The Red, along with the rest of the Ivy Madness attendees, Yale, Harvard and Penn held press conferences and shootarounds on Friday morning.
The Red, as hosts, were the first team to enter.
Cornell
Throughout their portion of the conference, Head Coach Jon Jaques ’10, alongside senior guards Jake Feigen and Cooper Noard, emphasized staying true to the team's identity and understanding the team's growth throughout the season.
“Something we have been leaning on all season is kind of just being tough enough to do what we do, even though the other team knows we're going to do it,” Jaques said. “Being confident, we are one of the best offensive teams in the country, and understanding teams are going to game plan for us. If we can stay true to our identity offensively, we are pretty hard to guard.”
The Red, being the hosts of Ivy Madness, have home court advantage. Newman Arena has seen some of the Red’s best performances this season, such as its 68-point beatdown of Alfred State early in the season, an efficient win over Princeton around the midpoint of the season and the Red’s recent clutch win over Yale.
Feigen was recently named to the All-Ivy League First Team, averaging 16.8 points per game, the fifth highest in the Ivy League. His play down the stretch was crucial to the Red’s qualification into Ivy Madness, hitting the game-winning shot against Yale.
Noard also received a nod, being named to the All-Ivy League Second Team, averaging 18.5 points per game, the highest among any player in the Ivy League.
Senior guard Corbin Zentner was also named to the Academic All-Ivy League Team.
Feigen and Noard shared their excitement for representing Cornell at Ivy Madness in front of their home fans.
“It means everything to us and to the community,” Feigen said. “We see everything, all the work that goes in from the main staff to athletic administration to set this up. Media, set up the court, everything. So a lot of thought goes into it. So we are excited.”
After the press conference, Jaques and his team entered Newman for an open shootaround.
Throughout the Red’s shootaround, the team demonstrated a visible sense of composure. Noard was noticeably vocal, leading the Red through its various warmups and drills.
The shootaround demonstrated the Red’s biggest advantage, playing on the same court on which many members of the Red have years of experience.
The Red will enter Ivy Madness hoping to punch its ticket to the tournament that has eluded the program for the last sixteen years — March Madness.
Yale
Following the Red’s shootaround, Yale entered Newman. Yale head coach James Jones, along with senior guards Casey Simmons and Nick Townsend, represented the Bulldogs during the team's press conference.
The impact of Simmons and Townsend on the Bulldogs this year cannot be overstated. Simmons was recently named Ivy League Defensive Player of the Year, whereas Townsend was named the outright Ivy League Player of the Year.
Yale will be hoping to strike back against a Red team that recently handed them a devastating 72-69 loss. This constituted one of three conference losses for the Bulldogs, who consistently demonstrated they were the best team in the Ivy League.
Jones noted the importance of coming prepared for a tough battle against the Red.
“You can't sleep on Cornell, because if you do, they're going to put you in a bind,” Jones said. “They're going to get you in trouble, they're going to knock down shots and get confidence. So for us, we need to make sure that we are on our P's and Q's and we're ready to play every second that we're on the court.”
Yale relaxing before taking the court.
Yale enters the tournament as the team to beat. They are the top-seeded team and secured the Ivy League regular-season championship. While it is clear they will be a formidable opponent, the Red will enter its matchup with them hoping to replicate the magic of its last performance against the Bulldogs.
Yale’s shootaround was intense, with many drills consisting of full-court sprints. Jones, the most experienced Ivy League coach in the tournament, did not shy away from putting his team to work, even if it was only a media shootaround.
Harvard
On the other side of the bracket sits the Crimson, led by former college basketball star Head Coach Tommy Amaker.
Harvard enters the tournament as the No. 2 seed and is the only school to be represented on the men’s and women’s brackets.
Amaker’s Crimson team is much better than its overall record reflects. The Crimson had tough non-conference opponents such as St. John’s and multiple close losses that could have been potential Ivy League victories, such as a one-point loss to Yale and a three-point loss to Penn.
Harvard preparing for its Ivy Madness clash against Penn.
The Crimson split their two matchups with the Red, in a home loss and a road victory. Sophomore guard Robert Hinton, brother of Red senior guard Adam Hinton, will likely be at the front of the Crimson charge, having led the team in scoring with 17.1 points per game.
Amaker emphasized how important it will be for his team to stay level-headed and not allow the intensity of Ivy Madness to sway his players from their usual game.
“I've tried to share this with our guys, there's a lot of things around us that are different,” Amaker said. “We can't be different, and that's incredibly important for us to understand.”
Throughout the course of Harvard’s shootaround, Amaker analyzed his team closely.
Penn
The last team of the day to enter Newman were the Quakers, led by first-year Ivy League coach Fran McCaffery. While it is McCaffery’s first year at Penn, he brings years of experience, having coached an Iowa program that consistently qualified for March Madness during his time at the helm.
Senior forward Ethan Roberts, alongside University of Virginia transfer and junior forward TJ Power, have led the charge for the Quakers throughout the season. Roberts led the team in scoring at 16.9 points per game, while Roberts was close behind, averaging 15.8 points per game while simultaneously securing 7.5 rebounds per game.
Penn enters Ivy Madness having just beaten out the Red for the No. 3 seed. The Quakers were dominant on their home turf, finishing the season with a 12-2 record. However, on the road, the story is much different.
On the road, the Quakers were indifferent, finishing with a 4-9 record on enemy turf. This could raise concern if Penn will be able to come away with a victory in an unfamiliar and intense postseason environment.
When speaking about the Quakers’ matchup against Harvard, McCaffery explained his team will play with the same intensity and speed that Harvard has exemplified throughout the course of the season.
“We are always going to push the tempo as much as we can,” McCaffery said. “I think that we have to make sure that we defensively understand the strengths and weaknesses of a team that has multiple weapons, different guys with different skill sets.”
Ivy Madness
The Red will face off against Yale on Saturday at 11 a.m. in Newman Arena. If the Red wins, it will face the winner of the Harvard and Penn matchup, who will face off immediately after the final whistle of the Red’s game at 2 p.m. in Newman Arena.
The Ivy Madness championship game will occur at 2 p.m. on Sunday, where the winner will punch its ticket to March Madness.
Coverage for the Red’s matchup against Yale will be available on ESPNU.
Matthew Leonard is a member of the Class of 2028 in the School of Industrial and Labor Relations. He is the sports editor of the 144th Editorial Board and was previously the assistant sports editor of the 143rd Editorial Board. He can be reached at mleonard@cornellsun.com.
