SUPER BOWL 2012

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CORNELL INFORMATION
Roster I Schedule & Results I Statistics I History

BUCKNELL INFORMATION
Roster I Schedule & Results I Statistics

GAME INFORMATION
Game #12: Cornell at Bucknell
Tip off: Saturday, Dec. 31, at 2:00 p.m.
Site: Sojka Pavilion (4,000), Lewisburg, Pa.
2011-12 Records: Cornell (4-7, 0-0 Ivy); Bucknell (8-6, 0-0 Patriot)
Series Record: Series tied 23-23
Last Meeting: Bucknell won 75-64, Dec. 20, 2010 in Ithaca, N.Y.
Radio: HITS 103.3 FM (Barry Leonard)
TV: None
Live Video: check availability at www.BucknellBison.com
Live Stats: check availability at www.BucknellBison.com
Tickets: available by calling (607) 254-BEAR

HEAD COACH BILL COURTNEY
Cornell head coach Bill Courtney is in his second season at Cornell (14-25, .359) ... Courtney became the fifth Robert E. Gallagher '44 Coach of Men's Basketball at Cornell on April 23, 2010.

ITHACA, N.Y. — More than halfway through a treacherous five-game road swing, the Cornell men's basketball team will look to pick up its first road win of the 2011-12 campaign when it meets defending Patriot League champion Bucknell on Saturday, Dec. 31 at 2 p.m. at Sojka Pavilion. Barry Leonard will provide the call on HITS 103.3 FM and on RedCast).

After winning consecutive overtime games at home earlier in December, Cornell seemed to be over the hump in learning to win close games. Unfortunately, those troubles have bit back in the last three contests against Big Ten teams Illinois and Penn State, and a Stony Brook picked second in its conference. Cornell lost in the final minute against the nationally ranked Illini, gave up a second half lead to the Nittany Lions and couldn't close out a second half comeback in an overtime loss at Stony Brook. A year after dropping 10 games by five points or more or in overtime, the Big Red has now lost three in the same manner this season.

Wroblewski, a captain and candidate for the Bob Cousy Award, is averaging 8.6 points, 5.7 assists, 4.4 rebounds and 1.7 steals per game and runs an offense that has six players averaging 6.3 points per game or better. Fellow senior captain Drew Ferry is posting a team-high 14.6 points, while three-time Ivy League Rookie of the Week Shonn Miller is scoring 9.1 ppg. and leads the team in rebounding (6.1 rpg.). Juniors Josh Figini (8.5 ppg.) and Eitan Chemerinski (7.6 ppg.) aren't far from double figures in the post.

Cornell's defense has been solid, allowing opponents to hit just 42 percent from the floor overall and 29 percent from beyond the 3-point arc (making just 5.9 per game). The Big Red paces the Ancient Eight in steals per game (8.6 per game).

ABOUT BUCKNELL
• 2011-12 Record: 8-6 (0-0 Patriot).
• Conference: Patriot League.
• Head Coach: Dave Paulsen (Connecticut '90), 54-55, fourth season at Bucknell; 316-175, 18th season overall.
• Defending Patriot League champion Bucknell was picked to repeat in the 2011-12 preseason poll.
• Bucknell had its 18-game home win streak at Sojka Pavilion in a 72-67 defeat at the hands of Loyola (MD) on Wednesday evening.
• Junior Mike Muscala, the reigning Patriot League Player of the Year, is averaging a team-high 14.4 points, 9.1 rebounds and 1.6 blocks per game.
• Cameron Ayers (12.6 ppg.) and Joe Willman (11.3 ppg.) are also averaging double figures, while Bryson Johnson is scoring 9.8 points with a team-best 34 3-pointers made.
• The Bison are shooting 46 percent from the floor as a team and 39 percent from beyond the arc. Bucknell is also outrebounding opponents by 5.5 per game.
• Bucknell returns four starters and 10 letter winners from last season's 25-9 squad that was 13-1 in Patriot League competition.
• Fourth-year head coach Dave Paulsen has led the Bison back to prominence quickly, guiding Bucknell to the 2010-11 NCAA tournament and earning conference coach of the year honors. Prior to his stint at Bucknell, Paulsen coached at Williams and St. Lawrence, guiding the Eps to the 2002-03 national title and a runner-up finish the following season.

