Cornell @ KU Jan 6, 2010

[polar]

typical cornell sports in big game (see the "worst game of the decade" thread), but have to just be happy with the statement they made. I don't think this effort will be overlooked by the tournament committee, if all goes well in league play.

[ugarte]

typical cornell sports in big game

You have to be kidding. That Cornell even had to concern itself with "blowing a lead" is a huge accomplishment. Kansas is a MUCH better team than Cornell is. Once Kansas' shots started falling and the defense locked down, seeing the lead disappear is the expected result.

This was an amazing game by Cornell, as disappointing as it is that they came so close. Thinking otherwise is delusional.

[Jordan 04]

I don't think this effort will be overlooked by the tournament committee, if all goes well in league play.

I doubt they'll get much credit for a close loss. The tournament committee doesn't pore over play-by-play of January games. They see RPI, key wins against Top 25, Top 50, and draw it up.

[tretiak]

When Lord?! When the hell do I get to see the goddamn sailboat?!

[dag14]

That was a tremendous effort by Cornell and anyone who criticizes the players for their performanc obviously never played a team sport.  To stay with, never mind lead, the #1 team in the nation at home suggests that Cornell can play with anyone.  Whether the tournament committee notices or not doesn't really signify.  The guys know what they are capable of.

[polar]

That Cornell even had to concern itself with "blowing a lead" is a huge accomplishment.

I'm not saying it's not a huge accomplishment; I was bouncing around the house that we were anywhere close at halftime, much less ahead. Kansas is a much better team than Cornell, and I'm very happy with their play today, but it would be nice to see us pull out one of these national-caliber games once a decade.

[mnagowski]

That Cornell even had to concern itself with "blowing a lead" is a huge accomplishment.

I'm not saying it's not a huge accomplishment; I was bouncing around the house that we were anywhere close at halftime, much less ahead. Kansas is a much better team than Cornell, and I'm very happy with their play today, but it would be nice to see us pull out one of these national-caliber games once a decade.

What makes the loss hurt is that we had the chance to put it away, but missed some wide-open threes and had some very bad officiating get in the way.

Being down by 5 the whole game would have been much easier to swallow.

[ugarte]

That Cornell even had to concern itself with "blowing a lead" is a huge accomplishment.

I'm not saying it's not a huge accomplishment; I was bouncing around the house that we were anywhere close at halftime, much less ahead. Kansas is a much better team than Cornell, and I'm very happy with their play today, but it would be nice to see us pull out one of these national-caliber games once a decade.

What makes the loss hurt is that we had the chance to put it away, but missed some wide-open threes and had some very bad officiating get in the way.

A "wide open three" is not an uncontested layup. You're only supposed to make about half of them. I probably saw less of the end than you did but what I saw didn't have bad calls. I should stop typing. I'm overreacting to anything slightly negative and that is a bad sign about my state of mind.

So, did anyone watch the end of the GMAC Bowl? That was a hell of a finish.

[Jerseygirl]

That was so awesome. Cornell has been very pesky to some pretty important teams this year. Glad they finally seem to be able to hang with the big boys. Two or three years ago, the game would have seemingly been in reach at the half, with Kansas coming out of the locker room and blowing it open to bury the Big Red. Awesome showing by our boys in intimidating enemy territory.

Having said that, the end result leaves me deeply unsatisfied. I really, really, really, want to see a Cornell team win a Big Game. It's a shame they weren't able to close the deal tonight. It was not unlike watching Chris Berman work his game at a bar full of vegan women.

[mnagowski]

A "wide open three" is not an uncontested layup. You're only supposed to make about half of them.

That's exactly my point. We missed a bunch of them. Between 17:00 and 7:00 of the second half, we missed 5 three point attempts in a row.

I probably saw less of the end than you did but what I saw didn't have bad calls.

Meh.

[HeafDog]

it would be nice to see us pull out one of these national-caliber games once a decade.

I really, really, really, want to see a Cornell team win a Big Game.

Like Davidson? Like St. John's? Fine, so we didn't beat Syracuse or Seton Hall, but hey, like it's been said further up in this thread, we've shown we can compete! And we come from the freaking Ivy League!

THIS GAME WAS AWESOME. I am very proud of our boys and, as always, extremely proud to be a Cornellian.

I am starting a "Keep Coach Donahue in Ithaca" fund. God knows, it's gonna be tough if he keeps pulling performance this good out of our team. Here's hoping he likes Ithaca so much that he's wants to stay there for a very, very long time.

[phillysportsfan]

Yeah hopefully Noel does everything he can to keep Donahue at Cornell

[RichH]

So, did anyone watch the end of the GMAC Bowl? That was a hell of a finish.

Yeah.  The bar I was in had that (and a pro bb game) on, so I was glued to the bottom line.  As the night went on, they started flashing "UPSET ALERT" often with score updates from KU, and they even broke to an "In Game" highlight once or twice.  I'm sure my friends were getting sick of me gesturing towards the screen.

[Jerseygirl]

it would be nice to see us pull out one of these national-caliber games once a decade.

I really, really, really, want to see a Cornell team win a Big Game.

Like Davidson? Like St. John's? Fine, so we didn't beat Syracuse or Seton Hall, but hey, like it's been said further up in this thread, we've shown we can compete! And we come from the freaking Ivy League!

THIS GAME WAS AWESOME. I am very proud of our boys and, as always, extremely proud to be a Cornellian.

Nah, dude, like a Frozen Four game against UHN, a Lax NCAA final against Syracuse, or a basketball game against the #1 ranked team in the country to snap a 54-game home win streak. That's what I mean by a Big Game. Trust me, I am freakin' thrilled that the Cornell basketball wins this season against "better" teams aren't flukey. I was very pleased to point out Cornell's win to a colleague of mine who is a Davidson alum when she was talking about how their basketball team is good this year.

But I mean, hey, even if Cornell didn't pull it off, they still made the game the lead story on Sportscenter by almost...ALMOST pulling it off. Not shabby at all.

[Stinky Tom]

Nah, dude, like a Frozen Four game against UHN, a Lax NCAA final against Syracuse, or a basketball game against the #1 ranked team in the country to snap a 54-game home win streak.

In the Lax NCAA tournament last year (don't think anyone mentioned it, apologies if someone did), Cornell pulled out two upsets just to get to the finals, including a win over number 1 ranked UVA. Up to that point, Virginia had lost just two games all season, both to number 3 ranked Duke. And, not only did we beat them, it was a resounding win (15-6). Yes, we lost a heartbreaker in the finals, but UVA was favored to win that tournament until we defeated them. It wasn't the Biggest Game, but it was definitely a Formidably Sized Game that we won, and I would have put it over beating Syracuse in the final had we come out of the final with a win :`-(.

For the most part, people don't think of Ivy League teams as playing in big games, let alone coming close to winning them. Beating the spread on Kansas by over 15 points is a win for our team's national recognition, even though it won't show up in the W column.