The Secret To Why Cornell Can Beat Kentucky
“We’ve played teams like Kentucky before,” Jeff Foote said after beating Wisconsin yesterday. “We’re very experienced and very confident in ourselves.” The teams he’s referring to? Syracuse and Kansas, two No. 1 seeds heading into the tournament. In only their fourth game of the season, Cornell trailed then ninth-ranked Syracuse 42-36 at the half before losing by 15. Still, it gave Foote, Ryan Wittman and Louis Dale valuable experience for taking on more “real” teams than their Ivy League counterparts.
Wittman shot a respectable 6-for-13, making only 3-of-10 threes, while Foote shot 6-of-7 from the field. Also, don’t forget that in a game against then top-ranked Kansas, Cornell was leading with a minute and a half left before losing 71-66. And while Cornell will be playing Kentucky for the opportunity to advance to the Elite 8, Kansas will be watching from home.
Wittman, the son of former Minnesota Timberwolves coach, Randy Wittman, is the standout player on the Big Red. And besides his NBA potential, his 3-for-10 shooting from three that night was disappointing because of the way he’s been shooting all season. For a Cornell team that was ranked No. 3 in Three-Point Field Goals Per Game, shooting 9.3 per, the most telling statistic is that they were ranked first in the nation in Three-Point Percentage with 43.4 percent. Individually, Wittman was ranked 11th shooting 42.2 percent each game.
But as we have seen with this upset-filled tournament, regular season numbers don’t mean that much. Still, Cornell’s offensive numbers haven’t dipped at all in their games against Temple and Wisconsin, and more surprising than the upsets themselves, is how drastically Cornell’s defense has improved.
So how far can this Cornell team really go? If they beat Kentucky, there is no reason Cornell can’t compete for the national title. I’m going to take heat for this in the comments section, but the road after Kentucky is infinitely easier. Of course, beating Kentucky has become the biggest if of the tournament, as Kentucky has been crushing opponents by 30 and playing with the same swagger as John Calipari’s Memphis team two years ago.
But if you need one reason why this is going to happen, the secret lies in their styles of play. Cornell depends on an in-out game, with Foote forcing double teams in the post and kicking it out to perimeter players for threes. Kentucky uses an up-tempo pace as much as possible, usually with great success, as John Wall pushes the ball in the open court with DeMarcus Cousins and Patrick Patterson wreaking havoc against smaller defenders in the post.
It is the difference in styles, and not the similarity, that gives Cornell the shot at one of the biggest upsets in tournament history. Using an NBA comparison, think No. 1 Mavs vs. No. 8 Warriors in the first round of the 2007 NBA Playoffs. The teams had completely different styles of play, and the Warriors forced Avery Johnson to change his gameplan and start Dirk at center in Game 1 to keep up with the Warriors’ small ball. The series was never the same after the Warriors won the first game. This is not to say that either Kentucky or Cornell will drastically change their gameplans, but a mismatch does not always work in favor for the better team.
Cornell beating Kentucky depends on an unlikely player, and that will be Cornell’s Louis Dale. Dale has been consistent throughout his four-year career at Cornell, putting up nearly the same numbers each season, but he has really turned it up against Temple with 21 points on 6-for-13 shooting, and Wisconsin with 26 points on 10-for-17 shooting. Wittman and Foote will put up their usually numbers, but if Dale can both defend Wall and fill in gaps for the Big Red, Cornell will win the game.
In my own bracket, I have Cornell going to the Elite 8 and losing to West Virginia. I’ll either look like an idiot or a genius, but from the way Cornell has been playing, I think they will beat Kentucky 70-67. Okay, maybe they won’t win, but whatever spread your bookie gives you, take it. In the end, though, I just might look like an idiot for not having Cornell going further. And with the game in Syracuse, just an hour outside of Ithaca, N.Y. where Cornell is located, there should be more than enough fans from Big Red to back me up.
What do you think? Can Cornell beat Kentucky?
Other Must-Read Articles From March Madness:
- Purdue’s Game-Winner Makes Big Ten The Tournament Top Dogs
- Michigan State’s Buzzer-Beater
- None Shining Moment
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March 22nd, 2010 at 3:05 pm
KWAME says:
wow…it would suck if cornell won…uk is so fun to watch
March 22nd, 2010 at 3:11 pm
sh!tfaced says:
“babies and memories…” you can do it…
March 22nd, 2010 at 3:41 pm
Jeff says:
good piece Adam. I think Cornell will be in the game until about the 8minute mark in the second half where UK will turn it up another notch and Cornell won’t be able to hang. UK has too much talent, athleticism, and depth to lose this game but then again so did the other UK and they ended up losing. It’ll be a good game either way though…
March 22nd, 2010 at 3:42 pm
Colton says:
why do you always have words overlapping your picture. i keep having to highlight to read the end of the first paragraph.
