Big-time basketball returned to Jadwin Gym Feb. 13, when 5,775 fans streamed into the stands to watch Princeton and Cornell, the Ivy League’s top two men’s teams, in a key mid-season matchup.
On the court, defense dominated the action, and Princeton trailed for most of the game — though never by much. The hundreds of undergraduates in the arena’s northwest corner erupted when the Tigers briefly grabbed the lead in the second half, but Cornell recovered, hanging on to a slim advantage in the closing minutes.
With eight seconds left, the Tigers trailed by three and had one last opportunity to tie the score. Princeton guard Douglas Davis ’12, who scored nine of his game-high 20 points in the final 3:20, shed defender Louis Dale near mid-court, but the window of opportunity closed when Jeff Foote, Cornell’s 7-foot center, stepped out to the 3-point line with his arms raised and ready.
Davis passed to Pawel Buczak ’10, who returned the ball almost immediately, giving Davis just enough time to launch a deep 3-pointer. The shot struck the back of the rim, and the Big Red survived with a 48-45 win.
Afterward, Davis was upset with the outcome, but he marveled at the near-sellout crowd, a sight he’d seen only in photos. Coach Sydney Johnson ’97 said his team ought to take pride in the 5–0 start in Ivy play that made Princeton-Cornell a big game. “The next step is to win a game like that,” Johnson said. “Terrific atmosphere; the wrong team won. That’s all it is.”
Princeton continued its impressive Ivy stretch three days later, beating Penn at the Palestra, 58–51. The Tigers also routed Yale by 24 points Feb. 19, draining 13 of 19 3-point attempts. But the team’s shooting cooled Feb. 20 against Brown, and the Bears took advantage, edging Princeton, 57–54.
The Tigers had a chance to rejuvenate their Ivy championship hopes at Cornell Feb. 26, but the Big Red won another close game, 50–47. Princeton beat Columbia Feb. 27, and Cornell locked up at least a share of the Ivy title when it topped Penn the same night.
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Adrian Woodhouse ’59
8 Years AgoAs I’m writing the morning after our second close loss in men’s basketball to the Big Red (Sports, March 17), this may sound like sour grapes. A classmate mentioned that Cornell has “transfers” on its teams, and he is right. Searching Cornell’s team roster, I was surprised to find that they have four transfers, one each from University of Kentucky (a big basketball school), St. Bonaventure, Centenary (La.), and the University of Massachusetts. A similar scan of the Princeton, Harvard, Yale, and Penn rosters found no such “transfers.”
As a longtime ASC volunteer, I found it hard to understand how Cornell could attract players from schools where athletic scholarships are allowed to an Ivy school. Even Bill Bradley ’65 had to pay full freight! Could it be that Cornell, while private in most regards, does have a land-grant agricultural section that offers financial assistance? Could agriculture be a way for the Big Red to grow Ivy championship teams?