THE SERIES: The series is tied 23-23 after Bucknell's75-64 victory last season in Ithaca. The two teams had their first meeting in the 1899-1900 season when the Bison won 29-10. The Big Red snapped a five-game losing streak to Bucknell in the series with a 75-64 triumph at home during the 2008-09 season before capturing a thrilling 104-98 overtime victory in 2009-10 in the last meeting in Lewisburg, Pa.

LAST TIME VS. BUCKNELL: Bucknell shot 56 percent from the floor in the second half to overcome a career-high 21-point, eight-rebound effort from Cornell's Errick Peck in a 75-64 Bison victory over the Big Red at Newman Arena. Peck was an efficient 9-of-12 from the floor, continuing his strong play since rejoining the starting lineup. He added eight rebounds, an assist, a steal and an emphatic blocked shot. Max Groebe hit five 3-pointers en route to 15 points, while Chris Wroblewski hit for 12 points with three assists and a pair of rebounds. Cornell turned the ball over just nine times, but couldn't contend with Bucknell's size advantage in the paint. Bucknell controleld the paint in the second half to end the contest with a 37-28 advantage and got 20 points and nine rebounds from Mike Muscala, while Bryan Cohen had a solid floor game with 17 points and eight rebounds. Joe Willman had a breakout game for the Bison with 15 points and nine rebounds, while Darryl Shazier was his steady self at the point in collecting six points, seven assists, three rebounds and two steals. Bryson Johnson scored nine points on three 3-pointers and G.W. Boon had eight points off the bench.

CORNELL VS. THE PATRIOT LEAGUE: Cornell is 137-114 all-time against current members of the Patriot League, including 23-23 against Bucknell. The Big Red has also played American (0-1), Army (20-13), Colgate (70-53), Holy Cross (2-3), Lafayette (7-11), Lehigh (13-9) and Navy (2-1).

LOOKING BACK AT THE STONY BROOK GAME: Cornell rallied from a 20-point first half deficit to send the game to overtime, but unforced turnovers and missed free throws doomed the Big Red in a 68-59 loss at Stony Brook at Pritchard Gymnasium. Senior Drew Ferry hit five 3-pointers for his 15 points and Shonn Miller had 10 points and five rebounds to pace the Big Red, which outscored the Sea Wolves 31-16 in the second half to draw even at the end of regulation. Eitan Chemerinski added nine points and Galal Cancer notched eight points and four rebounds. Chris Wroblewski had five points, seven assists, four rebounds and five steals. Cornell shot just 29 percent from beyond the arc, including 2-of-12 from players other than Ferry. Stony Brook was led by Bryan Dougher and Ron Bracey with 16 points apiece, while Tommy Brenton had 12 points and eight rebounds and Dave Coley scored 10 for the home team. The Sea Wolves held a 40-32 edge on the backboards and turned the Big Red over 18 times.

NOTES TO KNOW:
• Cornell is 1-1 already this season against teams expected to finish in the upper half of the Patriot League standings, topping Lehigh in overtime and falling to American by two points.
• The Big Red's last nine games have been decided by single digits, with five of the last six having been decided by four points or less or in overtime.
• Cornell will be without the services of starting point guard Miles Asafo-Adjei for the fourth straight game after the junior suffered an infection to his leg that left him hospitalized in Illinois.
• While Cornell has had good success at home (4-1), it is still in search of its first road victory (0-6).
• Three of Cornell's first 11 games have gone to overtime, with the Big Red going 2-1. It is the ninth time Cornell has played in at least three overtime games in a single season. The school record for OT contests in a year is four, done in 1962-63, 1979-80 and 1999-2000.

CORNELL IN OVERTIME:
• Cornell is 2-1 this season in overtime in 2011-12.
• In two seasons under head coach Bill Courtney, the Big Red is 3-1.
• All-time, dating back to the first overtime game against Penn way back in 1922, Cornell is 37-45 in games that go an extra period.
• Cornell is 5-9 in multiple overtime games.
• The longest game for the Big Red was a five overtime contest against Princeton, won by the Tigers 66-61 on Feb. 24, 1979 at Barton Hall.
• Cornell is 28-15 in home overtime games, 2-2 in neutral contests and 8-27 in road games.
The Big Red is 2-2 all-time against Bucknell in overtime contests. Included was a 104-98 classic during the 2009-10 season the last time the two teams played at Sojka Pavilion.

