March Madness: NCAA Div. I Men's Basketball Tournament

Cornell's seeded #14 in the west, and will face #3 Missouri in Boise, Idaho on Friday.

<thumping own chest> LET'S #$%@ING GO! LET'S #$%@ING DO THIS! C'MON RED!

<goes and runs around the room, screaming>

They don't have 2 7-footers, do they?

Beeeej
Cornell's seeded #14 in the west, and will face #3 Missouri in Boise, Idaho on Friday.

This might be one time when Cornell fans wished that a team got sent to Minnesota.

Boise.... not exactly taking travel costs into consideration.

Mizzou is a "small team", no one over 6 ft 9 in.

Rita

Beeeej
Cornell's seeded #14 in the west, and will face #3 Missouri in Boise, Idaho on Friday.

This might be one time when Cornell fans wished that a team got sent to Minnesota.

Boise.... not exactly taking travel costs into consideration.

Mizzou is a "small team", no one over 6 ft 9 in.

Though they do get much of their scoring from their forwards. I'm not unhappy with this match-up.

No common opponents between us this year.

Not making this up. The game is at the Taco Bell Arena.

[www.tacobellarena.com]

Missouri plays an uptempo style and relys on a pressure defense to force turnovers. That could be big trouble for Cornell if the 2nd half @ Minnesota is any indication.

This is a better matchup than last year, but not by much.

Cornell will need Dale and Wroblewski to have their A+ games in terms of handling the press, but its possible that Mizzou's D will tire Cornell out so much that the Red won't have the legs to shoot the 3 ball well enough.

I just hope we show up and make it a game. I.e we don't get blown out by a ton. Cornell did fairly well this year in the 5 "high profile" games (Cuse, Minn, IU, St. Johns, & St Joe's). All of those games were pretty close at the half before the wheels eventually came off.

Last year against Stanford it was ugly and we had to go with the "we were just happy to make it" speech. This year it would be great if we could get the "we played them close for the majority of the game and we're proud of our performance" speech.

Our guys will (obviously) have much more confidence going into this year's tourney and the big games we played on the road against the teams mentioned above just might pay dividends.

jksnake06
This is a better matchup than last year, but not by much.

It's pretty unlikely that you'll ever get a favorable matchup as a #14 seed. Winning tournament games is always going to be a long shot.

nyc94
Not making this up. The game is at the Taco Bell Arena.

[www.tacobellarena.com]

Well, they say shooting teams always do better in "gyms" than huge arenas. For whatever it's worth, The Taco (TM) seats 12,820, while the Honda Center (last year in Anaheim) sat 17,600. I'll take whatever tiny edge we can get (or even think we can get!).

Germ
All of those games were pretty close at the half before the wheels eventually came off.

From the sounds of it, Missouri never stops hustling and plays hard the entire game, even turning it up a notch in the second half and not looking back. This isn't looking good...

Germ
This year it would be great if we could get the "we played them close for the majority of the game and we're proud of our performance" speech.

I'm with you. Please, please keep it closer than last year.

Jordan 04
They don't have 2 7-footers, do they?

Bah. Who cares? They're so stupid/lazy that they often forget to finish spelling their own name.

Missouri sucks! Go Red!!

Early scheduling puts our game in the 3:00 slot. So... we need to find a bar that gets all four CBS feeds, and then agrees to keep one TV on the NHL network.

Anyone looking to watch in Queens or Westchester? No Manhattan for me this year.

That time slot sure sucks for those traveling to Albany on Friday.

Get to Albany early. Watch the game on the TV at the arena. Stick your head into the rink area if you hear crowd noise.

Jeff Hopkins '82
Get to Albany early. Watch the game on the TV at the arena. Stick your head into the rink area if you hear crowd noise.

Uh, priorities? Try and get a view of one of the TVs in the boxes. Watching hockey is always a first priority, at least for those of us going to Albany.

Jeff Hopkins '82
Get to Albany early. Watch the game on the TV at the arena. Stick your head into the rink area if you hear crowd noise.

Thanks. I was aware that the conflict between traveling to Albany and watching the basketball game can be avoided if one is not traveling to Albany during the basketball game.

That isn't possible for some, (or many), thus the fact remains that the time slot sure sucks for those traveling to Albany on Friday.

Jordan 04

Jeff Hopkins '82
Get to Albany early. Watch the game on the TV at the arena. Stick your head into the rink area if you hear crowd noise.

Thanks. I was aware that the conflict between traveling to Albany and watching the basketball game can be avoided if one is not traveling to Albany during the basketball game.

That isn't possible for some, (or many), thus the fact remains that the time slot sure sucks for those traveling to Albany on Friday.

For those driving, you might want to check if any of the sports radio stations on your route are picking up the Westwood One radio broadcasts (my local ESPN station does). The Temple v. ASU game is also a ~ 3pm start and and the only one that seems to have any local (for NY) interest besides Cornell v. Missouri.

If you are traveling (or stuck in the office) and have internet access, CBS/CSTV is doing march madness on demand.

RichH

Jordan 04
They don't have 2 7-footers, do they?

Bah. Who cares? They're so stupid/lazy that they often forget to finish spelling their own name.

Missouri sucks! Go Red!!

I'll be deep in the cold, cold ground before I recognize Missourah!

Rita
If you are traveling (or stuck in the office) and have internet access, CBS/CSTV is doing march madness on demand.

Last year the quality of coverage was great for the ~15 seconds I watched before I realized that a massacre was in progress.

Dealing with the press will not be easy for the Big Red and I am not so happy to see us face a team on such a roll. At the same time, at least we don't have to play them @Missouri. Boise is going to be a difficult venue to get to so I figure the crowd will be largely neutral and rooting for the underog.

