GAME NOTES -- SAMFORD AT CORNELL (PDF)

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The Samford men's basketball team takes to the road for the first time this season, as they leave the state to face Cornell University tomorrow at 5 pm. The Bulldogs are 1-0 in the early season, coming off a 100-58 victory at home over Mississippi College in the opener. 

The Samford Bulldogs hit the road for the first time in the 2024-25 campaign. The Dogs were 8-5 in games away from the Pete Hanna Center last season. In the first four seasons under head coach Bucky McMillan, Samford is 2-2 in their first road games of the season. The Bulldogs have only played one game against an Ivy League opponent all-time when they lost to Dartmouth in the 1992-93 season.

Friday's contest will be the 1st meeting between Samford and Cornell and the second time ever facing an Ivy League. The only other meeting with the league came against Dartmouth in the 1992-93 season. 

Samford had four players in double-figures in their season-opening win against Mississippi College, led by Jaden Brownell who scored a game-high 20 points. The Dogs ranked seventh in the country in bench points per game after they had 60 in their season opener and their 24 assists have them inside the top 25 in the nation.

The Bulldogs had a balanced attack offensively in their opener, as seven different players scored eight or more points. Samford was able to show off their depth as just guard Trey Fort played over 20 minutes while having 11 players receive double-digit minutes. After finishing top-15 in the nation in assist-to-turnover ratio last season, starting guard Rylan Jones opened with seven assists and no turnovers against the Choctaws. 

Cornell is coming off a 22-8 season where they went 11-3 in conference play, finishing second in the regular-season standings in the Ivy League before falling in the first round of the conference tournament to Yale.

The Big Red return two of their top five leading scorers from last season in Nazir Williams and Guy Ragland Jr. Cornell opened their season with a 93-52 victory at home against Marywood University. Their Head coach Jon Jaques is in his first season in the position with the Big Red. Prior to this year, Jaques was the associate head coach and assistant coach at Cornell since 2013. Jaques is also a 2010 graduate of Cornell.

Friday night's game can be watched on ESPN+ and live stats will be available also. Dates and times for Samford games throughout the season can be found here.

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For the latest news and information on Samford men's basketball, visit the official website for Samford Athletics at SamfordSports.com. Fans can also follow the Bulldogs on social media at /SamfordSports (Facebook), @SamfordMBB (Twitter), and @SamfordMBB (Instagram).