THE STREAKS:
• Cornell is 86-46 in the last five seasons.
• The Big Red is 44-12 in its last 56 Ivy League contests over the last four years.
• Cornell is 51-10 over its last 61 home games, including 34-8 in the last four seasons and 46-9 in the last five years.
• In non-conference games, the Big Red is 42-34 over the last five seasons.

TEAM NOTES:
• The Big Red has limited opponents to 29 percent shooting from beyond the 3-point arc (64-of-220), with opponents making just 5.9 per game. Only once has a team shot better than 33 percent against Cornell.
• Cornell is averaging 16.0 assists per game in its last six contests.
• In its four wins, Cornell's opponents are shooting .400 from the floor and have been under 40 percent in three of the games. In its seven losses, the Big Red's opponents have hit at a .430 clip.
• The Big Red has been outrebounded in 10 of the team's first 11 contests.
• Cornell has averaged 9.3 steals per game in its last nine contests with five games of 10 or more.
• Cornell has made at least seven 3-pointers in each of its 11 contests this season, while only allowing as many as seven four times (seven vs. Boston University, at Illinois, at Stony Brook and 10 at Penn State).
• The Big Red is forcing 17.4 turnovers per game in the last 10 contests.
• Cornell shot 43 percent from 3-point range in its first two games (18-of-42), but has connected on just 33 percent (78-of-235) in its last nine.
• Cornell has already lost 54 player games due to injury (Asafo-Adjei - 3; D.Cherry - 4; Gatlin - 11; Groebe - 1; LaMore - 2; Matthews - 11; Peck - 11; Sahota - 11).

SHONN MILLER A THREE-TIME IVY LEAGUE ROOKIE OF THE WEEK:
Nov. 14 — Miller's first varsity appearance was enough to catch the eye of the league after a solid opening effort at St. Bonaventure. Miller connected on all three of his field goals, including a 3-pointer, and added a team-high four rebounds in Cornell's 79-58 loss to the Bonnies. He added a blocked shot and a steal.
Nov. 21 — Miller averaged 12.3 points, 5.3 rebounds, 1.0 blocks and 0.7 steals in just 23.3 minutes per game in helping Cornell go 2-1. He shot 46 percent from the floor and 71 percent from the free-throw line. He reached double figures in two of the three contests. Miller opened the week with career highs of 19 points and eight rebounds to go along with a block and a steal in a win over Binghamton. He eight points and two rebounds against Buffalo and notched 10 points, six rebounds and two blocked two shots against reigning America East champion and preseason favorite Boston University.
Nov. 28 — Miller averaged 8.5 points, 8.5 rebounds, 2.0 blocks and 1.5 steals in two games for the Big Red, including earning his first career starts. He had eight points, 10 rebounds, three blocked shots and two steals against an athletic Delaware frontcourt. He answered that performance with nine points, seven rebounds, a block and a steal against American.

GALAL CANCER ALSO AN IVY LEAGUE ROOKIE OF THE WEEK:
Dec. 19 — Cancer scored 11 points, dished seven assists, snatched five rebounds and picked up four steals in an 85-82 overtime victory over the Great Danes. He made 5-of-10 field goals while collecting career highs in assists and steals. He was also just two points off his career scoring high. Cancer had four points, two rebounds, two assists, a steal and a block in the final minute of regulation for the Big Red, who overcame a 10-point deficit with nine minutes to play to force an extra session.

WROBLEWSKI NAMED FINALIST FOR LOWE'S SENIOR CLASS AWARD: Senior guard Chris Wroblewski has been named one of 30 finalists for the Lowe's Senior Class Award it was announced today by the committee. To be eligible for the award, a student-athlete must be classified as an NCAA Division I senior and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence – community, classroom, character and competition. He joins Penn's senior guard Zack Rosen as the only Ivy League players on the list. Wroblewski was a third-team Capital One Academic All-American as a junior and has twice been named to the academic all-district team. The two-year team captain has been involved in numerous charitable endeavors and has been a four-year starter on the court. His teams have won two Ivy titles and he is a two-year member of the Bob Cousy Award Watch List as the nation's top point guard. A second-team All-Ivy pick as a junior, he was the conference's leader in steals and was second in assists and assist-to-turnover ratio and sixth in scoring. He has twice led the conference in 3-point field-goal percentage.

