NCAA Basketball: Can Cornell pull off huge upset over No. 20 Penn State?
The Cornell Big Red makes the three-hour trek south down I-99 to face the 20th ranked Penn State Nittany Lions for an NCAA Basketball non-conference game.
Matchup: Cornell Big Red (1-9) at No. 20/21 Penn State (10-2).
Game vitals: Bryce Jordan Center with tipoff set for noon on Dec. 29. The game will be broadcast on ESPNU with Mike Corey and Sydney Johnson on the call.
Series history: Penn State has won the last three meetings with Cornell, which includes taking their previous meeting 72-71 in Charleston (SC) on Nov. 21, 2014. The Nittany Lions leads the all-time series 6-5, and they have won all five games in State College.
About Cornell
Cornell has not won since defeating Binghamton in the season opener. The Big Red has lost eight straight, including each of their seven road games. The Big Red is coming off an 80-76 defeat to Hartford as they blew an eight-point halftime lead. Cornell outshot Hartford 49%-to-47% from the field, but the Big Red only made eight of their 25 attempts (32%) from beyond the arc while the Hawks knocked down 13 of 24 (54%) of their long-distant attempts.
Leading scorer Jimmy Boeheim once again led the team with 26 points on 10 of 22 shooting from the floor and four of 10 from deep. Boeheim, the team’s top player, has registered two double-doubles and topped the 20-point mark six times this year. After reaching double-figures in each of the first four games of the season, Terrance McBride — who is second on the team in scoring at 10.7 points a game — reached double-figures for just the second time in the past six contests against Hartford as he finished with 14 points along with six rebounds and four dimes.
Forward Jordan Jones has played well over the last three games, tallying at least nine points in all three games and racking up six or more rebounds in the past two contests. Jones is averaging 8.3 points and 3.3 rebounds for the season while 6-8 forward Josh Warren is compiling 8.0 points, 6.0 caroms along with 3.9 assists.
Key Stats
Offense: 65.0 PPG, 41.1FG%, 6.5 3-pointers a game at a 26.3% clip, 10.7FT-14.8 FTA (73.3%), 10.8 offensive rebounds, 14 assists, and 12 turnovers.
Defense: 70.0 PPG, 44.2% FG, 8.5 3-pointers at 37.0% clip, 23.8 defensive rebounds, 10.5 offensive rebounds allowed, 12.1 turnovers forced.
About Penn State
Penn State
(10-2) entered the Associated Press top 25 in Week 7 following its huge victory over then No. 4 Maryland. PSU moved up three spots to No. 20 this following a narrow win over Alabama (73-71) and a whitewashing of Central Connecticut State (87-58) before the Holiday break.
The Nittany Lions have won three straight overall, and they are a perfect 8-0 at home. Lamar Stevens is the straw that stirs the Penn State offense that ranks 43rd in the nation at 79.6 points a game. The Nittany Lions are also 42nd in KenPom.com’s offensive rating at 107.3. Stevens has racked up two double-doubles in two of his last three appearances and has scored in double-figures in all 12 games. The 6-foot-8 senior forward has also done a fantastic job at distributing the ball and contributing on the defensive end over the last three games, accumulating 14 assists along with eight blocks and three steals.
Point guard Myreon Jones’ development might be the biggest reason that the Nittany Lions have been playing some of its best basketball in program history. Jones is coming off a 21-point, five-assist and two-steal performance against CCSU, marking the third time this season that he has topped the 20-point plateau. The 6-3 sophomore, who has done an excellent job at not turning the ball over, is shooting 44.6% from the field and 41.2% from long-distance this year while averaging 14.2 points a contest this season.
Athletically gifted big man Mike Watkins has been a beast on the boards (9.5) and has done a fantastic job at protecting the rim (3.8) while also contributing offensively a little bit more this season (10.6 ppg). Izaiah Brockington and Curtis Jones have provided sparks off the bench this season.
Key stats
Offense: 79.6 PPG, 44.6% FG%, 8.4 3-pointers at 32.1% clip, 14.2 FT- 20.4 FTA (69.4%), 12.2 offensive rebounds, 16.1 assists and13.2 turnovers.
Defense: 66.5 PPG, 38.5% FG%, 7.0 3-pointers at 33.5% clip, 29.1 defensive rebounds, 10.8 offensive rebounds allowed, and 15.8 turnovers forced.
Prediction: Penn State 83, Cornell 58
Penn State is the superior team on both ends of the court. The Nittany Lions have been spectacular against nonconference opponents as they are averaging over 80 points while shooting 45.2% from the field. Meanwhile, Cornell has struggled defensively throughout the season but mainly on the road.
I expect Penn State to push the pace in this game as the Lions, who are averaging a tad over 73 possessions a game, like to get out and run as they are averaging 19.5 fastbreak points a game. Cornell, which plays at one of the slowest paces in the NCAA, is only allowing 8.7 fast break points a game. But where PSU has thrived is on the defensive end. The Nittany Lions rank 25th in the nation in KenPom.com’s defensive efficiency ratings, and they are holding opponents to a 44.2% effective field goal percentage as well as 48% true shooting percentage. Also, Penn State has held seven opponents this year, including each of its last three, to under 36% shooting from the field.
Updated Bracketology. dark. Next
The key matchup will be Stevens vs. Boeheim. But it boils down to whether Stevens can keep Boeheim in check, which I believe he can. Boeheim can’t guard Stevens, so expect him to have a monster game. Stevens, along with Watkins, should also be able to control the boards.