NEWMAN AT 99: When Cornell meets Harvard on Saturday afternoon, Cornell will be looking for its 100th win at Newman Arena. The Big Red picked up its first victory at home when it knocked off Army 96-70 on Jan. 6 1990 and has gone on to post a 99-85 mark (.538) in the arena. If it reaches that mark, Cornell would also even its record against the Crimson in Newman Arena, posting a 7-8 record in previous meetings.

NEW YEAR, NEW START: The Big Red seemingly can't wait to get to January every season, posting an 18-16 record in the first month of the year (3-2 in 2005) since head coach Steve Donahue took over the program in 2000-01. It is the only month in which Cornell has a better than .500 record. Last year the Big Red went 6-2 in January, giving the squad a 9-4 record over the last two years in the first month of the season.

AT THE STARTING GATES: Senior Cody Toppert came off the bench for the first time in his career at Army on Jan. 2, snapping a string of 91 consecutive starts spanning every game of his career, a school record. His 91 career starts rank second all-time, with Shawn Maharaj leading with 101 starts. Senior Eric Taylor has opened the last 72 games coming into the contest with Columbia, while junior Lenny Collins has 44 straight starts. Rounding out the lineup, freshman Khaliq Gant has 12 consecutive starts and junior David Lisle has started the last two games and 13 for his career. Junior college transfer Ryan Rourke returned from an injury last weekend against Columbia and has started 14 of the 15 games this season.

BACK ON THE DEFENSIVE: Cornell's new year's resolution may well have been to keep opponents off the scoreboard, as the Big Red has limited its last five opponents to 39 percent shooting and 32 percent from beyond the 3-point arc. The Big Red has allowed 55.0 points per game during that span in winning three of the five contests. Below is how the team's last five games compares to the first 10 contests.

Cornell Defense  Opp. PPG.  Opp. FG%  Opp. 3PT%  Opp. TO  Cornell Steals
First 10 games   71.7       .491      .421       13.3     6.4
Last 5 games     55.0       .392      .315       17.4     8.6

THE BIG WIN: Cornell's 77-47 victory over Columbia on Jan. 22 at Newman Arena provided the biggest margin of victory over a Division I opponent since knocking off Colgate by 32 (80-48) on Jan. 25, 1988, Cornell's last Ivy League championship team. The last time the Big Red won an Ivy League contest by more than 30 points was a 71-35 drilling of Harvard on Feb. 22, 1986.

RARE 600: Senior Eric Taylor enters the Harvard game with 593 rebounds ,good for 13th place all-time at Cornell. With seven more boards, he will become the first player to record 600 career rebounds in 34 years. The last player to reach 600 career rebounds was Bill Schwarzkopf `70, who ended his career with 762 victories. With four rebounds, Taylor will pass Jeffrion Aubry `99 for the player in the last three decades with the most rebounds at Cornell.

SCOTT NAMED IVY ROOKIE OF THE WEEK: Freshman Will Scott was named Ivy league Rookie of the Week on Jan. 24 after helping the Big Red to its biggest league victory in 19 years. Scott notched eight points and a career-best four rebounds as the Big Red topped Columbia 77-47 on Jan. 22. Scott nailed back-to-back 3-pointers to snap a Columbia run early in the second half that had whittled a 26-point lead to 16 with more than 16 minutes to play. All four of his rebounds came on the defensive end as Scott saw a career-best 19 minutes of action.

TREY BIEN: The Big Red has hit at least one 3-pointer in 437 straight games entering the game against Harvard. Cornell surpassed the 400-game plateau when the Big Red connected on three treys vs. Ithaca on Dec. 2, 2003. The last time Cornell did not hit a 3-pointer in a game was against Denison in the season opener of the 1988-89 season (0-for-2). Since the 3-point shot came into effect in NCAA play during the 1986-87 season, Cornell has hit at least one shot behind the arc in 488 of 492 games, connecting on 2,684 treys, an average of 5.46 per game. The Big Red has hit a 3-pointer in all 123 games coached by Steve Donahue.

