Ivy League Basketball News

The Boston Herald mentions Harvard’s CIT invitation:

Meanwhile, Harvard, fresh off the season in program history, accepted an invitation to play in the CollegeInsider.com tournament, a second-year event for mid-majors.

The Crimson will meet Appalachian State in the opening round Wednesday night in Boone, N.C. It will be Harvard’s first postseason since the 1945-46 season….

Harvard (21-7, 10-4) had the most successful season in school history but still finished third in the Ivy League behind champion Cornell and Princeton …

Coach Tommy Amaker should have the Crimson competing for the Ivy crown next season with a collection of solid players, including rookie of the year Kyle Casey.

…

Also read about Harvard’s CIT in the Winston Salem Journal.

Coach Buzz Peterson of [Appalachian State University] learned the opponent late last night and said he has research to do.

“Tommy Amaker is their coach, that’s about all I know right now,” Peterson said. “We’re 103 in RPI and they’re 101, so it should be interesting.”

…

The Daily Pennsylvanian reviews Penn’s loss to Princeton in the season’s final game.  Penn rallied from 40-14 at the half to get with 7 with 2 minutes to go, but ultimately fell short.

“I can’t tell you what I said to them at halftime because I don’t think it’s appropriate,” he joked after the game. “I have kids old enough that can read a newspaper.”

…

The Philadelphia Daily News’ Dick Jerardi writes a piece about the upcoming Dunphy-Donahue reunion.

“I was totally shocked,” [Cornell coach] Donahue said. “Everybody is jumping up and down. I couldn’t even get off my seat. I was, ‘Oh bleep.’ “

…

Also read about the Cornell-Temple matchup in the Philadelphia Inquirer.

…

Jon Tannenwald of the Philadelphia Inquirer tweeted yesterday that Fran Dunphy had never lost to any of his assistants, but discovered today that he was wrong: on January 27, 1997, Fran O’Hanlon defeated Fran Dunphy 83-79.  “It doesn’t change my mind, though,” he adds.

…

The New York Post thinks Cornell is primed to play Cinderella.

… This year in the East Regional, we have No. 12 Cornell, those brainiacs from the Ivy League just sitting in front of their computers figuring out how to save the world and eliminate No. 5 Temple.

…

Brian Delaney of the Ithaca Journal has no problem with the Cornell-Temple  matchup.

I think both teams match up fairly well against each other. I don’t think it’s a terrible matchup for Cornell by any means, and I’ve seen Temple about 3-4 times this year on TV. They are an oustanding defensive team. I envision a high 50’s, low 60’s grinder with a thrilling finish that could go either way. As for the other game, I think Wisconsin has its hands full. I’ve liked Wofford quite a bit for a few weeks now, and think maybe they could pull that one off.

…

The Philadelphia Inquirer writes:

Couldn’t this sub-regional be played at Ridley High instead of in Jacksonville?

Delaware County may have produced more coaches in this tournament than any county in the nation. It so happens, however, that only one of them will reach the Sweet 16, since Temple plays Cornell and the winner probably will see Wisconsin in the second round. Wisconsin’s Bo Ryan is a Chester native who grew up in Aston, Temple’s Fran Dunphy is from Drexel Hill, and Cornell’s Steve Donahue is from Springfield.

A tough little grouping?

Really tough. Temple, Cornell, and Wisconsin all probably deserved to be at least one seed higher, which makes it a tough selection for all of them.

…

The Boston Globe believes Cornell will make it to the Sweet 16 before eventually falling to Kentucky:

Cornell isn’t your normal Ivy League team that is happy to make a tournament cameo. The Big Red gave Kansas problems in Lawrence. They will give Temple problems in the opener, although Owls coach Fran Dunphy is familiar with Cornell from his days at Penn. Cornell and Wisconsin will be the ultimate grind game, but Cornell should win. And playing for higher stakes at the Carrier Dome could have the feel of a home game for the Big Red, whose campus is a mere hour-plus away….

Big East vs. Big East and SEC vs. Ivy makes for an intriguing semifinal weekend at the Carrier Dome. Cornell will be the sentimental favorite, but Kentucky is too athletic for the Big Red.

