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Cornell Universitys basketball team is making history, and the Big Reds fans love every minute of it. Cornell plays Kentucky Thursday in the NCAA East Regional semifinal, and it is the first team in the Ivy League to reach the Sweet 16 in the 64-team tournament era.
Hopefully its not a once in a lifetime opportunity for us, said Leslie Adler, a 2005 Cornell grad who serves on the board of the Cornell Club of Fairfield County. We were 5-22 when I was a freshman, and we didnt have much to cheer about.
Thats not the case this year. Cornell is 29-4, and upset Temple and Wisconsin to reach tonights game, which is scheduled to tip off at 9:57. Penn is the last Ivy team to reach the Elite Eight, and the Quakers ended up losing in the Final Four to Michigan State and Magic Johnson. Only 32 teams participated in the 1979 tournament.
Cornell is making its fifth appearance in the NCAAs, but had never won a tournament game of any kind before defeating Temple. The Big Red have a tough assignment against Kentucky, the No. 1 seed in the region, but Cornells defense and outstanding 3-point shooting make the Big Red a dangerous opponent. Senior Ryan Wittman, the son of former NBA player and coach Randy Wittman, leads the team with 17.8 points per game.
Its very exciting, Adler said. Everyones watching us, and we dont get that very often. Its great publicity for the school.
Check out where to watch the game here.
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