Chris Wroblewski News

Jon Jacques scored 20 points to lead the Cornell Big Red to a 71-66 win over the St.

With the Pennsylvania high schools starting basketball last weekend play on the court has heated up, despite the fact that many local colleges will take a short break for Christmas vacation.

Ryan Wittman scored 17 points to lead four players in double figures as Cornell defeated Saint Joseph's 78-66 on Sunday.

Last week, Cornell's basketball team built a 15-point second-half lead over Alabama, withstood a couple Crimson Tide scoring flourishes and left Tuscaloosa with its first win of the season.

Coming off the 2K Sports Classic title, the undefeated Syracuse Orange find themselves in the top-10 this week and will put their lofty ranking on the line, as they welcome the Cornell Big Red to the Carrier Dome for a non-conference showdown this evening.

University of Massachusetts senior guard Ricky Harris, right, drives past Chris Wroblewski of Cornell during the Minutemen's home opener at the Mullins Center Wednesday.

It's got to take a masochist for a mid-major basketball program to line up a non-conference schedule that starts with games against Alabama, Massachusetts, Seton Hall and Syracuse.

Senior point guard Louis Dale had a big second half, and Cornell won its Legends Classic opener Wednesday night by beating host Massachusetts, 74-61, at the Mullins Center.

Five Stats, Facts, or People you need to know heading into the game against the Big Red.

Ryan Wittman scored 23 points and made 5-of-8 3-pointers to help Cornell beat Alabama 71-67 on Saturday, spoiling Anthony Grant's Crimson Tide coaching debut.

ITHACA -- Mark Coury finds it fitting his first game in a Cornell uniform will be played on an Southeastern Conference court.

OUTLOOK: Cornell repeated as champions of the Ivy League last season and with every starter and several key reserves back in the fold, the Big Red are clearly the favorites to win the title once again in 2009-10. Princeton made a big move up the standings last season and returns all five starters, making the Tigers the biggest threat to Cornell.

Cornell is again picked to take the Ivy League crown. Two teams that had so much in common barely seven months ago, now find themselves at complete opposite ends of the spectrum.

SCOUTING THE NEWCOMERS: Despite the fact that the veteran core of the team makes early playing time hard to imagine, Steve Donohue brought in a strong group of freshmen.

Zach Spiker, a fast-rising star in the college coaching profession, has been named new men's basketball head coach at Army it was announced Saturday by Director of Athletics Kevin Anderson.

Cornell University men's basketball games will be broadcast live on 93.5 WVBR-FM this season, the athletic department announced Friday.

At summer camps and tournaments, there often is a lot of fancy dribbling and quick shots.