Just out......#25 in basketball

[ugarte]

I think it will depend a lot on how badly we beat down our opponents.  A big reason we were in the polls this week is because we ANNIHILATED Harvard, who was regarded nationally as a good team.  If we continue crushing teams in the league and not win squeakers against the Yale's and Brown's of the league, we'll stay where we are at the very worst.

That's double edged, though, since if they keep beating teams by 40 it will underline the perceived weakness of the league.

I'm assuming as soon as Cornell loses a conference game they drop from the top 25, never to return in our lifetimes.  So the question is, what happens if they win out?  It will probably be an artifact of how the teams 4 slots above/below them do each week.  A week where everybody 21-29 wins probably means Cornell will drop one or two slots, while a week where a bunch of those teams lose means Cornell could tick up one or two.

I think as long as Cornell keeps winning, they'll stay in the top 25 (coaches' poll, at least) because of the increasingly gaudy overall record. regardless of any other teams' results.

If you look at the actual votes, Cornell is a lot closer to 26 than to 24. Cornell may bob in and out of the top 25 for a few weeks depending on how the teams from 26-30 do even if Cornell keeps winning - sort of like Cornell and North Dakota's relative position in the hockey polls. If Cornell is still undefeated in conference a month from now, the additional votes they will start to receive will lock them into the top 25 ... until they lose.

[YankeeLobo]

I just don't see a reason for the voters that excluded Cornell this week, to include them next week and the following weeks.  The Harvard game was effectively a peak for the team.  Beating Brown and Yale?  Not sure that means much to the voters.  the fact we're in the top 25 though is great, I think it's more likely we rise than fall.  let's just maintain #25 and not have to click through to the Ivy slate to check our scores.  Now we can see it on the front page of ESPN.com!!!!

[Willy '06]

I just don't see a reason for the voters that excluded Cornell this week, to include them next week and the following weeks.

I do. Other people voted for them last week, so it's a safer choice to do it this week. I didn't say it was a logical reason... just a reason.

[ugarte]

I just don't see a reason for the voters that excluded Cornell this week, to include them next week and the following weeks.

I do. Other people voted for them last week, so it's a safer choice to do it this week. I didn't say it was a logical reason... just a reason.

It doesn't hurt that a lot of people are talking about Cornell now. Since very few of the voters see enough basketball to vote intelligently, buzz helps a lot. It is kind of like the rationality of investing in a bubble even when you know it is a bubble. You invest BECAUSE OF the bubble since you are trying to predict the behavior of others rather than the underlying value of the company.  

It also helps that each win will mean a higher winning percentage - and it is already pretty gaudy. If Harvard/Princeton lose a few games and Cornell gets to clinch early, like they did two years ago, being the first team to punch their ticket for the NCAAs would also provide a bounce.

[YankeeLobo]

Hopefully Harvard keeps playing well and winning games, it will make last weekend's win look even better.  If Harvard beat us in Cambridge, would the one-game playoff be played at a neutral site or are there other tie breakers to determine where the playoff is held?

[Willy '06]

Eh, I'd rather have Harvard lose a few games and make it easier for us to clinch early. Ranking and seeding don't matter if we don't make it to the tourney.

[KeithK]

Eh, I'd rather have Harvard lose a few games and make it easier for us to clinch early. Ranking and seeding don't matter if we don't make it to the tourney.

Understood.  Similarly, if I knew my team would win I'd want every playoff game to be a nail biter, with amazing come from behind victories that I'll be talking about thirty years later. But when you're still in the thick of things and the outcome is uncertain a fan is much happier winning everything by a comfortable margin.

[dbilmes]

If Harvard beat us in Cambridge, would the one-game playoff be played at a neutral site or are there other tie breakers to determine where the playoff is held?

Ivy League playoffs are always held at a neutral site. As exciting as that would be, let's hope we don't have to worry about it this year!

[billhoward]

The glass is half full: This is the best we've ever been in the adult lifetime of any Cornellian graduated since WW II.

The glass is half empty: The best we've been in the New Testament era, the best we may be until glacier-melt makes Florida uninhabitable, and our hope is we could win one lousy NCAA game and then it's a tossup whether we get sent packing in the second game or the third game. And then we start wondering who's going to offer the coach how much.

