That collective groan heard last Saturday might have come from the six Ivy League men's basketball coaches who weren't present for Cornell's 11-point win over Columbia.
The Lions picked their poison defensively, saw some success ? and still lost handily.
Despite limiting Big Red leading scorer Ryan Wittman to season lows in field goals (2), field goal attempts (8) against opponents not named Ursinus and points (10), Cornell had little trouble wrapping up the league-opening sweep of its travel partner in an 83-72 victory.
Now, the task falls to Brown (6-10, 0-2 Ivy) to figure out a way to slow the Big Red, winners of seven straight overall, 17 in the league and 15 at Newman Arena.
Taking away Wittman's scoring is simply not enough.
"If people are going to key on me like that, it is only going to give (Jeff) Foote and (Louis) Dale all the more room," said Wittman, who enters tonight tops in the league at 19.6 points per game. "If you give them too much room and let them go one-on-one, they're pretty tough to stop. We still scored quite a bit offensively last week and got the win, so I'm not complaining."
Since returning from a hamstring injury last month, Dale's game has raised the Big Red up a level or three. In the team's current seven-game streak, the 5-foot-11 junior point guard is averaging 16 points, 4.1 assists and 3.7 rebounds while shooting 59 percent from the floor and 52 percent from beyond the arc.
But even when Cornell (12-6, 2-0) played the bulk of Saturday's first half without Dale, who picked up two early fouls, Columbia lost ground on the scoreboard.
Foote and junior power forward Alex Tyler worked a neat two-man game on several possessions, leading in part to Tyler's 15 first-half points and team-high 19. Junior Geoff Reeves, who's hitting at a remarkable 62 percent clip from deep during this seven-game stretch, chipped in 14 to match Dale's eventual output.
That's not to say Cornell's satisfied with allowing opponents to take Wittman away. But if forced to go elsewhere, it will.
"It's hard to worry about your scoring when you score 83, and I think Ryan had open looks that usually fall for him," Cornell coach Steve Donahue said. "That being said, I feel we're always a better team when we're going through him a little more, give him a chance to get touches in different spots."
Two and a half weeks ago, Brown coach Jesse Agel spoke of the need to enter tonight's game with some momentum.
"You don't want to go to Cornell down 0-2," he said.
But that's what has transpired, as Yale swept the Bears by wins of 70-62 and 57-55, the latter coming last Friday in New Haven, Conn.
Agel relies heavily upon his starting lineup for production, which includes a new-look backcourt after the graduation of all-Ivy guards Mark McAndrew and Damon Huffman. Sophomores Adrian Williams and Peter Sullivan are rising stars, and 6-8 junior center Matt Mullery is one of the league's most improved players.
"It all starts and begins with Matt Mullery in the post," Agel said. "His improvement has been tremendous. When he gets it going, our team seems to get it going."
Donahue said defending Williams will be a priority. Earlier this season, Williams scored 29 points on 7-of-8 shooting from beyond the arc in a blowout of Quinnipiac. On the year, he's shooting 45 percent from 3.
"Williams has done a terrific job, expanding his role," Donahue said. "He was a terrific shooter last year and he's doing it again. Terrific catch and shooter, great range, great confidence, quick release. You've got to know where he's at."
Agel could very well say that about Cornell's starting five. The Bears will have to do more than take away one player.
"We have to play really fast with quick decisions, making the ball move because when we do that we're hard to guard," Donahue said. "All five guys can pass, dribble and shoot."
The Lions picked their poison defensively, saw some success ? and still lost handily.
Despite limiting Big Red leading scorer Ryan Wittman to season lows in field goals (2), field goal attempts (8) against opponents not named Ursinus and points (10), Cornell had little trouble wrapping up the league-opening sweep of its travel partner in an 83-72 victory.
Now, the task falls to Brown (6-10, 0-2 Ivy) to figure out a way to slow the Big Red, winners of seven straight overall, 17 in the league and 15 at Newman Arena.
Taking away Wittman's scoring is simply not enough.
"If people are going to key on me like that, it is only going to give (Jeff) Foote and (Louis) Dale all the more room," said Wittman, who enters tonight tops in the league at 19.6 points per game. "If you give them too much room and let them go one-on-one, they're pretty tough to stop. We still scored quite a bit offensively last week and got the win, so I'm not complaining."
Since returning from a hamstring injury last month, Dale's game has raised the Big Red up a level or three. In the team's current seven-game streak, the 5-foot-11 junior point guard is averaging 16 points, 4.1 assists and 3.7 rebounds while shooting 59 percent from the floor and 52 percent from beyond the arc.
But even when Cornell (12-6, 2-0) played the bulk of Saturday's first half without Dale, who picked up two early fouls, Columbia lost ground on the scoreboard.
Foote and junior power forward Alex Tyler worked a neat two-man game on several possessions, leading in part to Tyler's 15 first-half points and team-high 19. Junior Geoff Reeves, who's hitting at a remarkable 62 percent clip from deep during this seven-game stretch, chipped in 14 to match Dale's eventual output.
That's not to say Cornell's satisfied with allowing opponents to take Wittman away. But if forced to go elsewhere, it will.
"It's hard to worry about your scoring when you score 83, and I think Ryan had open looks that usually fall for him," Cornell coach Steve Donahue said. "That being said, I feel we're always a better team when we're going through him a little more, give him a chance to get touches in different spots."
Two and a half weeks ago, Brown coach Jesse Agel spoke of the need to enter tonight's game with some momentum.
"You don't want to go to Cornell down 0-2," he said.
But that's what has transpired, as Yale swept the Bears by wins of 70-62 and 57-55, the latter coming last Friday in New Haven, Conn.
Agel relies heavily upon his starting lineup for production, which includes a new-look backcourt after the graduation of all-Ivy guards Mark McAndrew and Damon Huffman. Sophomores Adrian Williams and Peter Sullivan are rising stars, and 6-8 junior center Matt Mullery is one of the league's most improved players.
"It all starts and begins with Matt Mullery in the post," Agel said. "His improvement has been tremendous. When he gets it going, our team seems to get it going."
Donahue said defending Williams will be a priority. Earlier this season, Williams scored 29 points on 7-of-8 shooting from beyond the arc in a blowout of Quinnipiac. On the year, he's shooting 45 percent from 3.
"Williams has done a terrific job, expanding his role," Donahue said. "He was a terrific shooter last year and he's doing it again. Terrific catch and shooter, great range, great confidence, quick release. You've got to know where he's at."
Agel could very well say that about Cornell's starting five. The Bears will have to do more than take away one player.
"We have to play really fast with quick decisions, making the ball move because when we do that we're hard to guard," Donahue said. "All five guys can pass, dribble and shoot."