BLOCKING OUT: Sophomore Andrew Naeve has quickly climbed the school's career list for shot blocks, adding to his total against Columbia the past two weekends. Naeve swatted away five Lion shots in the two games, giving him 39 for his career, good for 10th place all-time. The Miles, Iowa, native had the best game of his career against Columbia on Jan. 22, scoring a career-high eight points on 4-of-5 shooting, dishing off a career-best two assists, blocking three shots and grabbing four rebounds without a turnover in 13 minutes of action off the bench. Naeve came in cold off the bench and rebounded a missed free throw and hit both ensuing free throw shots to clinch the 58-54 win at St. Bonaventure on Dec. 4. Naeve has been solid at the free throw line, connecting on 16-of-21 shots from the charity stripe (.762). He made solid contributions as a backup in the post in 2003-04, coming on strong late in the season. Naeve ranked second on the team and ninth in the Ivy League in blocked shots (21). This season he is averaging 2.7 points, 2.2 rebounds and 1.2 blocks in 10.7 minutes per game.

THE DOW REPORT: Sophomore Graham Dow opened the season as the team's starter at point guard and has provided strong defense in his first 15 games, including three starts. Dow dominated a young Columbia backcourt in the first two Ivy games of the season, averaging 7.0 points, 4.5 steals, 3.5 assists and committing just one turnover. He had six points, five assists and four steals in the Big Red's 77-47 victory on Jan. 22 after collecting five steals to go along with eight points and a pair of assists in the loss to the Lions on Jan. 15. He has settled down after rocky start at the point guard position, handing out 16 assists with just two turnovers in his last 10 games, helping the Big Red go 5-5. Dow is averaging 3.0 points, 1.5 assists and 1.1 rebounds while hitting on 15-of-28 shots from the floor. Included was a career-high 14 point effort against Northeastern in which he matched the school record by hitting on all four 3-pointers he attempted. He was a pleasant surprise as a freshman, earning Ivy League Rookie of the Week honors once and ranking ninth in the Ivy League in steals. Dow averaged 3.2 points, 1.7 rebounds, 1.1 assists and 1.3 steals in 14.4 minutes per game off the bench as a freshman.

IT'S BEEN A LISLE: Junior David Lisle returned to the starting lineup for the first time this season as Ivy play opened and has upped his game after a tough start to the season. Lisle, who has always been a player whose contributions aren't measured simply by his numbers, is a versatile force on offense and defense. He has come on over the last seven games, posting 3.9 points, 2.7 rebounds and 1.6 assists in 17.0 minutes per game. Lisle had a season-high seven points and five rebounds to go along with a pair of assists in the win at Lehigh on Jan. 4, then notched eight points and four rebounds in the Big Red's win over Columbia. Lisle averaged 3.0 points and 1.7 rebounds in 15.9 minutes per game as a sophomore and has been a spark while playing every position from point guard to power forward.

GREAT SCOTT: Freshman Will Scott is earning his reputation as a pure shooter in the first half of the 2004-05 campaign and has seen his playing time increase. Scott is averaging 9.7 points in his last three games, including a career-high 11 points at Columbia on Jan. 15 in front of his family and friends. Scott has hit three 3-pointers in a game three times this season, including a 3-of-3 effort at Columbia and a 3-of-4 performance in the Big Red's loss at Syracuse on Dec. 20. The rookie is shooting 53 percent (20-of-38) from beyond the arc and is averaging 4.7 points per game in just 8.9 minutes per game.

ROURKE OPENING EYES: Junior Ryan Rourke has endeared himself to Big Red fans early this season, converting the game-winning three-point play with less than 30 seconds to play in the win at St. Bonaventure, scoring a season-best 15 points in the win over Lafayette and grabbing a career-high nine rebounds and blocking four shots vs. Bucknell. Rourke is averaging 7.8 points and 3.5 rebounds while ranking third on the team in blocked shots (9) and second in free throw percentage (.861, 31-of-36). He had 10 points at Colgate and a 7-for-7 effort from the free-throw line against Ithaca. He missed the Ivy opener against Columbia on Jan. 15 while recovering from a sprained ankle, but responded by socring 13 points and grabbing five rebounds in his first Ivy contest a week later.

