FACTS & STATS: Site: Honda Center (17,600) -- Anaheim, California. Television: CBS. NCAA Tournament Record: Cornell 0-3, Stanford 19-14. Series Record: Stanford leads, 2-1.

GAME NOTES: Back in the NCAA Tournament for the first time in two decades, the Cornell Big Red go up against the Cardinal of Stanford in first round action of the South Region at the Honda Center in Anaheim. The Big Red made it to this event by setting school records for most victories in a season (22) and longest win streak (16) in the 109th year of basketball for the Ivy League mainstay. Cornell, the 14th seed in the region, ran the table in conference play and, as a result, became the first school other than Penn or Princeton to receive the automatic bid to the tourney since 1988. As for third-seeded Stanford, it was nearly perfect at home this season with a record of 16-1 and ended up 13-5 in Pac-10 Conference action. Take away the three meetings with nationally-ranked UCLA this season and the Cardinal practically cut it's loss total in half. The team bowed to the Bruins both at home and on the road during the regular season, and then lost to the squad last Saturday in the conference tournament final by a final of 67-64. Stanford, which is 2-1 in the all-time series versus Cornell, is 19-14 in the tournament all-time and captured the title back in 1942 with a victory against another Ivy League foe, Dartmouth, in Kansas City, 53-38. The Big Red won the first-ever meeting between the squads with a 59-56 triumph during the 1950-51 campaign, but has since lost two in a row. The Big Red has been in this event twice before and has a 0-3 record to show for it's efforts. The winner of this meeting will face off against the winner of the Kentucky/Marquette battle in the second round this weekend.

Being just a sophomore didn't slow down the progress of Louis Dale, who not only joined teammates Ryan Wittman on the All-Ivy League First Team this season, he was also the Ivy League Player of the Year. Just the second sophomore ever to earn the award, Dale placed second on the team with his 13.8 ppg and was tops with 136 assists and 34 steals over the course of 27 games. Additionally, Dale also cleared close to four and a half rebounds per game and was nearly perfect at the free-throw line (96-of-106) to rank among the nation's best in the latter category. Not to be overlooked is Wittman who paced the squad with his 15.4 ppg and was one of the most accurate three-point shooters in the country at 46.6 percent. Like Dale, Wittman also forced his way on the inside with 4.3 rpg as he played almost 34 minutes per game. Coming out of their shell this season, the Big Red posted an impressive 77.1 ppg, thanks in large part to 41.4 percent shooting out on the perimeter and nearly 50 percent from the field overall.

Despite missing several games at the start of the season because he was academically ineligible, Brook Lopez made up for lost time with the Cardinal by leading the team with his 19.2 ppg since then. Credited with eight and a half rebounds per game as well, Lopez made his way onto the All-Pac 10 First Team. Perhaps most impressive about his play this season, was that Brook Lopez managed to get to the free-throw line more than anyone else on the team (175) and knocked down more shots (135) than anyone else had opportunities. Add to that a total of 52 blocked shots, and it was easy to see how the big man earned the recognition. Brother Robin Lopez (10.0 ppg) paced the group with his 75 rejections and was second on the glass with 5.6 rpg, allowing Stanford to hold a rebounding advantage over the competition of eight per game. Not that much of a scorer these days, Mitch Johnson (6.8 ppg) made sure to contribute to the team's success by dialing up 159 assists, more than twice as many as any of his teammates.

Considering the turn-around Cornell had this season by running away with the Ivy League, it would be great to see the team rewarded for such effort, but being pitted against the Lopez Brothers doesn't sound like a favorable matchup.

Predicted Outcome

Stanford 78, Cornell 68