As others have mentioned. they are a team that uses speed and athleticism, not height. I think that the pace of the game this year will be less of a problem than the Lopez brothers were last year. Beyond the disadvantage that Cornell had in the paint against those guys, it allowed Stanford's perimeter defense to pressure the ball as far as 20 feet from the basket without risking getting burned underneath. Mizzou is going to have to have more respect for Foote and other interior scoring, which I hope will open things up for Wittman, etc. from the outside.

I expect to lose but I'm hoping to enjoy the ride.

Viewing parties?

You do realize that Mizzou Arena holds 15,000 people and it has been sold out on several occasions vs. Top 20 Teams...Don't worry about their shooting

CM cWo 44
Viewing parties?

Yes, presumably there will be.


OK, but not being a smartass: I'm planning to watch at one of the bars on Pearl Street near the rink in Albany. The basketball should be over early enough to be able to make at least the third period of the Yale-SLU(t) semifinal.

kwrm8d
You do realize that Mizzou Arena holds 15,000 people and it has been sold out on several occasions vs. Top 20 Teams...Don't worry about their shooting

I don't get what this is in reference to.

Yeah, seriously, I'm coming to Albany but I'd like to catch the b-ball game in its entirety outside the rink. If anybody in the know, knows of an official, pseudo-official or whatever viewing of the game outside the T-U, nee Pepsi nee the Knick, please post it

Oh and since Josh asked (but really if you're on this forum you should watch it on Pearl Street). I'm the host and even I'm not sticking around Beantown to see it.

Friday, March 20. Gathering begins at 2:30 p.m. Game time approximately 3:00 p.m. The Sports Depot, 353 Cambridge Street, Allston

Event Date: Friday, March 20th, 2009 at 2:30pm



The Cornell men's basketball team has secured its bid to the NCAA Tournament's March Madness with their second Ivy League title in a row, a first in school history. Cornell has been assigned as the #14 seed in the West Regional. Their first round opponent will be the Missouri Tigers, and the teams will play on Friday, March 20th. Game time is approximately 3:00 p.m., and the gathering will begin at 2:30 p.m. at The Sports Depot, 353 Cambridge Street in Allston. The nearest bus stop is on the 66 line.

LET'S GO RED!

This event will be free with cash bar and food. For more information, contact Tom Pasniewski at thp1@cornell.edu or 617-731-9771.

Tom Pasniewski 98
Yeah, seriously, I'm coming to Albany but I'd like to catch the b-ball game in its entirety outside the rink. If anybody in the know, knows of an official, pseudo-official or whatever viewing of the game outside the T-U, nee Pepsi nee the Knick, please post it

Oh geez. Just pick a place. Bayou Cafe. That's big, they have teevees and food, and I'm sure they'd like our business in the afternoon. There. Now everybody go.

[www.bayoucafe.com]

I was going to suggest the Skyline, but apparently that closed last spring. They were good in accomodating the UVM fans when they were playing in the bouncy tournament the same day as their game at the Knicksi Union.

[realestate.yahoo.com]

kwrm8d
You do realize that Mizzou Arena holds 15,000 people and it has been sold out on several occasions vs. Top 20 Teams...Don't worry about their shooting

I was referring to Cornell as the shooting team. Welcome to the forum!

Cornell is a 13 point underdog.
Sounds about right, I guess.

Whit Watson '93, late of ESPN and now of Sun Sports (Fox Sports Florida), on Cornell and Florida State in Boise:

Blogeriffic.

CM cWo 44
Viewing parties?

Anything in NYC?

Cornell has no shot regardless...Minnesota is not comparable to the pressure D of Mizzou. It wore out kU in the last 10 minutes in Columbia...it put Blake Griffin on his ass...and it shut down a hot Baylor club in the Big 12 Championship.

kwrm8d
Cornell has no shot regardless...Minnesota is not comparable to the pressure D of Mizzou. It wore out kU in the last 10 minutes in Columbia...it put Blake Griffin on his ass...and it shut down a hot Baylor club in the Big 12 Championship.

You always have a chance. There's always the Pizza Hut factor.

kwrm8d
Cornell has no shot regardless...Minnesota is not comparable to the pressure D of Mizzou. It wore out kU in the last 10 minutes in Columbia...it put Blake Griffin on his ass...and it shut down a hot Baylor club in the Big 12 Championship.

I take back my welcome. You have a good team, let the little Ivy have its fun.

kwrm8d
Cornell has no shot regardless...Minnesota is not comparable to the pressure D of Mizzou. It wore out kU in the last 10 minutes in Columbia...it put Blake Griffin on his ass...and it shut down a hot Baylor club in the Big 12 Championship.

If Missouri lost in the first round they would not by any means be the best team to do so and Cornell wouldn't be the worst team to pull off the upset. You have a good team but they aren't the 1991 Runnin' Rebels.

Who lost.

Per article title, NYTimes breaks down the key elements to securing a first-round upset. It says Cornell has the best shot at a big upset in this year's tournament based on "Luck of the Draw."

[www.nytimes.com]

Didn't they say we had a good chance to upset last year? Here's hoping for better luck this time around

betting lines have cornell +700 to win

And the president doesn't have faith in us:

[www.bloomberg.com]

Neither Columbia University nor Harvard University, the president’s two alma maters, made the tournament. The Ivy League will be represented by Cornell University, a No. 14-seed. Obama has them losing to the No. 3-seeded University of Missouri in the first round.

nr53
Didn't they say we had a good chance to upset last year? Here's hoping for better luck this time around

"They" were looking for an angle - and Cornell was a really solid team for a 14 seed - but Stanford was about the worst possible matchup we could have gotten. I knew that one was going to be ugly.