NEW ROLE, SAME RESULTS: Coming off the bench for the first time in his career didn't faze senior Cody Toppert, who torched Army for 12 points on 5-of-6 shooting from the field in the 58-51 win over the Black Knights on Jan. 2. Toppert made both of his 3-point attempts and had two crucial offensive rebounds late in the second half. Toppert also had a steal and no turnovers in 26 minutes. In five games as a reserve, Toppert is averaging 10.0 points while shooting .514 (18-of-35) from the floor in helping Cornell go 3-2.

STILL BOMBING AFTER ALL THESE YEARS: Senior Cody Toppert ranks second on the school's all-time 3-point field goal list with 211 career makes. He became the second player in school history to record 200 career treys with seven against No. 7 Syracuse on Dec. 20. Toppert has come on strong after a slow start, making 30 3-pointers in his last 11 games after notching just six in his first four contests of the season. Toppert has seven career games with six or more 3-pointers, nearly double that of second-place Brandt Schuckman `96 with four. A season ago Toppert averaged 2.9 3-pointers per game, draining six treys at Lafayette and New Mexico, seven at Brown and a career-high eight at Duquesne.

AIN'T IT GRAND: Senior Cody Toppert scored 15 points in the 83-76 loss to Quinnipiac on Dec. 1, becoming the 19th player in school history to reach 1,000 career points. A backdoor layup with exactly 11 minutes remaining proved to be the milestone basket. He has since moved to 13th on the scoring list with 1,114 points. Next to reach that mark could be classmate Eric Taylor, who needs to average 9.8 ppg. in his final 12 games to reach 1,000 for his career.

TOPPING THE CHARTS: Senior Cody Toppert had a career season in 2003-04 and is off to a good start this year, averaging 12.0 points, 3.5 rebounds and a career-best 2.5 assists in his first 15 games. Last year Toppert ranked second on the team and seventh in the Ivy League in scoring (14.6 ppg.) and stood among the Ivy League leaders in 3-pointers made per game (2.9). The Albuquerque, N.M., native enters the Harvard game with 1,114 points, 13th all-time at Cornell, and with 211 3-pointers, good for second. Toppert has been a consistent producer for the Big Red over his four seasons, averaging 11.6 points and 4.1 rebounds while starting 91 of his 96 games on East Hill.

COLLINS BUSTS OUT: Junior Lenny Collins has stepped up his scoring in place of the graduated Ka'Ron Barnes, averaging 14.1 points in his first 15 games this season. Collins netted 30 points in the season opener at Marist, falling one point shy of his career high set last year against Harvard. He was 11-of-14 from the floor and also grabbed seven rebounds. Collins added 27 points against Quinnipiac on Dec. 1. The San Juan Capistrano, Calif., native has scored at least 14 points in 10 games and has shot 43 percent from the floor (73-of-169) during his scoring spree. Collins ranked second on the team in scoring in Ivy League games (12.4 ppg.) a year ago, shooting 46 percent from the floor and 32 percent from 3-point range.

STOP THIEF: Junior Lenny Collins has never been arrested, but Big Red opponents should put out an APB on the San Juan Capistrano, Calif., native. Collins is quickly moving up the Big Red's all-time steals chart, becoming just the eighth player in school history to notch 100 career steals with four against St. Francis (N.Y.) on Dec. 28. He currently ranks seventh all-time with 106 pilfers. The 6-6 forward led the Ivy League with his 52 steals a season ago. Collins set a Cornell and Sojka Pavilion record with eight steals in last season's loss at Bucknell. The mark surpassed DeShawn Standard's seven against Lehigh during the 1997-98 campaign. Collins had just missed breaking the mark on two other occasions in 2003-04, collecting six steals in the overtime loss to Colgate and against Harvard, falling just one steal shy of the single-game record.

30x2: Junior Lenny Collins became the first Cornell player to score 30 or more points in a game twice during his career since Bernard Jackson had 30 points against Dartmouth during the 1988-89 campaign and poured in 32 points against U.S. International the following season. Ken Bantum and Mike Davis are the only players to score 30 or more points in a game three times in the last 25 years.

