Jeff Foote

Temple's big men began studying film of Cornell center Jeff Foote on Monday. It was the day after the Owls found out they would have to contend with the 7-footer and his teammates in Jacksonville, Fla., where the teams will square off in a first-round NCAA East Regional contest Friday. Lavoy Allen, Temple's 6-9 all-Atlantic Ten forward, and 6-11 center Micheal Eric watched Foote go against Kansas center Cole Aldrich on Jan. 6. The 6-11 Aldrich, selected for the all-Big Twelve first team, was also the conference's defensive player of the year.

Ryan Wittman scored 18 points and Jeff Foote added 15 yesterday as Cornell registered a 61-54 victory over Drexel at the Daskalakis Athletic Center. Wittman, the son of former NBA player Randy Wittman, went 2 for 4 from three-point range for the Big Red (5-2), who finished 6 for 14 from beyond the arc in the Legends Classic. Cornell, which won its third straight game, also hit 9 of 11 free throws, which helped overcome 40.4 percent shooting from the field (23 for 57). Drexel (3-4)

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - On several occasions throughout his postgame news conference, coach Fran Dunphy kept intimating there were minimal issues he'd had with his team's defensive performance. They had played tough. They guarded. They competed. They executed. If Cornell hadn't done the same thing, perhaps he'd have a reason to be satisfied. Except Dunphy's disappointed, instead. No doubt the Temple contingent, truckloads of supporters who showed up to cheer, departed bemoaning the 78-65 beat-down their Owls absorbed at the hands of Cornell, as well.

Jeff Foote scored 19 points last night, and Cornell held off Princeton, 50-47, in an Ivy League game in Ithaca, N.Y. Ryan Wittman hit two free throws with two seconds left to clinch the win for the Big Red (24-4 overall, 10-1 league). Princeton fell to 16-8 and 7-3. Elsewhere: Willie Veasley scored 20 points to propel 15th-ranked Butler to a 74-69 victory over Valparaiso in Valparaiso, Ind., and stretch its nation-leading winning streak to 18 games. . . . Brandyn Curry scored 21 points, helping Harvard cruise to a 91-71 victory over Brown in Boston.

As usually happens since it has no postseason tournament, the Ivy League champion has locked up the first of the 65 NCAA Tournament berths. And for the second year in a row, it won't be Penn. Ryan Wittman had 25 points, freshman guard Chris Wroblewski added 14, and host Cornell beat the Quakers last night, 83-58, clinching the Ivy League title and a berth in the tournament for the second straight year. The win for Cornell (20-9, 10-3) was its 20th straight at Newman Arena, the nation's fourth-longest home streak, and sent the Big Red crowd streaming onto the court.

ITHACA - Cornell coach Steve Donahue spent 10 years as an assistant at Penn under Fran Dunphy, who took over Temple's program in 2006. The two are close friends, so it was no surprise that when the 1,500 players, families and fans at Newman Arena erupted when CBS flashed their matchup, Donahue reeled. Cornell (27-4), winners of three straight Ivy League championships, received the No. 12 seed. Temple (29-5), winners of three straight Atlantic Ten titles, received the No. 5. "That was a hard one to stomach," he said.

After a rocky regular season, Quincy Pondexter and his Washington Huskies are rolling at the right time. Pondexter scored 18 points, Isaiah Thomas added 15, and 11th-seeded Washington extended its incredible surge all the way to the NCAA tournament's regional semifinals with an 82-64 second-round East Regional victory over New Mexico yesterday in San Jose, Calif. Matthew Bryan-Amaning had 15 points and nine rebounds for the Huskies (26-9), who have won nine straight, including wins over two higher-seeded opponents in the regional.

It came as no surprise yesterday that two-time defending champ Cornell, with all five of its starters back, was picked to take the Ivy League men's basketball crown again. In the media poll, the Big Red were the unanimous choice after going 21-10 overall and 11-3 in the conference. The team returns three all-league players in forward Ryan Wittman, guard Louis Dale, and center Jeff Foote, who was the Ivy League's defensive player of the year. Chris Wroblewski, a guard, was the '09 rookie of the year.

At halftime of yesterday's first-round NCAA East Regional game between Temple and Cornell, it was apparent that the 12th-seeded Big Red couldn't play much better, and that the Owls could. By game's end, the Ivy League champions had simply shown they were the better team. Behind stellar performances from guard Louis Dale and forward Ryan Wittman, Cornell got in front early and never had much reason to feel uncomfortable on its way to a 78-65 victory at Veterans Memorial Arena that ended the season of the Atlantic Ten champion Owls.

Cornell's annual visit to the Palestra figured to be a game in name only. The Big Red are expected to win a third consecutive Ivy League title this season. Cornell is ranked 22d in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll, so it was expected to thump Penn last night. But the Quakers didn't get the memo, toppling the Big Red, 79-64, for their first home win since Feb. 28, 2009. Elated, Penn's students stormed the court. So, how did the Penn players feel about the upset? "You know, I don't think it's that big of a deal," forward Jack Eggleston said, then added, "I don't mean to say that.

