Cornell in Top 35 in Both BBall Polls

[CornellFan]

So which media members votes for Cornell?

Find out at the link...

http://cornellbasketball.blogspot.com/2010/01/cornell-top-35-in-both-national-polls.html

[Jim Hyla]

So which media members votes for Cornell?

Find out at the link...

http://cornellbasketball.blogspot.com/2010/01/cornell-top-35-in-both-national-polls.html

Thanks, I never knew all of that was public. I understand John Feinstein, but I wonder why the others.

[ugarte]

So which media members votes for Cornell?

Find out at the link...

http://cornellbasketball.blogspot.com/2010/01/cornell-top-35-in-both-national-polls.html

Thanks, I never knew all of that was public. I understand John Feinstein, but I wonder why the others.

The close loss to Kansas.

[Jim Hyla]

So which media members votes for Cornell?

Find out at the link...

http://cornellbasketball.blogspot.com/2010/01/cornell-top-35-in-both-national-polls.html

Thanks, I never knew all of that was public. I understand John Feinstein, but I wonder why the others.

The close loss to Kansas.

That's true, but do you really think we're a top 25 team? Not I.

[phillysportsfan]

I dont think we are a top 25 team either but I would rather not be ranked, better to stay under the radar for the NCAA tournament. A tournament win would be a much better recruiting boast than squeezing into #25

[upperdeck]

getting a tourney will be as a result of a decent seeding.. getting into the top 25 would ensure that. if CU can get up to the 10-12 seed it has a solid shot at a first round upset..

and it needs that if its gonna be looking for a new coach, which it likely will if it does win a game or 2..

[CornellFan]

Cornell is 15-3... with 2 of its losses coming ON THE ROAD to a pair of teams in the RPI top 5 (Kansas and Syracuse)....

Of those two losses, Cornell gave BOTH Syracuse and Kansas (in their gyms) one of their toughest 2-3 games of the season (numerous quotes from Self and Boeheim say Cornell was among their best 2-3 opponents).

Cornell does not get credit just for close losses.  We have good wins too... won games on the road AT St. John's, AT Alabama, AT La Salle, At UMass, and at Drexel, while beating Vermont and Davidson in neutral settings and St. Joe's at home.

The wins were also with key injuries. The win over La Salle was without Dale AND Tyler, while we also beat Drexel and Vermont without Tyler and Groebe.

This Cornell team is definitely deserving (at this point) of Top 25 consideration.  And if they run the table in the Ivy (and finish 28-3), they will be Top 25.

[Jim Hyla]

Cornell is 15-3... with 2 of its losses coming ON THE ROAD to a pair of teams in the RPI top 5 (Kansas and Syracuse)....

Of those two losses, Cornell gave BOTH Syracuse and Kansas (in their gyms) one of their toughest 2-3 games of the season (numerous quotes from Self and Boeheim say Cornell was among their best 2-3 opponents).

Cornell does not get credit just for close losses.  We have good wins too... won games on the road AT St. John's, AT Alabama, AT La Salle, At UMass, and at Drexel, while beating Vermont and Davidson in neutral settings and St. Joe's at home.

The wins were also with key injuries. The win over La Salle was without Dale AND Tyler, while we also beat Drexel and Vermont without Tyler and Groebe.

This Cornell team is definitely deserving (at this point) of Top 25 consideration.  And if they run the table in the Ivy (and finish 28-3), they will be Top 25.

Of that I can agree. Doing it however?

[Jordan 04]

Cornell is 15-3... with 2 of its losses coming ON THE ROAD to a pair of teams in the RPI top 5 (Kansas and Syracuse)....

Of those two losses, Cornell gave BOTH Syracuse and Kansas (in their gyms) one of their toughest 2-3 games of the season (numerous quotes from Self and Boeheim say Cornell was among their best 2-3 opponents).

Cornell does not get credit just for close losses.  We have good wins too... won games on the road AT St. John's, AT Alabama, AT La Salle, At UMass, and at Drexel, while beating Vermont and Davidson in neutral settings and St. Joe's at home.

The wins were also with key injuries. The win over La Salle was without Dale AND Tyler, while we also beat Drexel and Vermont without Tyler and Groebe.