THREE FOR 30: Junior Lenny Collins scored 30-points in the season opener against Marist, but that isn't a big deal among his current teammates. His 31-point effort against Harvard on Feb. 21, 2004, gave the Big Red three different active players who have scored 30 or more points in a game. Senior Cody Toppert notched 31 points at Duquesne on Dec. 31, while Toppert's classmate, Eric Taylor, put 30 points on the board in the 2002-03 season-opening win at Buffalo. Cornell is the only Ivy school to have three active players who have scored 30 or more points in a single game.

RIPPING DOWN THE REBOUNDS: Senior Eric Taylor notched a career-high 16 rebounds in the loss to Northeastern on Nov. 20 at the Pepsi Marist Classic, the most by a Cornell player since Greg Barratt had 16 in a game four seasons ago. So far this season, Taylor is averaging 6.3 rebounds per game and surpassed the 500 career rebound plateau in the opener at Marist. He enters the Harvard game with 593, good for 13th all-time at Cornell. Taylor had 10 rebounds to go along with 11 points against Columbia on Jan. 22 in recording his fourth double-double of the season and ninth of his career.

FEASTING FROM THE FIELD: Senior Eric Taylor continues to hit from the field with regularity, connecting on an Ivy League-leading 70-of-112 efforts this season (.625), including setting a school single-game field goal percentage record by hitting all seven shots he took from the floor at Quinnipiac. He also made all six second-half shots in the win at St. Bonaventure, finishing 8-of-11 on the day. Taylor feasted on opposing defenses in 2003-04, hitting on 100-of-171 shots, a .585 field goal percentage. That average ranked fourth on the single-season list. Taylor's career field goal percentage of .570 leads Greg Gilda `88 (.566) for first all-time at Cornell. He shot at least 50 percent in 21 of his 27 games last year and in 12 of 15 contests in 2004-05.

RENAISSANCE MAN: Senior Eric Taylor has displayed the all-around skills that has solidified his standing as one of the Ivy League's top post players. He has averaged 11.3 points, 6.3 rebounds and 1.7 assists in 15 games this year, including a career-best 16 rebounds against Northeastern as part of his first double-double of the year (also posted 14 points). He has recorded four double-doubles on the season, recording 20 points and 10 rebounds against Ithaca, 14 points and 11 rebounds at Quinnipiac and 11 points and 10 rebounds against Columbia. Taylor had his first five career double-doubles last year, including in back-to-back Ivy games (16 points, 12 rebounds and a career-high four blocked shots at Brown and 14 points and 12 rebounds at Yale). Of course, lines like those are nothing new to Taylor, who was the only player in the Ivy League to rank among the league's top 15 players in scoring, rebounding and assists in 2002-03.

CORNELL'S SPRUNG KHALIQ: Head coach Steve Donahue gave freshman Khaliq Gant his first career start at point guard in the 69-67 win over Ithaca and that has jump-started the squad to a 6-6 record in the 12 games since. Gant posted a career-high nine points on 4-of-6 shooting while also recording two rebounds and an assist against the Bombers. Gant did not turn the ball over in 34 minutes of court time. He matched that in the win at Lehigh on Jan. 4, hitting all three 3-point attempts he took. Gant also had a five-point, six-assist effort without a turnover in 31 minutes against No. 7 Syracuse. Gant has been a consistent contributor in his first 15 games, scoring 3.9 ppg. to go along with 1.8 apg., all the while shooting .467 from the floor (21-of-45).

CANADY CANS THE 3: Freshman Jason Canady earned his first career start against Army on Jan. 2 and proved he belonged, scoring six points and grabbing two steals, including setting the defensive tone for the game with a steal 10 seconds into Army's first possession. He scored a career-high nine points on the strength of 3-of-4 shooting from 3-point range against Bucknell. He had already shown himself to be a playmaker, being credited with a career-high five assists in the 69-67 win over Ithaca College. He also hit the game-sealing free throws with three seconds to play against Lafayette. Canady is averaging 2.5 points, 1.1 rebounds and 1.0 assists in 11.4 minutes per game. The Big Red was 2-2 with Canady in the starting lineup earlier this season.

