Cornell left its glass slipper in Florida.
After convincing wins against higher seeds Temple and Wisconsin in the first two rounds of the NCAA tournament in Jacksonville, Fla., the Cinderella Big Red’s clock struck twelve when they faced No. 1-seeded Kentucky last night in Syracuse, N.Y., falling 62-45.
Though Cornell (29-5) emphatically reestablished the relevance of the Ivy League with its upset-filled first weekend, it could not defy the odds a third time. An athletic Wildcats team (35-2) overwhelmed the Big Red to advance to the East Regional Final Saturday against No. 2 West Virginia.
Surprisingly, turnovers were a key issue for Cornell, who executed an offense that was the model of efficiency against Wisconsin last Sunday. The team committed 15 turnovers, leading to numerous Kentucky baskets in transition.
Though Cornell came out of the gates hot, going on a 10-2 run to start the game, sloppy play brought the Wildcats back, and by halftime, they had the Big Red doubled up, 32-16.
The second half was more of the same. Though the Big Red came within six with 5:42 left, Kentucky continued to lock down defensively.
Cornell’s seven-footer Jeff Foote proved no match for DeMarcus Cousins, who led the Big Blue with 16 points on 7-for-8 from the field and pulled down 7 rebounds.
The Big Red were missing a major component of their offense as Ryan Wittman — who averaged 22 points per game the first weekend — scored just 10 and shot 2-for-7 from deep.
Wittman, Foote, Louis Dale and Cornell’s six other seniors will end their careers as one of the best Ivy teams in recent history.
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