Talented Cornell Underdog in Name Only

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- There were a lot of people who thought Cornell was under-seeded at No. 12 in the NCAA Tournament. Count Wisconsin senior guard Jason Bohannon in that majority. Bohannon caught a portion of the Big Red's opening-round victory over Temple Friday afternoon from the seats of Veterans Memorial Arena.

"I mean, watching them yesterday, they show why they're in the tournament," Bohannon said Saturday. "They certainly proved they are as good as anyone."

Cornell has surfaced as one of the more compelling stories in The Big Dance, the Ivy League champions who won their first NCAA tourney game in school history and the first by an Ancient Eight team in 12 years.

That's already ancient history. Now they face No. 4 Wisconsin on Sunday for the opportunity to advance to the Sweet 16, scheduled next weekend in their home state of New York, of all places.

"We definitely enjoyed (Friday) night, especially with our family and friends all around," Cornell senior forward Alex Tyler said Saturday. "We took it all in but now we're here, and we're all focused on today and what we have to do.

"And I think that's where our mindset is at right now."

Cornell's mindset radiates from its successful senior class.

The eight players, who have been the core of three Ivy League championship teams, are making their third consecutive NCAA tourney appearance. They have waited a long time to celebrate a tourney victory. They were blown out by Stanford in the first round two years ago and were soundly beaten by Missouri last season.

It was after that game when the preparation for this season started.

Head coach Steve Donahue, shown above celebrating after Friday's win over Temple with player Jeff Foote, put together a testy non-conference schedule that included games at Kansas, at Syracuse, at Alabama, at Massachusetts and at St. John's. In all, the Big Red played nine non-conference games on opponents' courts and won seven -- the two losses coming at Kansas and Syracuse.

Cornell is also not concerned about its quick turnaround either. In fact, the Big Red played on consecutive days six times since late January due to the back-to-back scheduling nature of the Ivy League.

Players believe their approach this season has helped them embrace the moment. They will face one of the nation's best defensive teams in Wisconsin. History's involved, too.

No Ivy League school has ever won a second-round game in the NCAA tournament since the University of Pennsylvania defeated North Carolina in 1979.

"I don't think we are lacking in any sort of confidence," sophomore guard Chris Wroblewski said.

"We played the schedule we did this year, so we would have the belief in ourselves that we could progress in this tournament. And I think we made Temple kind of play our style of game, and hopefully we're going to be able to get Wisconsin to adjust and adapt to what we want to do."

The Big Red sliced Temple's vaunted defense, taking control early thanks in large part to a 68-percent shooting clip. Cornell continued its hot shooting in the second half, going up by as much as 18 on the Owls. It was Cornell's fourth-best offensive performance of the season, with the other three coming against Dartmouth, Yale and Brown.

Wisconsin offers a different test. The Badgers are 17-1 when holding their opponent to less than 45-percent shooting, and are 13-0 when holding their opponent to less than 50 points.

"I think from what we've seen, Wisconsin might pay attention to their three-point shooters a little more," Cornell senior forward Jon Jaques said. "We'll have to work to get open shots."

Cornell, of course, can shoot and the Big Red loves the trey, deliberately working off high-post screens.

Senior Ryan Wittman, son of former Indiana star and NBAer Randy Wittman, has reached double figures in 30 consecutive games and leads the team in scoring at 17.5 points per game.

Cornell has hit for double figures in 3-pointers 18 times already this season including an Ivy League single-game record 20 versus Brown. The last time Cornell hasn't hit a three-pointer was against Denison in the 1988-89 season opener (0 for 2). Cornell has also only trailed at the half twice in the last 27 games.

Nobody in Cornell Red is satisfied.

"I think it was obviously a special moment (Friday's win) for our program and I think for the whole league in general," Jaques said.

"At the same time, I think we know we're talented enough to advance in this tournament. So if we play well (Sunday), we should have a good chance."