ASSISTING THE OFFENSE: The Big Red assisted on 21 of 25 baskets against No. 7 Syracuse, accentuating the way head coach Steve Donahue's team wants to play offensively. This season, 218 of the team's 339 baskets (64 percent) have been assisted compared to 53 percent a season ago (349 of 659). Cornell was credited with assists on 23 of 30 baskets in the 88-85 loss to Northeastern and 19 on 25 baskets in the win over Columbia.

FIELD WORK: The Big Red has shot an Ivy-best .447 from the floor in the first 15 contests of the 2004-05 season, including .545 in the 88-85 loss to Northeastern on Nov. 20 at the Pepsi Marist Classic. In all, the Big Red has hit for 50 percent four times already this season. Senior Eric Taylor, who tops the school's all-time field goal percentage list, has made 70-of-112 shots (.625) to lead the way. If maintained, that would be the highest season field goal percentage since shooting .486 from the floor during the 1987-88 season.

LINE IT UP: Cornell hit all 13 free throws in an 88-85 loss to Northeastern on Nov. 20, the fifth time in school history that the Big Red has hit all of its free throws in a game with at least 10 attempts. The squad has hit .748 from the line (175-of-234) in the season's first 15 games. Leading the charge is senior Cody Toppert, who has made 21-of-22 (.955) free throw attempts, and juniors Ryan Rourke (31-of-36, .861) and Lenny Collins (46-of-54, .846). The Big Red is not far off its school record .759 performance as a team during the 1962-63 campaign.

TOPPERT NAMED IVY LEAGUE PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Senior guard Cody Toppert was named the Ivy League men's basketball Player of the Week on Dec. 21, the first weekly award for Toppert in his four-year career. The Albuquerque, N.M., native averaged 18.0 points, 4.5 rebounds, 3.0 steals and 3.0 rebounds while shooting 59 percent from the floor and 63 percent from 3-point range in a pair of contests. Toppert scored a game-high 23 points and had a career-high seven assists in the Big Red's scare of No. 7 Syracuse on Dec. 20. He connected on 7-of-10 3-pointers, helping the Big Red establish a school and Carrier Dome record with 15 treys in the 82-69 loss. He opened that week with a team-high 13 points to go along with six rebounds and three steals against Patriot League favorite Bucknell. For the week, Toppert hit 10-of-16 treys.

TREY-FECTA: Cornell's performance from beyond the arc against No. 7 Syracuse on Dec. 20 (15-of-24) set several records and was noteworthy for many reasons.

BIG ROAD WIN: Cornell didn't just pick up its first road win of the season in a hostile environment ... it picked up that win in one of the most hostile road arenas in the country. The Big Red's 58-54 win at St. Bonaventure's Reilly Center in front of more than 5,200 fans was even more impressive when you consider that it snapped a six-game losing skid away from Newman Arena in a gym that ESPN analyst Jay Bilas dubbed one of the "five toughest places to play in the country."

LAST IVY TITLE: Cornell is the last team other than Penn or Princeton to earn the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. The Big Red went 11-3 in Ivy League play and 17-10 overall during the 1987-88 season, running off 11 straight conference wins at one point during the year. Cornell faced Arizona in the first round of the national tourney, dropping a 90-50 decision.

CAPTAIN NAMED: For the first time in school history, a player will serve as a three-year captain of the Big Red men's basketball team. Senior forward Eric Taylor was bestowed the honor in a vote of his teammates entering the 107th year of basketball at Cornell. Taylor is the leading returning rebounder in the Ancient Eight. He became the first sophomore to serve as captain for the Big Red in 2002-03.

CORNELL BASKETBALL ON THE RADIO: Follow the men's basketball team at home and on the road as Barry Leonard provides live play-by-play on WTKO 1470 AM. You can also listen to the game live on the internet with the purchase of the Big Red Sports Pass (visit www.CornellBigRed.com for details).

NEXT UP: Cornell will look for its third straight win over Dartmouth when the Big Red meets the Big Green on Sunday, Jan. 30 at 2 p.m. in Newman Arena. Dartmouth leads the all-time series 100-88, but the Big Red swept the home-and-home series last season.