After a rocky regular season, Quincy Pondexter and his Washington Huskies are rolling at the right time. Pondexter scored 18 points, Isaiah Thomas added 15, and 11th-seeded Washington extended its incredible surge all the way to the NCAA tournament's regional semifinals with an 82-64 second-round East Regional victory over New Mexico yesterday in San Jose, Calif. Matthew Bryan-Amaning had 15 points and nine rebounds for the Huskies (26-9), who have won nine straight, including wins over two higher-seeded opponents in the regional.

At halftime of yesterday's first-round NCAA East Regional game between Temple and Cornell, it was apparent that the 12th-seeded Big Red couldn't play much better, and that the Owls could. By game's end, the Ivy League champions had simply shown they were the better team. Behind stellar performances from guard Louis Dale and forward Ryan Wittman, Cornell got in front early and never had much reason to feel uncomfortable on its way to a 78-65 victory at Veterans Memorial Arena that ended the season of the Atlantic Ten champion Owls.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - On several occasions throughout his postgame news conference, coach Fran Dunphy kept intimating there were minimal issues he'd had with his team's defensive performance. They had played tough. They guarded. They competed. They executed. If Cornell hadn't done the same thing, perhaps he'd have a reason to be satisfied. Except Dunphy's disappointed, instead. No doubt the Temple contingent, truckloads of supporters who showed up to cheer, departed bemoaning the 78-65 beat-down their Owls absorbed at the hands of Cornell, as well.

Temple guard Ryan Brooks was asked yesterday whether his team had faced an opponent this season that compared with Ivy League champion Cornell, the nation's top three-point-shooting team. "They're in a class of their own shooting the three," said Brooks, whose Owls will face the Big Red today in a first-round NCAA East Regional contest at Veterans Memorial Arena. "I think the thing that separates them from so many teams is that they have possibly four guys [who can shoot] out there at the same time, and I don't know if we've faced another team like that.

Temple's big men began studying film of Cornell center Jeff Foote on Monday. It was the day after the Owls found out they would have to contend with the 7-footer and his teammates in Jacksonville, Fla., where the teams will square off in a first-round NCAA East Regional contest Friday. Lavoy Allen, Temple's 6-9 all-Atlantic Ten forward, and 6-11 center Micheal Eric watched Foote go against Kansas center Cole Aldrich on Jan. 6. The 6-11 Aldrich, selected for the all-Big Twelve first team, was also the conference's defensive player of the year.

Fran Dunphy's peers in the Big Five would certainly understand if the Temple coach is having headaches trying to prepare his Owls to play Cornell in Friday's first-round East Regional game in Jacksonville, Fla. They know from experience that Cornell is more than a team that has dominated the Ivy League the last three seasons. The Big Red can beat any team anywhere, and have the experience and wherewithal to be extremely difficult to play against. "First of all, they are grossly under-seeded," said La Salle coach John Giannini, whose Explorers lost to Cornell, 78-75, on Dec. 29 at Tom Gola Arena.

ITHACA - Cornell coach Steve Donahue spent 10 years as an assistant at Penn under Fran Dunphy, who took over Temple's program in 2006. The two are close friends, so it was no surprise that when the 1,500 players, families and fans at Newman Arena erupted when CBS flashed their matchup, Donahue reeled. Cornell (27-4), winners of three straight Ivy League championships, received the No. 12 seed. Temple (29-5), winners of three straight Atlantic Ten titles, received the No. 5. "That was a hard one to stomach," he said.

Jeff Foote scored 19 points and Cornell held off visiting Princeton, 50-47, last night. Ryan Wittman hit two free throws with 2 seconds left to clinch the win for the Big Red after the Tigers pulled within 48-47 on a Dan Mavraides layup with 4 seconds to go. Cornell (24-4, 10-1 Ivy League), which had its lowest-scoring output of the season, has the most wins by a team other than Princeton or Penn since the Ivy League formed in 1955-56. Cornell led 26-24 at halftime and built a 38-30 lead with 10:49 left.

Jeff Foote scored 19 points last night, and Cornell held off Princeton, 50-47, in an Ivy League game in Ithaca, N.Y. Ryan Wittman hit two free throws with two seconds left to clinch the win for the Big Red (24-4 overall, 10-1 league). Princeton fell to 16-8 and 7-3. Elsewhere: Willie Veasley scored 20 points to propel 15th-ranked Butler to a 74-69 victory over Valparaiso in Valparaiso, Ind., and stretch its nation-leading winning streak to 18 games. . . . Brandyn Curry scored 21 points, helping Harvard cruise to a 91-71 victory over Brown in Boston.

Cornell's annual visit to the Palestra figured to be a game in name only. The Big Red are expected to win a third consecutive Ivy League title this season. Cornell is ranked 22d in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll, so it was expected to thump Penn last night. But the Quakers didn't get the memo, toppling the Big Red, 79-64, for their first home win since Feb. 28, 2009. Elated, Penn's students stormed the court. So, how did the Penn players feel about the upset? "You know, I don't think it's that big of a deal," forward Jack Eggleston said, then added, "I don't mean to say that.