On Saturday afternoon, men’s basketball was reeling after a heartbreaking 69-57 loss to Yale in the Ivy Madness semifinals. The team’s seven seniors walked off the court at Levien Gymnasium in New York City, thinking it would be the last time they’d don the Carnelian and White.
48 hours later, the team would be getting on a bus to Columbus, Ohio, in anticipation of the improbable extension of its season.
Though Cornell won’t make its first NCAA appearance since 2010, the Red’s 22-win season proved enough to receive an invitation to the National Invitation Tournament –– the 32-team postseason invitational that includes many of the top teams that were omitted from the March Madness field.
Cornell will join its fellow Ivy-foe, Princeton, as representatives of the Ivy League in the NIT.
Head coach Brian Earl has a pair of experiences in the NIT –– once as a player and once as a coach. In 1999, Earl played a role on the Princeton Tigers’ squad that advanced to the NIT quarterfinals. Earl made a second NIT appearance as a part of the Tigers’ coaching staff in 2016.
“I know for me [as a player], there was some disappointment the first time [in] not making the NCAA tournament,” Earl said. “But the seniors like to play –– that’s why they’re basketball players. So, I think they’ll be excited once they get out there and understand that even though it’s not the NCAA tournament, it’s a chance to fight with [the] guys you like being around.”
The Red is coming off an emotional game against Yale, where Cornell struggled to tap into its usual high-percentage field goal shooting. Cornell shot 33 percent from the field and 29 percent from three-point territory on Saturday, down from its season averages of 49 percent and 35 percent, respectively.
“Even though we couldn’t pull off the win, I’m thankful we had that opportunity, and I’m looking forward to next year where I think we can go back and win it,” said sophomore guard Cooper Noard.
Cornell (22-7, 11-3 Ivy) will be tasked with Ohio State (20-13, 9-11 Big 10), a powerhouse piece of the formidable Big 10 conference. The Buckeyes are coming off a tough regular-season schedule featuring multiple members of the AP Top 25 Poll, including then-No. 15 Texas A&M, then-No. 14 Illinois, then-No. 20 Wisconsin, then-No. 17 Alabama and then-No. 2 Purdue, the latter two which the Buckeyes defeated.
Cornell’s high-powered offense will face a tough task Tuesday night. Though Cornell averages over 80 points per game, the Buckeyes have limited its opponents to just 69.5 points per game on average this year.
Headlining the Ohio State roster is sophomore Bruce Thornton, who averages over 16 points per game. Cornell will look to slow the Buckeyes and force a counterattack led by Noard, senior guard Chris Manon and junior guard Nazir Williams, who have been mainstays of the Red’s starting five this season.
In order to surpass the Buckeyes, Cornell will have to lean on its depth, which was evident against Yale on Saturday with 25 points being scored off the bench.
“We were all excited about getting a bid. Obviously, our goal is to play in the NCAA tournament, but the more important thing is that we get to play basketball. That’s a blessing by itself,” Noard said.
The opportunity to extend its season does not come without its drawbacks –– with such a quick turnaround between Ivy Madness and the NIT’s tipoff, Cornell will only take the court for one brief session before clashing with the Buckeyes.
“To be honest, there’s not much preparation,” Noard said. “Most of our preparation involves watching as much film as possible, [and] then going out and playing as hard as we can.”
The external implications of the invite are not to be ignored. The upcoming tournament will mark the first time that two Ivy League teams will be featured in the NIT since the 2002 tournament.
“This is a huge opportunity for us and the Ivy League because I believe Ivy basketball is the most underrated conference in college basketball,” Noard said. “I feel like we’re going to prove that with our play in the NIT.”
Above all, the opponent doesn’t daunt Cornell. Persisting more than anything else is the opportunity for another basketball game.
“[Getting the invite] is special,” Earl said. “It let’s [us] know that we had a good season. Our guys fought through until the very end, and we’re excited. Whenever you can play in a postseason tournament –– even if it’s not the NCAA tournament –– it means you impressed some people.”
Noard added: “Our mentality is simple. We think we’re going to win and we’re confident in ourselves. We don’t really have anything to lose, so we’re gonna leave it all on the floor and hopefully get the win.”
The Red are set to take on No. 2-seeded Ohio State in the first round of the NIT at 7 p.m. on Tuesday at The Schottenstein Center.