GoBigGreenBasketball
Masters Student
Posts: 805
Age: 51
Reg: 05-19-16
|
12-30-16 11:56 AM - Post#216996
It's been a long time since the preseason for the Big Green, but things turned for the better in the last two games before the holiday. There have been glimmers of hope that the Big Green can outperform their rankings.
The latest indication that Green won't necessarily end up at the bottom of the league is Cornell's recent OT loss to UMass-Lowell. The Green played UMass-Lowell in the preseason and seemingly handled them. Although the details were sketchy on the "secret scrimmage", it's not to crazy a stretch to suggest the Green have a better than estimated chance to best Cornell once or twice during league. Also, Umass-Lowell lost to LIU-Brooklyn a team the Green beat solidly.
Everything in the Ivy preseason was not what it seemed so keep hope alive because anything can happen.
Go Big Green!
"...no excuses - only results!†|
Edited by GoBigGreenBasketball on 12-30-16 12:23 PM. Reason for edit: No reason given.
|
rbg
Postdoc
Posts: 3044
Reg: 10-20-14
|
12-30-16 02:52 PM - Post#217006
In response to GoBigGreenBasketball
With a 3-10 record and a home loss to UMass-Lowell, it is certainly understandable to think that Cornell may lose to Dartmouth. If Morgan has a serious knee injury after last night's game, then the Big Green's chances would be even higher.
With that stated, Cornell is still the more highly rated team. Offensively, they can score points while playing at a moderate or high tempo. They hit a high number of threes and have an improving 3 PT FG%. Compared to last year's team, they are much more disciplined and have a more balanced attack. While they are not great with offensive rebounds, they are pretty good with defensive boards.
The Red's problems are more with their defense. They don't put much pressure on teams, forcing low amounts of turnovers and few steals. Their three point FG defense is also a weak point with their opponent hitting a league worst 38.6%.
They also are allowing their opponents a league high of 38.4 boards a game. With their recent move to a 4 guard team, there does not seem to be much hope in that number being reduced significantly.
Cornell's front court depth is lacking, so they may have a tough time on the Saturday night conference game. With regards to Dartmouth, the teams play a Saturday night game in Ithaca, so they may not be as tired as if it was a road Saturday game. The game in Hanover is a Friday night, so that could also be more advantageous to the Red.
If Morgan remains healthy, I would think that each team would be favored on its home court. The same will probably hold true when each team has to play Brown.
|
|