This Cornell team is definitely deserving (at this point) of Top 25 consideration.  And if they run the table in the Ivy (and finish 28-3), they will be Top 25.

Of that I can agree. Doing it however?

Maybe I have a terrible sense of the national polls, but I completely disagree.  How is Cornell not at it's peak right now in the voters' minds?  They've reached where they are from being in the national spotlight during a tough non-conference schedule, some good wins during that part of the schedule, and one awfully impressive close loss. I can't imagine that spending the next two months dismissing the Columbias and Yales of the world in relative obscurity is going to cause them to significantly rise in the polls.

Lastly, with conversations like these about the team, they damn well better win the league!

[David Harding]

Cornell is 15-3... with 2 of its losses coming ON THE ROAD to a pair of teams in the RPI top 5 (Kansas and Syracuse)....

Of those two losses, Cornell gave BOTH Syracuse and Kansas (in their gyms) one of their toughest 2-3 games of the season (numerous quotes from Self and Boeheim say Cornell was among their best 2-3 opponents).

Cornell does not get credit just for close losses.  We have good wins too... won games on the road AT St. John's, AT Alabama, AT La Salle, At UMass, and at Drexel, while beating Vermont and Davidson in neutral settings and St. Joe's at home.

The wins were also with key injuries. The win over La Salle was without Dale AND Tyler, while we also beat Drexel and Vermont without Tyler and Groebe.

This Cornell team is definitely deserving (at this point) of Top 25 consideration.  And if they run the table in the Ivy (and finish 28-3), they will be Top 25.

Of that I can agree. Doing it however?

Maybe I have a terrible sense of the national polls, but I completely disagree.  How is Cornell not at it's peak right now in the voters' minds?  They've reached where they are from being in the national spotlight during a tough non-conference schedule, some good wins during that part of the schedule, and one awfully impressive close loss. I can't imagine that spending the next two months dismissing the Columbias and Yales of the world in relative obscurity is going to cause them to significantly rise in the polls.

Lastly, with conversations like these about the team, they damn well better win the league!

The teams currently in the 20-25 range could easily lose a few games and some of their luster, making room for Cornell.

[billhoward]

You may be right about Cornell appearing to be at its peak now with all the non-league wins and that near win over then-No. 1 Kansas. Say we lose at Harvard, we're still the same team that almost took down Kansas, but in the voters' eyes, we can't even establish superiority over a bunch of future bankers who'll probably dress like Tommy Amaker, too. OTOH it may take a while for voters to warm to the idea of an Ivy team that isn't Penn 1979 being rated that high.

Moving up the polls means two things: In somebody's mind, we have enough ability to be seeded somewhere at the tail end of the single digits and draw a first round opponent we could beat and then, with luck, win the second of the opening round. (Sure, first we have to make the tournament and second we have to win one game.) And also it means we can talk years from now about that awesome Cornell team that made in into the top 20 or top 25.

[CornellFan]

Cornell is 15-3... with 2 of its losses coming ON THE ROAD to a pair of teams in the RPI top 5 (Kansas and Syracuse)....

Of those two losses, Cornell gave BOTH Syracuse and Kansas (in their gyms) one of their toughest 2-3 games of the season (numerous quotes from Self and Boeheim say Cornell was among their best 2-3 opponents).

Cornell does not get credit just for close losses.  We have good wins too... won games on the road AT St. John's, AT Alabama, AT La Salle, At UMass, and at Drexel, while beating Vermont and Davidson in neutral settings and St. Joe's at home.

The wins were also with key injuries. The win over La Salle was without Dale AND Tyler, while we also beat Drexel and Vermont without Tyler and Groebe.

This Cornell team is definitely deserving (at this point) of Top 25 consideration.  And if they run the table in the Ivy (and finish 28-3), they will be Top 25.

Of that I can agree. Doing it however?

Why not?  Cornell did it 07-08 with a younger and less talented roster.  Cornell just has to take one game at a time.  And should Cornell slip up once and finish 13-1 in the Ivy and 27-4 overall... still a good case would be made for Top 25 consideration.

[Trotsky]

Why not?  Cornell did it 07-08 with a younger and less talented roster.  Cornell just has to take one game at a time.  And should Cornell slip up once and finish 13-1 in the Ivy and 27-4 overall... still a good case would be made for Top 25 consideration.

