Busting Brackets
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Ivy League Basketball: 2017-18 stars on each team in the conference

By Tristan Freeman

PHILADELPHIA, PA - MARCH 12: Jose Morales
PHILADELPHIA, PA - MARCH 12: Jose Morales /
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SYRACUSE, NY – MARCH 25: Big Red Bear the mascot of the Cornell Big Red performs against the Kentucky Wildcats during the east regional semifinal of the 2010 NCAA men’s basketball tournament at the Carrier Dome on March 25, 2010 in Syracuse, New York. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)
SYRACUSE, NY – MARCH 25: Big Red Bear the mascot of the Cornell Big Red performs against the Kentucky Wildcats during the east regional semifinal of the 2010 NCAA men’s basketball tournament at the Carrier Dome on March 25, 2010 in Syracuse, New York. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images) /

Cornell Big Red – Matt Morgan

Although Cornell finishing tied for last in the conference, they did have the leading scorer in the conference. Matt Morgan had a great sophomore year in 2016-17, putting up 18.1 points a night. The wild thing is that it’s a downgrade from his 18.4 freshman year performance.

Morgan’s scoring ability knows no bounds and aided by his perimeter shooting talents. The 6’2″ guard led the league in 3-pointers, hitting a school record of seven deep bombs in a 34-point performance against Northeastern.

Even with his scoring ability, his defense is questionable at best. At just 174 pounds, he can get abused by bigger guards and can give up as many points as he scores sometimes. The team as a whole struggled on defense last season, finishing next to last in scoring defense.

Now in his junior campaign, Morgan will be looking to escape the cellar of the Ivy League. He will have help with the second-leading scorer on the team also returning in fellow junior Stone Getting. If he can improve overall, he can create a one-two punch for Cornell.

Ultimately it won’t matter what the Big Red does offensively because their issues on defense might weigh them down. If the team can improve on those statistics for this upcoming season, then some progress can be made for the basketball program.