report: Bear Market
2020-21 Rush the Court All-America Teams and Yearly AwardsEight Questions for the Final FourEight Key Questions for the Sweet Sixteen16 Questions For First Round Saturday of the NCAA Tournament16 Questions for First Round Friday of the NCAA Tournament
