Cornell analysis

coolhandgopher

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I originally posted this in the "Worried about Cornell" thread, but it was as a response to Vandelay, and thought it might get lost in the shuffle. Anyway, my thoughts on Saturday:

As for Cornell, they obviously showed some signs of life against Syracuse and could very well pose a problem for the Gophers. The Big Red have been hurt by injuries to their backcourt, with conference player of the year point guard Louis Dale and 2nd team all-conference shooting guard Adam Gore having missed the entire season thus far. Gore is not expected back until January, and I couldn't find any info about when Dale's to return. If it's against the Gophers expect a vastly different squad then the one that lost to Indiana on the road. Dale has been replaced by freshman Chris Wroblewski in the starting lineup and while he played alright against Syracuse, he's really struggled on the road in their other losses (to Indiana, Siena, and St. John's).

With Dale and Gore out of commission, the slack has been picked up by the other veterans on the team, most notably Ryan Wittman, who's hitting for 22.5 a game. The last three games he has attempted more than 20 field goal attempts per game, so he's evidently putting the team on his back. It'll be interesting to see who matches up against him, he's a tough match up at 6'6" on the perimeter. Wittman has been helped out by the 7' center Jeff Foote, who's averaging 14 and 8 per game this season, with strong efforts against St. John's, Indiana, and Syracuse and double figures in points every game since their opener. In addition, junior guard Geoff Reeves has gotten off to a very good start for Cornell, averaging 14 ppg while shooting 47% from 3 point range. Like Wroblewski, he really struggled on the road against Indiana and St. John's, but had a solid game against Syracuse. He could also give the Gophers some fits as a 6'5" shooting guard.

If Dale's back on Saturday, this is a different team than what's been on display so far this season. If Wroblewski and Reeves turned a corner against Syracuse, they could really cause some issues for the Gophers on Saturday. The Big Red could really be confident after their effort against Syracuse and if they played well against Johnny Flynn and Eric Devendorf, the backcourt of Wroblewski and Reeves probably are feeling okay stepping in against Nolen and Westbrook.

One other thing about the Big Red is that they experienced a lot of foul trouble against Syracuse, which leads one to believe that they are deficient in foot speed (no huge surprise for an Ivy League team). The Gophers should be able to out-athletic Cornell pretty well, especially if Dale's not on the court.

If Nolen's in Wroblewski's jersey, if they guard the 3 point line well, and if they turn the game into a sprint, the Gophers could turn this into a laugher. However, if the young backcourt for Cornell is getting over its growing pains and/or Dale returns, expect a dogfight with the Big Red.
 

Very nice write-up. Thanks for the very informed evaluation. I'm looking forward to the game - another growing experience for the Gophers.
 




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