But I'll enjoy it either way. It's easier to explain top 25 in college hoops to friends that No. 5 in hockey.

[Jim Hyla]

I just don't see a reason for the voters that excluded Cornell this week, to include them next week and the following weeks.  The Harvard game was effectively a peak for the team.  Beating Brown and Yale?  Not sure that means much to the voters.  the fact we're in the top 25 though is great, I think it's more likely we rise than fall.  let's just maintain #25 and not have to click through to the Ivy slate to check our scores.  Now we can see it on the front page of ESPN.com!!!!

Well beating SLU and Clarkson sure helped the hockey team in their poll.

[HeafDog]

If Harvard beat us in Cambridge, would the one-game playoff be played at a neutral site or are there other tie breakers to determine where the playoff is held?

How would that happen? I mean, seriously. We beat them by 36 effing points. The only way I could see that happening is if, giant turtle forbid, an injury occurred to one particular seven-foot-tall center, whose last name starts with the letter 'F' and ends with "oote".

[RichH]

If Harvard beat us in Cambridge, would the one-game playoff be played at a neutral site or are there other tie breakers to determine where the playoff is held?

How would that happen? I mean, seriously. We beat them by 36 effing points. The only way I could see that happening is if, giant turtle forbid, an injury occurred to one particular seven-foot-tall center, whose last name starts with the letter 'F' and ends with "oote".

Wow. Now that's overconfidence. Maybe Harvard & Lin had a bad night.  Maybe all those threes we hit don't fall.  Maybe they go and study the tape and find a weakness to exploit?  Maybe we get sloppy on the road?

Oh no, wait, you're right.  In basketball, past performance completely predicts future results. There's no plausible way that we don't beat Harvard at their place by at least 25 based on this game.  Back up the money trucks to the casino, fellow Cornellians.  LOSING IS JUST NOT POSSIBLE.

[phillysportsfan]

We lost to Harvard by 1 last year and beat them by 1 the previous year @ Harvard. The last 2 years we also killed them by 20+ at home. Lin has never really played well @Newman. Give the crowd credit, I guess, because I would imagine none of the other Ivy league fans were as loud as we were on Saturday.

[Trotsky]

If Harvard beat us in Cambridge, would the one-game playoff be played at a neutral site or are there other tie breakers to determine where the playoff is held?

How would that happen? I mean, seriously. We beat them by 36 effing points. The only way I could see that happening is if, giant turtle forbid, an injury occurred to one particular seven-foot-tall center, whose last name starts with the letter 'F' and ends with "oote".

Wow. Now that's overconfidence. Maybe Harvard & Lin had a bad night.  Maybe all those threes we hit don't fall.  Maybe they go and study the tape and find a weakness to exploit?  Maybe we get sloppy on the road?

Oh no, wait, you're right.  In basketball, past performance completely predicts future results. There's no plausible way that we don't beat Harvard at their place by at least 25 based on this game.  Back up the money trucks to the casino, fellow Cornellians.  LOSING IS JUST NOT POSSIBLE.

Sarcasm meter.  Ur breakin' it.

[RichH]

If Harvard beat us in Cambridge, would the one-game playoff be played at a neutral site or are there other tie breakers to determine where the playoff is held?

How would that happen? I mean, seriously. We beat them by 36 effing points. The only way I could see that happening is if, giant turtle forbid, an injury occurred to one particular seven-foot-tall center, whose last name starts with the letter 'F' and ends with "oote".

Wow. Now that's overconfidence. Maybe Harvard & Lin had a bad night.  Maybe all those threes we hit don't fall.  Maybe they go and study the tape and find a weakness to exploit?  Maybe we get sloppy on the road?

Oh no, wait, you're right.  In basketball, past performance completely predicts future results. There's no plausible way that we don't beat Harvard at their place by at least 25 based on this game.  Back up the money trucks to the casino, fellow Cornellians.  LOSING IS JUST NOT POSSIBLE.

Sarcasm meter.  Ur breakin' it.

Ya. That's what happens when I post post-bar.  I'm good now.