For the last few months, Cornell has looked a lot less like the Big Red-faced embarrassment of the early 2000s and more like the Cincinnati Reds' "Big Red Machine" of the 1970s.
Pundits picked the team to finish first in the Ivy League preseason poll, and so far, the play has matched the hype. The Big Red have won six straight games and eight of their last nine.
And the one loss? A 14-point defeat to Duke - the No. 2 team in the country - in North Carolina.
This year marks the first time a team other than Penn or Princeton was picked to win the Ancient Eight since the media picked Dartmouth in 1988-89. Princeton ended up winning the league that year anyway.
The Big Red (12-5, 4-0 Ivy) have not just been defeating their opponents, but completely dominating them. The average margin of victory over their last six wins is 22 points, and, on the season, it's a league-best 7.1 points. Penn is worst, with a -10.5 point average differential.
Coach Glen Miller is very much aware of the Big Red's potent offense.
"They are an explosive offensive team and playing much better defense," he said.
When Miller goes through the laundry list of Cornell's strengths, it begins to sound like the perfect team - or at least one that could cause problems for its Ivy League brethren.
Cornell is shooting 40 percent from behind the arc, while still boasting big men that can score in the post. Seven players stand between 6-foot-7 and 7 feet.
To further compound potential problems for the Quakers, the Big Red shoot a league-best 77 percent from the line. Sophomore guard Louis Dale is 59-for-62 from the stripe on the season, good for a 95-percent clip and the best mark in Division-I college hoops.
"They are a very skilled offensive team," he said. "They maybe the most well balanced in the league. Plus, they have experience."
The Quakers' lack of experience has been well-documented this season. And the results of that inexperience have been downright ugly at times.
Penn and Cornell represent two of the three unbeaten teams in the Ivy League (Princeton is the third), and Saturday's battle could have huge implications for the league crown.
After what Miller calls "two modest wins in the Ivy League," he wants to see his team, "get to the level we want them to be at."
And considering that Penn won the league last year, that "level" likely involves the Quakers coming out on top.
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