March 22nd, 2010 at 3:56 pm
Adam Flomenbaum says:
@ Jeff – if Cornell goes down, and they most likely will, I agree that that’s how it will happen – it definitely won’t be a blowout, though. Also, I didn’t mention in the post but probably should have that the game is being played in ‘Cuse, an hour away from Cornell, so they will definitely have some home court advantage even if minimal. I can see ‘Cuse fans coming out to root for Cornell to avoid a potential Kentucky matchup
March 22nd, 2010 at 4:01 pm
Gunner J. Matthews says:
I wanna see the upset. Im calling it on here IF it happens
March 22nd, 2010 at 4:05 pm
jm says:
As fun as Kentucky is to watch I think Cornell is fun to watch as well. They just play without a fear of consequences. They all pass and move without the ball very well. They also don’t pass up the first available good shot. They play with confidence and purpose.
I think they can slow KY down considerably, but would be pretty surprised if they were able to win. Only reason why I think it can possibly happen is because KY is so young and Cornell has 8 seniors. All the pressure is really on Ky and that could tighten them up a bit if Cornell can keep it close late. But, realistically Wall and co. won’t let that happen.
March 22nd, 2010 at 4:18 pm
IG says:
Did you all copy Bilas’ pick of Cornell? I think he picked them to win a couple. Now, they are in trouble. Temple and Wisconsin stubbornly stuck to their man-to-man principles. UPenn beat Cornell by mixing in a 1-3-1. Calipari will mix in defenses (fc trap, hc trap, 3-2, 1-3-1 zones), and the run will end. If Calipari goes with half-court tight man-to-man, Cornell will pick them apart though.
March 22nd, 2010 at 4:45 pm
Cat Man Do says:
Kentucky and Calipari will not Play a Zone, Forget That, They Will Play Tight Man to Man. Go Big Blue !
March 22nd, 2010 at 5:11 pm
SJ says:
Why do half the people in that awkward pic look photoshopped in???
March 22nd, 2010 at 5:25 pm
ShowKase says:
Yall do know that Kansas just lost to a team that they were more “talented” than and were supposed to beat. I’m just sayin, anything is possible…Plus if it comes down to free throws, Kentucky’s done, because we all know Coach Cal’s teams cant make free throws. Smh.
March 22nd, 2010 at 5:41 pm
Austin Burton says:
@SJ — I think if it were Photoshopped, there’d be more than just two partially-blocked Black people who I had to go “Where’s Waldo?” to find. Schools have done that before to give off the appearance of diversity.
March 22nd, 2010 at 8:47 pm
mike mason says:
ky has to much speed and they are tall, speed kills cats by 15
March 22nd, 2010 at 11:06 pm
chris mitchell says:
the cats dont have to double down on wittmann, our big men are faster, and we have more of them. kentucky will have another banner day of blocked shots. if cornell hits their outside shots they can stay in the game, but they will not be successful in the post, kentucky is peaking when they come into the cuse. these kids have been waiting all year for this, and it shows, cats by 20. i hate to root against cornell, they are awesome to watch and look like a great group of guys, just wish they werent playing the cats!
March 22nd, 2010 at 11:41 pm
travisbickle says:
Unfortunately for Wittmann, UK will not have to double him in the post on every possession. UK has length, height, and quickness that Cornell has not seen this year, and that includes KU and Cuse.
The closest of those two to UK in terms of size and athleticism is Syracuse, and they beat Cornell by 15. The only chance Cornell has is to hit 12 or more threes.
I love a good Cinderella story, but if you have seen UK play so far in the tourney you have seen they are peaking at the right time. Bledsoe and Orton are playing themselves into the 1st round (late lottery maybe for Bledsoe). There are potentially 5 lottery picks on this team; 3 this year and 2 next.
Cats by 15+, and I don’t think it will even be as close as the final score indicates. Either way, it will be an incredible atmosphere as the Cornell and Syracuse fans fill up half of the Carrier Dome. But know that the other half will be filled with UK fans. At least half.
March 23rd, 2010 at 9:07 am
Eddie says:
thats funny you think UK will have to double your center. Have you not seen Demarcus Cousins? Joe B Hall the ex UK coach and Denny Crum the ex U of L coach say he is the best big name they have ever seen! Bruce Pearl said better than Shaq! and yes Shaq was in the SEC I think hes better than Shaq.. then the sub Orton a 5 Star freshman isnt much less than Cousins!
March 23rd, 2010 at 8:10 pm
Mike Martin says:
I have to hand it to Cornell, they have had the best season in their history, but their season is over Thrusday night. I don’t know why, or how, but UK is finally putting it all together at the correct time, and their play is a thing of beauty. Cat fans saw this early in the season when they had North Carloina down by 20 in the first 18 minutes. They let them back in the game after cramps slowed Wall, but we saw the writing on the “Wall”, so to say. The 30 point thumping of Tenn in the SEC tournment was a sign of things to come, and the Cats have come through in the big dance. I like Cornell but I don’t see anything close to a tight game here folks. If UK wins by less than 30 it’s because Cal called of the Cats early.
March 24th, 2010 at 10:45 pm
forpointplay says:
Lots of money on this game, Cornell is going to pull of the upset. If, they don’t I still believe Kentucky is the next first seed out of the tournament.
March 27th, 2010 at 3:41 pm
Wayne says:
Please tell us some more of your picks so we can bet the fade..!!!
GO CATS..!!!