Big Red into Big Dance for first time in 20 years

[Qbins Missile Crisis]

Cornell punched the first ticket to the NCAA Tournament, as an 86-53 victory over the Harvard Crimson gave the Big Red its first outright Ivy League title since the 1987-88 season.

Adam Gore led the Big Red (20-5, 12-0 Ivy) with 14 points, while fellow starters Ryan Wittman and Louis Dale netted 13 and 12 points, respectively. Jeff Foote came off the pine to log 10 points and seven rebounds, while Andre Wilkins sank all four of his attempts from the floor for 11 points.

Harvard (8-20, 3-9) was led by Brad Unger's 10 points, while Andrew Pusar pulled down a game-high eight rebounds to go along with nine points.

Cornell more than doubled up the Crimson in the opening half, hitting an unconscious 19-of-29 from the floor and holding Harvard to a mere seven field goals in the insurmountable 45-20 halftime lead.

With the title clearly in hand, the Big Red held Harvard to just eight second- half field goals in the 33-point blowout.

Cornell has now captured victories in 14 straight games and that is the second longest winning streak in the nation.

This was the fifth outright conference title in school history, joining the 1912-13, 1913-14 and 1953-54 EIBL championship squads and the 1987-88 Ivy title-winning team. It also makes Cornell a three-time NCAA tournament qualifier, previously competing in the championships in 1953-54 and 1987-88.

Cornell is the first team other than Penn or Princeton to win the Ivy League title since 1988.

Courtesy: SportsNetwork