Syracuse will wrap up the 2014 calendar year when it hosts Cornell on Wednesday evening. To get us prepped for the game, we sat down with our friend Michael Tony over at IvyHoopsOnline to get a scouting report for the upcoming game.
The Juice Online: Tell us about IvyHoopsOnline.
Michael Tony: IvyHoopsOnline is made up of writers from each of the Ivy League’s eight schools. IHO came into existence in the summer of 2011 and has quickly made its mark on the tight-knit Ivy basketball community.
TJO: What are the major story lines with Cornell?
MT: Cornell went 2-26 last year, and the season was every bit as ugly as that record indicates. Then the Big Red’s leading scorer in 2013-14, Nolan Cressler, peaced out to transfer to Vanderbilt. Re-enter Shonn Miller. The 2012-13 first-team All-Ivy forward missed last year’s disaster due to injury but hasn’t disappointed upon his return, notching 16.2 points, 8.2 rebounds and 1.6 blocks per game this season. With Miller leading the way, Cornell has turned heads by already tripling its win total from last season, going 6-6 so far.
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TJO: Who should we be on the lookout for?
MT: The problem is Miller hasn’t had a lot of help from Cornell’s other standouts. The Big Red do have a talented backcourt with Devin Cherry, Robert Hatter and Galal Cancer, but they are all turnover-prone, especially Cherry, who averages 4.5 turnovers per game and coughed up the ball seven times in Cornell’s loss to St. Peter’s on Sunday.
TJO: What are your predictions for this game?
MT: Cornell gave the Orange more than they bargained for in last season’s opener, leading Syracuse 36-22 at one point and 38-32 at halftime. Don’t be surprised if Miller’s offensive prowess and this streaky backcourt make things difficult for Syracuse early in this one. Still, I don’t see this game being very close by game’s end. I’ll take Syracuse, 76-59.
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