Ivy League Basketball: Preseason rankings for 2018-19

PHILADELPHIA, PA - MARCH 12: The Princeton Tigers hoist the championship trophy after the win against the Yale Bulldogs in the Ivy League tournament final at The Palestra on March 12, 2017 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Princeton won 71-59. (Photo by Corey Perrine/Getty Images) /

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SYRACUSE, NY – NOVEMBER 10: Head coach Brian Earl of the Cornell Big Red speaks with Matt Morgan #10 during the first half against the Syracuse Orange at the Carrier Dome on November 10, 2017 in Syracuse, New York. (Photo by Brett Carlsen/Getty Images) /

6. Cornell Big Red

2017-18 season record: 12-16 (6-8)

Although the team defense was the worst in the Ivy (331st in scoring defense nationally) last year, Cornell was able to find enough scoring and big performances from their stars to sneak into the conference tournament.

They were led by premiere scorer Matt Morgan, who in his junior campaign averaged 22.5 ppg on an incredibly efficient 49% field goal shooting. He led the Ivy in scoring and after flirting with the NBA, decided to return for his final season.

Morgan’s partner in crime from last season won’t be joining him this upcoming year, devastating the Big Red’s prospects. Stone Gettings was outstanding as a junior, going for 16.7 ppg and 6.6 rpg on 49% shooting as well. However, he decided to do the same thing that Boudreaux did with Dartmouth and will sit out this season before graduating and transferring to Arizona for the 2019-20 season.

With Gettings gone, only Morgan returns after averaging more than seven points a game. Can any of the role players take up enough of the scoring load to keep Cornell in contention? It’s an even more important issue considering that the defense will likely be bad once again.

There are some positives on the Big Red roster, including the return of Troy Whiteside. He averaged 6.6 ppg as a starter a couple of years ago but didn’t play at all for 2017-18 due to an injury. He’ll be one of seven seniors on the roster, with the starting lineup very likely to consist of five of them.

Had Gettings remained on the roster, Cornell would’ve been a strong contender to remain in the top half of the Ivy. Now Morgan may have to average 25+ ppg just to give them a chance at that feat.