…

Basketball Prospectus thinks the NCAA committee paired too many non-BCS schools:

Dear Non-BCS Schools: $!#@ You. Love, NCAA

The committee did it again, matching up non-BCS schools aggressively and keeping them away from BCS schools. UNLV/Northern Iowa. Butler/UTEP. Temple/Cornell. Richmond/Saint Mary’s. The committee is taking one of the best things about the tournament–that the big guys have to play the little guys on a neutral floor–and destroying it, aggressively so. Defenders of the bracket and the committee will always point out that this isn’t intentional, but after it happens year-in, year-out, I simply don’t believe them. You can’t keep playing off the non-BCS schools one another every year and pretend it’s not a strategy. It very clearly is one, and it’s designed to prevent the possibility of the schools from smaller conferences showing that the main difference between them and the middle of the BCS leagues is home games. The committee and the NCAA should be embarrassed.

…

The St. Louis Dispatch somewhat agrees:

The selection committee gave the so-called mid-majors a mixed message. On the positive side, eight at-large bids went to non-BCS conference teams, the highest number since 2006. The committee gave major props to the Mountain West Conference (three at-large invitations, four teams overall). On the down side, Temple was probably underseeded at No. 5. And as usual, the committee tried to keep the mid-majors away from BCS schools. First-round matchups include Northern Iowa vs. UNLV, Butler vs. UTEP, Temple vs. Cornell, Richmond vs. St. Mary’s. It’s gotten to the point where these folks don’t even attempt to conceal the effort to make CBS happy (for ratings) by preventing mid-majors from knocking off the big boys in the first round.

…

The Times Herald of Norristown and Montgomery County PA reports that Temple coach Fran Dunphy had other ideas about his NCAA seeding:

Temple got its highest NCAA Tournament seed in 10 years.

But a fifth seed in the East Region is not what all of the Owls had in mind, although they said the right things Sunday fresh off their third straight Atlantic 10 Conference tournament championship.

From the outside looking in, the NCAA Tournament committee minimized the Owls’ 10-game winning streak, their 29-5 record and even the 75-65 win over Villanova, which got the No. 2 seed in the South.

Owls coach Fran Dunphy suspects the committee was intent on matching him with Cornell (27-4) because it’s coached by Steve Donahue, one of his assistants during his tour at Penn. Dunphy and frequent texting buddy Donahue square off Friday in Jacksonville, Fla.

“I think this was a planned endeavor by the committee,” Dunphy said at the Liacouris Center. “I think this was a planned matchup. If you had said to me who do you not want to play, I would say Cornell. Steve and I are good friends. There’s just a no-win situation in that.”

Dunphy also said he felt the Owls’ seed “was going to be 4 or 5.

“I thought if we could win today it was going to be 4,” he said.

…

Tom Keegan of KUSports.com offers this advice for drawing up your brackets:

Put Kansas and Baylor in the Final Four in all your pools and try different combinations with them: Cornell and Kansas State in one, Kentucky and Syracuse in another, with K-State losing to Brigham Young in the second round.

Cornell? A No. 12 seed, the Ivy League champ is smart, experienced, big, physical and blessed with a great shooter (Ryan Wittman). The Big Red could frustrate Kentucky, the nation’s most talented team, all the way into a mega upset.

…

The Patriot News writes,

Injustice: Most outrageous mis-seeding was Temple’s 5-seed and match-up against live 12-seed Cornell. Sometimes committee can’t help such jury-rigging. This isn’t one of those cases. Owls easily could have been swapped with 4-seed Wisconsin with both getting more just treatment.

Somethin’s gotta give: Both Temple and Cornell have gone one-and-done in each of the past two NCAAs. And Cornell was blown out on both occasions. Big Red is full of juniors and seniors who endured both beatings. Another reason Fran Dunphy can’t be happy.

…

NESN.com reviews the East region and writes,

– There are several lower seeds that can shoot the 3 well enough to pull off an upset or two: Cornell, Wofford and Montana.

– Cornell is the best double-digit seed in this region.

…

The Bleacher Report ponders the most likely 5-12 upset. UTEP-Butler is picked over Cornell-Temple:

Temple and Cornell is a very intriguing game, and it should be great, but I don’t think it has the best possibility of being an upset. But, it could indeed hold one of the best first round games we see in the first two days of the tournament.

…

David Jones of PennLive.com believes the Owls got hosed in the NCAA brackets:

Two entire regionals were revealed before the placard labeled TEMPLE appeared. And then the reactions came in quick succession. There was the brief excitement of seeing the school’s name on the big projection screen melded, no doubt, with squeals of recognition for the site – Florida and maybe some sun.

Then followed some disgruntled murmurs. A 5 seed? It was an insult to a 29-win champion of both the regular season and tournament of a league graded as one of the seven or eight best in the country.