If it's difficult to imagine Cornell running up a 14-0 record, it's no easier to imagine another Ivy squad doing it.

Enjoy the season and let the bracketology fall where it may.

[ugarte]

Cornell is 15-3... with 2 of its losses coming ON THE ROAD to a pair of teams in the RPI top 5 (Kansas and Syracuse)....

Of those two losses, Cornell gave BOTH Syracuse and Kansas (in their gyms) one of their toughest 2-3 games of the season (numerous quotes from Self and Boeheim say Cornell was among their best 2-3 opponents).

Cornell does not get credit just for close losses.  We have good wins too... won games on the road AT St. John's, AT Alabama, AT La Salle, At UMass, and at Drexel, while beating Vermont and Davidson in neutral settings and St. Joe's at home.

The wins were also with key injuries. The win over La Salle was without Dale AND Tyler, while we also beat Drexel and Vermont without Tyler and Groebe.

This Cornell team is definitely deserving (at this point) of Top 25 consideration.  And if they run the table in the Ivy (and finish 28-3), they will be Top 25.

Of that I can agree. Doing it however?

Why not?  Cornell did it 07-08 with a younger and less talented roster.  Cornell just has to take one game at a time.  And should Cornell slip up once and finish 13-1 in the Ivy and 27-4 overall... still a good case would be made for Top 25 consideration.

And leaner competition. This year's Harvard team is probably better than any 07-08 team BUT Cornell - and last year's 'more talented' Cornell team managed to lose 3 Ivy games to a conference that was otherwise pretty across-the-board bleh.

That said, if Cornell runs the table, they will definitely be a top 25 team. Princeton and Penn's top squads in the 90's received enough votes to make the top 25 and I don't think Cornell will be any different. Even though the end of the NC schedule means that there will be a dropoff in the quality of opponent, 20-3 just LOOKS nicer than 14-3. Cornell is already receiving some notice. Those voters will inch Cornell up the rankings and others will get on the bandwagon. In effect, Cornell will climb in the polls at the same time it is getting punished by the computers for the exact same thing: beating Penn.

[Weder]

Cornell is 15-3... with 2 of its losses coming ON THE ROAD to a pair of teams in the RPI top 5 (Kansas and Syracuse)....

Of those two losses, Cornell gave BOTH Syracuse and Kansas (in their gyms) one of their toughest 2-3 games of the season (numerous quotes from Self and Boeheim say Cornell was among their best 2-3 opponents).

Cornell does not get credit just for close losses.  We have good wins too... won games on the road AT St. John's, AT Alabama, AT La Salle, At UMass, and at Drexel, while beating Vermont and Davidson in neutral settings and St. Joe's at home.

The wins were also with key injuries. The win over La Salle was without Dale AND Tyler, while we also beat Drexel and Vermont without Tyler and Groebe.

This Cornell team is definitely deserving (at this point) of Top 25 consideration.  And if they run the table in the Ivy (and finish 28-3), they will be Top 25.

Of that I can agree. Doing it however?

Why not?  Cornell did it 07-08 with a younger and less talented roster.  Cornell just has to take one game at a time.  And should Cornell slip up once and finish 13-1 in the Ivy and 27-4 overall... still a good case would be made for Top 25 consideration.

And leaner competition. This year's Harvard team is probably better than any 07-08 team BUT Cornell - and last year's 'more talented' Cornell team managed to lose 3 Ivy games to a conference that was otherwise pretty across-the-board bleh.

That said, if Cornell runs the table, they will definitely be a top 25 team. Princeton and Penn's top squads in the 90's received enough votes to make the top 25 and I don't think Cornell will be any different. Even though the end of the NC schedule means that there will be a dropoff in the quality of opponent, 20-3 just LOOKS nicer than 14-3. Cornell is already receiving some notice. Those voters will inch Cornell up the rankings and others will get on the bandwagon. In effect, Cornell will climb in the polls at the same time it is getting punished by the computers for the exact same thing: beating Penn.

The '97-'98 Princeton team got a big boost from a couple of big wins at the start of the season, but they managed to keep moving up in the polls during the Ivy schedule. Wound up with a top-10 ranking and a No. 5 seed.