Any team looking to get an Ivy League Championship this year has to go through one major obstacle to get there - a Big Red obstacle.
After running the table in the Ivies last year, Cornell returns to defend its title with four starters and seven of its top eight scorers back. It is no surprise that the Big Red were unanimously picked to repeat.
The squad is so talented and deep that it has barely noticed the loss of one of those four starters - senior guard Adam Gore. The 2006 Ivy Rookie of the Year tore his left anterior crucial ligament in September and has yet to play this season. He remains out indefinitely, and it is possible he may not see time all year.
The high expectations are due in part to the return of Ivy League Player of the Year Louis Dale. The junior guard truly does it all, leading the League in assists last year and finishing fifth in points per game. He also finished in the top 10 in the conference for steals and in the top 10 nationally in free throw percentage.
His greatest competition for repeating as POY will likely wear the same jersey. Junior forward Ryan Wittman - the 2007 Ivy League Rookie of the Year - is again leading the conference in scoring, while senior center Jeff Foote tops the League in rebounding and blocks.
While experience is likely Cornell's greatest strength, it has enjoyed a shot of youthful vigor off the bench in the form of freshman guard Chris Wroblewski. The Highland Park, Ill., native has played in every game this season, even starting six games when Dale was out with a hamstring injury.
The non-conference slate was a loaded one, featuring Syracuse and Minnesota -- No. 15 and No. 24, respectively, in the most recent ESPN/USA Today poll - as well as Indiana. Though they lost all three games, the Big Red fared much better against Atlantic 10 opposition, falling to St. Joseph's at the Palestra by only 4 and beating La Salle in Ithaca, N.Y.
Thus, Cornell is the early favorite to top the Ancient Eight and has only cemented that reputation by beating Columbia by 12 and 11 in their two contests last week.
All that remains to be seen is whether the Big Red can fare as well with a giant target on their back as they did hunting the historic Ivy powerhouses last year.
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