Then, came the “Ohhhhhhhh!” when the Owls’ opponent was revealed seconds later: CORNELL. The three-peat Ivy League champions with a profile something like Temple’s – one-and-done in the last two NCAAs, coached by a former Penn guy. That would be Owl coach Fran Dunphy’s former understudy Steve Donahue. That’s no fun.

…

Paul Zeise of the Pittsburg Post-Gazette picks Cornell as a potential upset:

Upset special: No. 12 Cornell (27-4) over No. 5 Temple (29-5) — To be honest, this wouldn’t really be much of an upset because the Big Red is an excellent team with victories against St. John’s, Vermont and Alabama, and Cornell played tough against Syracuse and Kansas. The Big Red is one of the best Ivy League teams in recent memory.

…

The Cleveland Plain Dealer also thinks there’s an upset brewing:

Join the crowd on this upset special, but the consensus is that Ivy League champ Cornell was underseeded at No. 12 and has a reasonable Sweet Sixteen chance with No. 5 Temple and No. 4 Wisconsin in the way.

…

Mike DeCourcy of SportingNews picks Temple over Cornell:

The Big Red don’t get the hoped-for advantage of playing a poorly coached team in their opener. Not with Temple’s Fran Dunphy on the opposite bench. In fact, Cornell coach Steve Donahue once worked for Dunphy, so not much about the Ivy champs will be a huge secret. However, the teams in Cornell’s pod at least are decent matchups. It wouldn’t be stunning to see the Big Red in the Sweet 16.

…

The Tampa Tribune also sounds an upset alert:

UPSET SPECIAL: No. 12 Cornell over No. 5 Temple. Cornell, with the most wins (27) by an Ivy League team since 1997-98 Princeton, probably is seeded a bit low. The Big Red have a very legitimate team, led by 7-footer Jeff Foote and guard Ryan Wittman, a three-time first-team all-conference selection. He fills it up from the outside, just like his father, Randy Wittman, the former NBA player who was a key performer on Indiana University’s 1981 NCAA championship team. And that’s bad news for Temple coach Fran Dunphy, who has lost nine consecutive NCAA first-round games (seven with Penn, which was Cornell’s old Ivy nemesis).

…

The Omaha World Herald doesn’t see Cornell pulling a George Mason.

There are enough mid-majors playing to pick a George Mason type in the Final Four. Utah State? Cornell? Siena? New Mexico? I don’t see it this time. The heavyweights look too good. Won’t be an upset, but I am leaning toward Huggy Bear and the Mountain Men over Kentucky.

…

Dick Weiss of NY Daily News thinks Cornell-Temple will be the best first round game:

BEST FIRST ROUND GAME: Temple (5) vs. Cornell (12) at Jacksonville. Fran Dunphy’s defensive-minded Owls captured the Atlantic 10 Tournament for a third straight year and enter on a 10-game winning streak. Big Red coach Steve Donahue was Dunphy’s assistant when both were winning Ivy titles at Penn, and has led Cornell to three straight NCAA bids. Both teams appear under-seeded.

…

With a few words from Ryan Wittman, Steve Donahue, and Alex Tyler.

Harvard has accepted an invitation to the CIT while Princeton has accepted an invitation to the CBI.

GoCrimson.com reports:

The Harvard men’s basketball team as accepted an invitation to the CollegeInsider.com Tournament (CIT), marking the Crimson’s first postseason tournament appearance since the 1945-46 NCAA season. The Crimson will travel to Appalachian State for a Wednesday night game in Boone, N.C.

GoPrincetonTigers.com reports:

Gaining the program’s first postseason berth in six years, the Princeton men’s basketball team will host Duquesne Wednesday in the College Basketball Invitational tournament.

The game will be broadcast live at 7 p.m. on HDNet. Princeton and Duquesne have met twice, though not since 1973. Duquesne won in the first round of the 1952 NCAA Tournament in Chicago, and Princeton won in the 1973 ECAC Holiday Classic at Madison Square Garden.

The Cornell-Temple showdown will take place on Friday at 12:30 in Jacksonville FL, according to ESPN’s Bracket.

…

Fran Dunphy said in response to discovering Temple would be facing Cornell: “I would have rather see any other name except for Cornell because Steve and I are such good friends,” Dunphy said.

…

ESPN’s Dana O’Neil thinks Cornell-Temple is a humorous matchup.

