It was Cornell's first win over a current SEC member school since the Big Red defeated Arkansas (then a part of the Southwest Conference) during the 1972–73 season.
After winning their opener against Holy Cross, the Crimson won a triple-overtime contest over the College of William & Mary, 87–85 on a half-court shot by senior guard Jeremy Lin.
The Ivy made news for some not-so positive reasons as the conference saw two coaches fired during the pre-conference slate.
However, Penn stopped Cornell's bid for a perfect Ivy League season by beating the then 22nd ranked Big Red 79–64 at the Palestra in Philadelphia.
Cornell placed a trio of seniors – Ryan Wittman, Jeff Foote and Louis Dale – on the All-Ivy first team.