By Palmer Johnson
Mason will play their third game of the season against a tough Cornell team on Wednesday, November 15th, their third home game. Cornell is ranked 118 on KenPom, compared to Mason’s 122.
The Big Red are coached by Brian Earl, the 2021-22 Ivy League Coach of the Year.
Mason’s opponent is coming off of a road win against Fordham, a fellow A10 school. They won 78-73, but were up 27 in the second half and had somewhat of a collapse. I watched this game, and here are my takeaways.
Cornell Scouting Report (vs. Fordham)
The Big Red will sprint down the court, leaving slower big men in the dust and giving them an advantage on offense. The fast pace ends up hurting them at times, as they had multiple unforced turnovers before the under-16 media timeout. Since they run such a fast pace, they make substitutions early and often, making them just a couple minutes into the game.
Cornell is looking for open threes in transition, which I imagine is not what players are used to defending in transition. Mason is going to need to make sure they can find a man in transition. Even if they are covered from three, they’re willing to take semi-contested shots.
The Ivy League opponent loves to move the ball around, which is scary at times. They are absolutely willing to throw cross-court passes if they see a guy open. If someone is open, he will be found.
Because they’re Ivy League and love stats, Mason’s opponent plays Moreyball. They’re either shooting in the paint or from behind the arc.
Cornell doesn’t take twos outside of the paint. I respect that a lot. pic.twitter.com/RRVQJb8uCJ
— GMU Giant Killer (@GMUGiantKiller) November 14, 2023
On the other side of the ball, Cornell will full-court press and trap very often. They caused a 10-second violation against Fordham, and even when Fordham was getting it across, you could tell it was messing with their offense. Along with pressing, the Big Red love to gamble for steals and get plenty of deflections. This leads to more open shots than usual, but they are willing to foul when someone has a good look rather than give up an open shot inside, they trust their depth.
Near the end of the game, Fordham was on a huge run, and it was because the Rams’ press started working and Cornell’s wasn’t.
Cornell by the Numbers:
Cornell is shooting 37.5% from three, 59.3% from two, which are both top 80, but they have a 22.9% turnover percentage, which is ranked 311. They’re making a lot of risky passes, so they’re either getting good shots or turning it over.
How does this affect Mason?
Mason will need to stay calm, cool, and collected. If the point guards can do that, Mason should win. Polite and Okojie cannot go into autopilot on offense and make telegraphed passes. This will be a huge test for the freshman PG.
Mason will need to use their length to make Cornell’s risky passes just a little less likely to make it to their destination. If they do that, Cornell’s offense should have trouble.
The Ivy League has been taking out some teams this year, let’s hope Mason is not added to this list.
Prediction: Mason wins 80-71. Cornell’s threes go in somewhat, but they cannot get anything done inside.
Mason Maniaks, you’ve shown out so far. Keep up the good work!
