Cornell makes it three straight

Cornell won the Ivy for the third straight time with a 95-76 over triumph at Brown on Friday night. No surprise there. Cornell was the best team in the league all season long.

But this is they Ivy.

So the question becomes can this Cornell team do something when it really matters: in March.

Well, for Ivy teams, the trend hasn't been good, as they have lost their first round games in the last 11 years. Its been Cornell that has lost that first round game each of the last two years.

Cornell is the first member of the 2010 NCAA Tournment.
(photo credit: Cornell Basketball Blog)

Its not just NCAA Tournament games, either. Cornell has yet to beat one of the big boys. Sure, wins over UMass and Alabama and St. John's are nice and all, but those aren't NCAA Tournament teams. They aren't even on the bubble, and this is one of the weakest bubbles in recent memory.

But the Big Red are getting closer. We all remember the scare they put into Kansas at the Phog earlier this year. This is a team with a high-major caliber center, an former Ivy-POY at the point, and a great scorer on the wing. And they are all seniors.

Now think about this: last night, Cornell took 30 three pointers. They hit 20 of them.

I'll say it again. Cornell hit 20 of their 30 threes last night.

How does the saying go? The three pointer is the great equalizer?

Look, I don't know if Cornell is going to be able win a game this year. So much of that depends on who they get matched up with. Cornell is not a good defensive team this year, which makes me believe they will struggle against teams that can slow them down offensively and execute efficiently against their defense. Cornell looks to be tracking as somewhere around an 11 or 12 seed. If the Big Red ends up with someone like Georgetown, or Wisconsin, or Temple in the first round, I think they could struggle.

But say they get a match-up against a team like Baylor, who plays zone, or a team like Tennessee, who is not all that good on the offensive end?

Whoever they get matched up with better make sure they get their hands up on shooters.

20-30 from three. Wow. There are teams that would be happy with that performance from the foul line.