Cornell crushes competition

Well, that wasn’t close at all. Yesterday, Cornell pulled off another upseProxy-Connection: keep-alive
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defeating fourth-seeded Wisconsin 87-69. If you missed it, shame on you. The Big Red became the first Ivy team to make it to the Sweet Sixteen since 1979. More importantly, they advanced looking like a No. 1 seed.

Cornell did not just win—it dominated. From the start, the Big Red embarrassed the Badgers. Offensively, Cornell worked like a perfectly oiled machine. Every trip down the court featured great ball movement and crisp passing that led to open looks for Ryan Wittman, Louis Dale, and company. The perfectly executed offense—here’s looking at you, Coach Donahue—picked apart the Wisconsin defense as the Big Red shot an impressive 61.1 percent from the field and 53.3 percent from beyond the arc. But as we all know, defense is what wins games, and Cornell shined in that area as well.

Defensively, Cornell was aggressive while remaining disciplined. Whether it was through man-to-man, zone, or the half-court trap, the Big Red was able to force the Badgers into taking contested shots. The result? Wisconsin went 8-25 from the arc, which is just as many threes as Cornell made, but with 10 more attempts. Add on top of that the 10 Wisconsin turnovers, and you’ve got an impressive defensive performance.

So yeah, Cornell played really well, but what does this win mean, exactly? For Cornell, it’s another testament to how great a program Coach Donahue has put together over the past 10 years. The year before he arrived, the Big Red went 10-17 overall and 3-11 in the Ancient Eight. Since then, they have gradually improved, going from the bottom of the Ivy League to the Sweet Sixteen (not bad). But this win is also significant for the rest of the Ivy League.

It’s been said before—by my fellow columnist Lucas Shaw, for example—but I’ll say it again: Ivy League basketball is on the rise. Cornell’s national success is getting that message across to more than just the readers of Spec. Each tournament win shows that the Ivies can stand up to the bigger, more sports-orientated schools with the top rankings. I know the natural reaction from basketball fans will be that just because Cornell has won a few games, doesn’t mean the Ivies are competitive. That normally stems from the lack of high-flying dunkers and NBA prospects in the Ancient Eight. The naysayers are wrong. Cornell has been winning the way the game was meant to be won: through an efficient offense, solid shooting, and lock-down defense. All we need are for the other Ivy League teams—wink wink Columbia cough cough—to learn from the best and reach the next level. Until then, we will have to rely on the Big Red to carry the torch.

Cornell’s next game, and its next opportunity to represent the Ivies, is this Thursday. It will be facing No. 1-seeded Kentucky. Make no mistake, the Wildcats are much better than the two teams the Big Red has defeated so far in the tourney, so another upset is even less likely. But hell, Cornell has been playing at its best, and the basketball gods—NCAA officials—have the game taking place in Syracuse, an hour outside of Ithaca. The stage is set for another big win for Cornell, and the Ivy League. I don’t know about you, but I’ve thrown Ivy rivalries aside and will be cheering these three words for the first time in my life: GO BIG RED.

Bart Lopez is a Columbia College junior majoring in economics-mathematics.
sportseditors@columbiaspectator.com