TALL IVY: Over the last five seasons, Cornell's 53-17 record is the best among Ivy League teams in conference action. Penn, who claimed the 2006-07 title, is second at 40-30, followed by Yale (39-31), and 2010-11 Ivy champions Harvard (36-34) and Princeton (36-34). Rounding out the field is Columbia (32-38), Brown (29-41) and Dartmouth (16-54).

CORNELL BEYOND THE ARC — 600 AND COUNTING: The Big Red hit seven 3-pointers at Stony Brook on Dec. 28, its 638th consecutive game with a made trey. With five 3-pointers at Seton Hall on Nov. 14, 2010, Cornell extended its streak of games with at least one 3-pointer to 600. The last time Cornell did not hit a 3-pointer was against Denison in the 1988-89 season opener (0-for-2). Since the 3-point shot came into effect in NCAA play during the 1986-87 season, Cornell has hit at least one shot behind the arc in 686 of 690 games, connecting on 4,298 treys, an average of 6.2 per game. Cornell has hit at least 10 3-pointers in a game 33 times in 72 games over the last three years, including an Ivy League single-game record 20 at Brown in 2009-10.

BOMBS AWAY: Cornell made 251 3-pointers in 28 contests during the 2010-11 campaign. The 9.0 3-pointers per game ranked second all-time in a season for the Big Red (behind only the 9.6 per game in 2009-10) and ranked sixth among all Division I teams a season ago. Last season, Cornell ranked first nationally in 3-point percentage (.430) and third in 3-pointers made per game in 2009-10, and ranked in the top 20 nationally in 3-point percentage in 2008-09 (fourth, .411), 2007-08 (fourth, .409) and 2006-07 (18th, .396).

STATING THE STATES: Members of the Cornell basketball team represent 16 states and one Canadian province.

BIG RED CAPTAINS: Cornell's senior backcourt of Drew Ferry and Chris Wroblewski will serve as co-captains for the 2011-12 season. Wroblewski is in his second year as team captain, becoming the 13th player to serve as captain for at least two years.

WHAT WAS LOST: Cornell said goodbye to three seniors last spring, as Mark Coury, Aaron Osgood and Adam Wire closed out their Big Red careers.
• Coury was one of the team's top post players in his two seasons on the court at Cornell, first as a reserve on last year's Sweet 16 squad in 2009-10, and last year as a regular in the rotation. A transfer from the University of Kentucky, Coury's biggest highlight came when he beat the shot clock to hit the game-winning basket with 35 seconds left at the Palestra to help Cornell sweep Penn a year ago.
• A team captain in 2010-11, Osgood was expected to be a major factor in the post, and was when healthy. One of the team's top scorers (7.3 ppg.) and rebounders (4.5 rpg.), Osgood played in 43 career games with eight starts, shooting 52 percent from the floor and averaging 3.0 points and 2.0 rebounds.
• Another team captain, Wire was a four-year letter winner who ranked among the top 20 all-time in steals and field goal percentage in school history. He totaled more that 100 steals and 100 assists and set career highs in scoring, rebounding and assists in his final season.

HOW TO FOLLOW CORNELL
• Men's basketball games will be broadcast on HITS 103.3 FM for the 2011-12 season. Longtime voice of the Big Red Barry Leonard returns on the call with the play-by-play, while former All-Ivy center Eric Taylor'05 is on board to do color analysis. A half-hour pregame show and postgame analysis will enable Big Red fans to follow Coach Bill Courtney's team throughout the season. The audio of all games will also be available as part of the RedCast subscription service.
• The Big Red's home contests will all be broadcast live with streaming video as part of the RedCast subscription service. Visit www.CornellBigRed.com/showcase for all the latest information on Cornell broadcasts.
• Cornell will use SIDEARM Live Stats for each of the Big Red's home games in 2010-11. Visit www.CornellBigRed.com for all of the official statistics.
• You can follow the team on YouTube, Facebook and Twitter. Highlights, interviews and features on all 36 of Cornell's varsity sports can be found at www.youtube.com/cornellathletics, www.facebook.com/cornellathletics or www.twitter.com/cornellsports.

NEXT UP: The Big Red will close its five-game road trip when it heads to Maryland on Tuesday, Jan. 3 at 7 p.m. before returning home on Jan. 7 to face Division III Albright College.