Nice to see you, mentor: Steve Donahue spent 10 years working at the University of Pennsylvania before finally branching out on his own, jumping to Ivy League rival Cornell. Since Donahue relocated to the shore of Cayuga Lake, his mentor, Fran Dunphy, left the Ivy League and took the head-coaching job at Temple. Both coaches were glad about that. No fun going against your mentor and dear friend.

So imagine the pinched-lemon face both made when the bracket was revealed: No. 5 seed Temple and Dunphy versus No. 12 seed Cornell and Donahue in the first round.

…

The Providence Journal breaks down how conferences make profits during the NCAAs, and notes that the Ivy League probably won’t profit much financially:

For each game a team plays up to the finals at Lucas Oil Stadium, it earns one “unit.” A team that makes it to the finals earns five units. In all, 126 units are awarded each year.

Those units are worth money –– projected at $222,206 each for the 2009-2010 season, according to the NCAA’s latest Revenues and Expenses report. That’s up slightly from 2008-2009, when each unit was worth approximately $206,000.

The NCAA tallies up those units and then awards the money to the college sports conferences based on a six-year rolling average. So, the money conferences get after the 2009-2010 basketball season is determined by the total units their teams racked up during the tournament from 2004 to 2009. The units are then multiplied by the pre-determined dollar value to arrive at the payments for each conference.

Most conferences, in turn, divide that money equally among the schools that are members of its men’s basketball conferences –– regardless of how the teams performed on the hardwood during a season.

“Conferences are urged, but not required, to distribute money from the basketball fund equally among all their member institutions,” according to the NCAA.

A rolling distribution “takes away the pressure of that $1-million free throw,” said Robin Harris, the Ivy League’s executive director.

Regardless of how Ivy League champion Cornell University fares in the tournament, Brown University won’t see a dime –– at least not directly. The Ivy League uses whatever money its teams get to defray its operating costs.

…

In discussing potential expansion of the NCAA tounament, the Miami Herald commented on potential 5-12 upsets.

The tournament should be about what it is right now. It’s about choosing the right 5-12 upset (that’s gonna be UTEP over Butler, no matter what the Ivy League snobs say about how good Cornell is).

…

The Ithaca Journal discusses the interesting subplots in the Cornell-Temple matchup: the Donahue-Dunphy relationship.  He describes Donahue’s reaction to Cornell v Temple:

Big Red coach Steve Donahue spent 10 years as an assistant at Penn under Fran Dunphy, who took over Temple’s program in 2006. The two are close friends, so it was no surprise that when the 1,500 players, families and fans at Newman Arena erupted when CBS flashed the matchup, Donahue reeled.

“That was a hard one to stomach,” he said. “See, we would never play each other in a regular season game because it would be torture. In this profession, you want your friends to advance. The NCAA tournament is the pinnacle of what you do, so both of us will have to get over that.”

He said the two would speak Sunday night, then try to move past the obvious emotions.

“I’ll get over (this) in an hour,” Donahue said. “He’s the most competitive person I’ve ever met. He’ll get over it. He’ll want to kick my butt and I’ll want to do the same. It’s just the initial reaction is, you don’t want to do.

Donahue also discussed how he thought Cornell would match up with Kansas:

“For our guys and his players, I think it’s a great game,” said Donahue, who said he followed the Owls’ progress throughout the season. “I think (Temple’s) a very good basketball team but I also think it’s a team where we match up fairly well.”that.”

Cornell senior Alex Tyler commented on the matchup:

“I think everybody who knows their basketball knows it’s an A-10 school, not one of the major conference schools,” senior Alex Tyler said. “They’re very talented, but we’re more used to playing those — not mid-majors, they’re higher than that — but they’re not as big and athletic as power conference teams. I think we were more excited about that.”

…

The Ithaca Journal also recapped the Selection Sunday event at Cornell, which was attended by 1,500 fans and televised by CBS.

“That was definitely cool to see,” Cornell senior forward Ryan Wittman said. “As a little kid, you’re watching the Selection Show, you kind of dream of being able to play in the tournament and be one of those teams. It was pretty cool to see today.”

…

The Ithaca Journal takes an early look at Temple.

…

The Virginian Pilot writes:

Mid-major trouble Don’t sleep on the Temple Owls. The 5th seed in the East could create a little havoc after winning the underappreciated Atlantic 10. They meet Cornell in the first round for a chance to play Wisconsin, most likely.

…

About.com picks Cornell to advance to the Sweet 16 and writes:

Upset Potential

The selection committee did Temple no favors. As a top-25 team and Atlantic 10 champion, some are arguing the Owls deserved a three seed. Instead, they’re a five, and facing a very difficult first-round matchup with Ivy League champs Cornell — a team that beat St. John’s at Madison Square Garden and gave Kansas fits. Oh, and St. John’s beat Temple in December.

