Cornell Big Red shoots for second tourney upset vs. Wisconsin Badgers
What's going on here? An Ivy League school playing for the Sweet 16? Cornell seeks its second-straight tournament upset Sunday against the Wisconsin Badgers.
So, was Temple and its prized defense overrated? Was Cornell under-seeded because of the Ivy League's history? Little of both?
Whatever the case, you can bet the Big Red's 78-65 win over the Owls on Friday has the full attention of Bo Ryan and his Badgers.
Cornell (28-4 SU, 17-10 ATS) put an Ivy League school into the second round of the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1998 with its upset win. Steve Donahue's bunch did it with offense against one of the tougher defenses in the country. And the Big Red did it without their offensive strength in the first half when it failed on five of six three-point attempts.
Temple, a three-point favorite, was never really in the game thanks to nine first-half turnovers that helped send the Owls into intermission lucky to be trailing by only eight. The 78 points Cornell put on the scoreboard at game's end were the second-most allowed by Temple this season behind Kansas' 84 on Jan. 2.
Determination and a trio of Cornell seniors playing as if their lives depended on a win proved too much for the Owls in the end. That and the fact the Big Red simply had the A-10's number this season, adding a notch on its gun for Temple to go with wins over UMass, St. Joe's and La Salle.
Louis Dale led the boxscore with 21 points for the Big Red, with Ryan Wittman, the Ivy's top player this season, scoring 20 points and big 7-foot Jeff Foote adding 16. Cornell shot a blistering 56.3 percent, and connected on 8-of-17 second half three's to roll into Sunday looking every bit the live dog it is.
An upset of Wisconsin would put an Ivy League team into the Sweet 16 for the first time since Penn made it in 1979 when the NCAA field was 48.
But let's not get ahead of ourselves.
It's possible, even likely, that Temple didn't take Cornell seriously enough. The Big Red won't sneak up on Wisconsin now. The Badgers (24-8 SU, 17-13 ATS) own wins over five schools that made it into round 2 this weekend, beating the likes of Maryland, Duke, Ohio State, Michigan State and Purdue.
All of those wins came while Wisconsin was building a 13-3 season record early into Big Ten play. Two losses to Illinois, including in the first round of the conference tourney, contributed to a 10-5 stretch entering Friday's contest with dance partner Wofford.
Unlike Temple's defense falling apart against Cornell, Badgers defenders enjoyed a fairly successful evening in the 53-49 win over a stubborn and scrappy Terriers group. Wisconsin enters Sunday's game with the Big Red in exactly the same spot Temple was before its game with Cornell: Third in the country in scoring defense. Someone cue the Twilight Zone theme music, please.
Jon Leuer scored 20 to lead Wisconsin in the win that saw the Badgers fail to cover a spread for second consecutive game. A 35.8 percent shooting squad during the regular season from behind the arc, Wisconsin was able to score on just one of its nine long range attempts vs. Wofford who hung around until the very end. Defending the three against the nation's top trey-shooting club in Cornell will be very crucial for the Badgers. Hitting a few themselves will be equally important.
One of the key matchups Sunday could be Leuer on Foote. Wisconsin really doesn't have anyone else to handle the Big Red's big man. In fact, Cornell could have height advantages in several one-on-one battles.
The early lines gave the four-point favorites tag to the Badgers, with the total set at 121. Tip-off at Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena is set for 2:50 p.m. (ET). The winner will move on to Syracuse next week to meet the either Kentucky or Wake Forest.
What's going on here? An Ivy League school playing for the Sweet 16? Cornell seeks its second-straight tournament upset Sunday against the Wisconsin Badgers.
So, was Temple and its prized defense overrated? Was Cornell under-seeded because of the Ivy League's history? Little of both?
Whatever the case, you can bet the Big Red's 78-65 win over the Owls on Friday has the full attention of Bo Ryan and his Badgers.
Cornell (28-4 SU, 17-10 ATS) put an Ivy League school into the second round of the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1998 with its upset win. Steve Donahue's bunch did it with offense against one of the tougher defenses in the country. And the Big Red did it without their offensive strength in the first half when it failed on five of six three-point attempts.
Temple, a three-point favorite, was never really in the game thanks to nine first-half turnovers that helped send the Owls into intermission lucky to be trailing by only eight. The 78 points Cornell put on the scoreboard at game's end were the second-most allowed by Temple this season behind Kansas' 84 on Jan. 2.
Determination and a trio of Cornell seniors playing as if their lives depended on a win proved too much for the Owls in the end. That and the fact the Big Red simply had the A-10's number this season, adding a notch on its gun for Temple to go with wins over UMass, St. Joe's and La Salle.
Louis Dale led the boxscore with 21 points for the Big Red, with Ryan Wittman, the Ivy's top player this season, scoring 20 points and big 7-foot Jeff Foote adding 16. Cornell shot a blistering 56.3 percent, and connected on 8-of-17 second half three's to roll into Sunday looking every bit the live dog it is.
An upset of Wisconsin would put an Ivy League team into the Sweet 16 for the first time since Penn made it in 1979 when the NCAA field was 48.
But let's not get ahead of ourselves.
It's possible, even likely, that Temple didn't take Cornell seriously enough. The Big Red won't sneak up on Wisconsin now. The Badgers (24-8 SU, 17-13 ATS) own wins over five schools that made it into round 2 this weekend, beating the likes of Maryland, Duke, Ohio State, Michigan State and Purdue.
All of those wins came while Wisconsin was building a 13-3 season record early into Big Ten play. Two losses to Illinois, including in the first round of the conference tourney, contributed to a 10-5 stretch entering Friday's contest with dance partner Wofford.
Unlike Temple's defense falling apart against Cornell, Badgers defenders enjoyed a fairly successful evening in the 53-49 win over a stubborn and scrappy Terriers group. Wisconsin enters Sunday's game with the Big Red in exactly the same spot Temple was before its game with Cornell: Third in the country in scoring defense. Someone cue the Twilight Zone theme music, please.
Jon Leuer scored 20 to lead Wisconsin in the win that saw the Badgers fail to cover a spread for second consecutive game. A 35.8 percent shooting squad during the regular season from behind the arc, Wisconsin was able to score on just one of its nine long range attempts vs. Wofford who hung around until the very end. Defending the three against the nation's top trey-shooting club in Cornell will be very crucial for the Badgers. Hitting a few themselves will be equally important.
One of the key matchups Sunday could be Leuer on Foote. Wisconsin really doesn't have anyone else to handle the Big Red's big man. In fact, Cornell could have height advantages in several one-on-one battles.
The early lines gave the four-point favorites tag to the Badgers, with the total set at 121. Tip-off at Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena is set for 2:50 p.m. (ET). The winner will move on to Syracuse next week to meet the either Kentucky or Wake Forest.