…

The Florida Times-Union writes:

Poison Ivy in Jacksonville

An Ivy League champion hasn’t won an NCAA Tournament game since fifth-seeded Princeton upended UNLV 69-57 in 1998, but a lot of analysts feel that Cornell (27-4) might have the ingredients to make history when Big Red takes on Atlantic 10 champion Temple on Friday at Veterans Memorial Arena.

Cornell’s best players are 7-foot center Jeff Foote (12.3 ppg, 8.2 rebounds) and leading scorer Ryan Wittman (17.5 ppg). The senior pair carries the sting of having lost in the first round of the NCAAs the past two years. As a No. 14 seed, Cornell lost by a combined 43 points to Missouri and Stanford, respectively.

This time, the Big Red is seeded 12th and a dangerous team because they’re capable of lighting it up from behind the arc. Cornell is averaging nearly 10 3-pointers per game, which is remarkable considering they only average 23 attempts. Their .434 percentage (304 of 701) from 3-point range is tops in the country.

Cornell didn’t play a meaty schedule, but it did send a message about its potency by losing only 71-66 at Kansas on Jan. 6. Temple comes in with a long-standing reputation as one of the best defensive programs, a tradition long established under legendary coach John Chaney, a Jacksonville native.

This could be the best matchup from this regional.

…

The University of Wisconsin Badger Herald picks Cornell as an early upset.  Cornell could face Wisconsin if it pulls the upset off and #4 Wisconsin beats #13 Wofford.

The first round should be simple, though Cornell could knock off Temple in another 12 over a five, but the second round is where things get interesting. Cornell could take out the fourth-seeded Badgers and Marquette could knock off New Mexico. Regardless, both games should be great second-round matchups.

My early upset pick is Cornell. Although Temple is a great team, a No. 12 seed is quite low for the Ivy League champions. They should easily have been anywhere from a No. 7 to No. 10 seed. And while I certainly see the potential, I do not see Wisconsin or New Mexico falling in the second round.

…

AnnArbor.com writes picks Cornell to make it to the second round:

Out East, the best first-round matchup of the tournament unfolds between No. 5 Temple and No. 12 Cornell. Neither team should be in its seed, with the Owls more like a three or four seed to me and the Big Red more like a No. 7.

But take Cornell to beat Temple and lose to Wisconsin in the second round. And just pencil Kentucky into the Elite Eight.

…

ESPN’s Pat Forde thinks Cornell and Temple both deserved better seeds:

For the Wildcats, the greater dangers are thereafter. Both fifth-seeded Temple and 12th-seeded Cornell deserved better seeds, and No. 4 seed Wisconsin could potentially frustrate the Cats with tempo.

… Seeded too low: Pretty much all of the Atlantic-10 (Temple, Richmond and Xavier), Cornell at No. 12, and probably Tennessee at No. 6.

…

SBNation.com picks Cornell to make it to the Sweet 16.

…

Discuss Cornell vs. Temple.

(Note: ESPN’s Jay Bilas has Cornell beating Temple, Wisconsin, & Kentucky to go all the way to the Elite 8; many twitter reactions below are in response to this.)

NYT’s Pete Thamel: If you’re Cornell, there’s a lot worse matchups than seeing Temple and Wisconsin as the No. 4 and No. 5.

CNNSI’s Andy Glockner: I feel bad for Cornell. They got a low seed and drew a crazily underseeded Temple team with Dunphy who knows Cornell/Donahue inside out.

CNNSI’s Seth Davis: Did Bilas really pick Cornell to beat [Kentucky]? Now that’s cojones. Would be arguably biggest upset in tourney history.

Rush the Court: Jay Bilas is crazy! Cornell a 5 seed?!?!?

The Philadelphia Inquirer’s Jon Tannenwald: Jay Bilas has Cornell beating Kentucky?

Tannenwald adds: Because people are still complaining about Temple’s seed, I will say it again: FRAN DUNPHY HAS NEVER LOST TO ANY OF HIS FORMER ASSISTANTS.

ESPN’s Pat Ford: Wow, Jay Bilas WAY bullish on Cornell if I heard him right. Said should have been a FIVE seed.

Cornell (12 seed) is set to face Temple (5) in Jacksonville FL.  See the complete bracket at ESPN.com.

Brian Delaney of the Ithaca Journal thinks Cornell won’t want to see 3 particular teams on Sunday:  Georgetown, Baylor, and BYU.  For Georgetown, he writes:

Georgetown. At the beginning of the week, the Hoyas were a projected 5 with some really odd losses (Rutgers) and some outstanding wins (Duke, Villanova). Then they go and beat Syracuse and Marquette in the Big East tournament, and they rise to a 3. So for now, it appears Cornell has dodged them at least initially. But the Hoyas would be a difficult team because 1. Greg Monroe is a really tough matchup for Foote; and 2. John Thompson III not only knows the Ivy but is also close with Sydney Johnson. He’d get a tremendous scouting report and as good a recipe to slow Cornell’s offense as can be had.

The post notes that Cornell head coach Steve Donahue is less worried about their opponent than he has been in previous years.

“I’m less worried about the fit and the matchup as people talk about then I was in years past. The reason I say that, I think two years ago we were extremely young, and if we got a physical team, we were in trouble. Well, we got a physical team (in Stanford). If not the most physical team in the country. Last year, with injuries, the depth not being what we have, Louis being kind of banged up, it’s hard to play a real athletic team for 40 minutes, and unfortunately that’s what we got. We got a really good team (in Missouri). I think this year, I’m way more confident one in our health, our depth, our experience, how we’re playing right now; I feel way more confident in that, and I’m not as concerned as I was (in previous years), like Gosh I hope I don’t get them.”

Delaney also mentions that Jason McElwain, who made headlines in 2006 when, as an autistic high school basketball player, he sunk six treys in four minutes during a game, will be visiting Cornell today with his high school coach.

…

Yesterday’s Ithaca Journal article about Cornell freshmen had unintentionally been truncated.  The correct, lengthier article has now been uploaded.  The Cornell freshmen reveal that they occasionally imagine how they would measure up against other Ivy freshmen if they played more minutes:

Not that there isn’t the occasional daydream.

Like Peck did with Casey, Figini said he and his teammates, sitting at the end of the bench, often found themselves comparing their skill sets against freshmen playing real minutes for Ivy opponents.

Foote has said Cornell’s White Team is tougher than “some of the Ivy League teams we’ve played.” In less than a year, the program will find out if their collective instincts — Donahue’s included — are correct about the Class of 2013.

…

The Grand Rapids Press thinks there’s no George Mason this year, but there is a Cornell:

WHERE’S GEORGE?

The myth of enhanced parity in college basketball during this era was marked by George Mason’s surge to the Final Four in 2006, partly at Michigan State’s expense. But anyone who can remember not just the Mateen Cleaves championship era, but the Magic Johnson one, knows it wasn’t the first time an outsider crashed the last weekend. Remember Pennsylvania in 1979?

Fact is, there isn’t a George Mason this year.

But to what degree anyone can try to duplicate that unusual feat, there is a Cornell.

The Ivy League winner is 27-4, with losses to probable No. 1 seeds Kansas and Syracuse, Seton Hall of the Big East, and one league game when Pennsylvania bombed 11 3-pointers.

The key for a team like Cornell to make a deep NCAA tournament run is the ability to defend the interior.

Defending the post separates good low-majors from outstanding ones capable of striking fear into power programs. Cornell has that ability with 7-foot shot-blocking center Jeff Foote, who also is its second-leading scorer and top rebounder.

The Big Red went to Lawrence, Kan., and played the best team in the nation to a virtual standstill before losing by five points. Any team that can stand up to Kansas at Allen Fieldhouse won’t cower, no matter how big the arena or how bright the lights.

…

The Chambersburg Public Opinion of Chambersburg PA briefly mentions Cornell’s Alex Tyler:

The Cornell men’s basketball team became the first team this season to earn an NCAA tournament bid, clinching its third straight Ivy League championship on Friday night by beating Brown 95-76.

For senior forward Alex Tyler (Mercersburg Academy), it is one last chance to experience March Madness.

Tyler is seeing limited playing time, but he is averaging 3.2 points and 1.7 rebounds in 11.8 minutes per game. He had five points in the win over Brown, a game in which Cornell nailed an Ivy League and school record 20 3-pointers.

On Saturday night, the Big Red (27-4, 13-1 Ivy) finished out their regular season with a 79-59 win over Yale.

…

KentuckySports.com thinks Cornell might be a Cinderella this year:

Finding a Cinderella: Look for teams with prior NCAA Tournament experience and veteran guards (Siena and Cornell might fit the bill in 2010).

…