A year ago, my fellow men’s basketball beat writers and I traveled to Ithaca, N.Y., to report on a disappointing loss for the Crimson.

My reward later that night?

A chance to rest my weary head on the thin carpeting of a Cornell University dormitory.

This past weekend we repeated the arduous journey upstate, and though hopes were high, my lodgings remained humble.

Following another woeful game, my spine grew intimate with the uncompromising floor of a studio apartment. That was the least of my worries, as the bitter cold forced me to don a hat and coat while attempting to fall asleep.

Believe it or not, the men’s basketball squad experienced an eerily similar case of déjà vu during its return to the land of gorges and waterfalls.

For the third year in a row, the Big Red blew out Harvard at home. And again, the Crimson was overmatched on the interior and allowed the opposition to score at will.

But somehow, this year’s edition of the annual massacre was even worse than before. Last year’s margin of defeat was a mere 21. This time around? Cornell devoured its Ancient Eight rival, 86-50 (for all the Big Red readers out there, that comes out to a margin of 36).

Let’s make this clear: the home squad was by far the better team Saturday night.

As its coach Steve Donahue says, the now nationally-ranked Big Red has the talent, depth, and experience to challenge any school in the nation.

Seven-footer Jeff Foote anchors the frontcourt and draws attention away from a steady rotation of accurate shooters.

Unselfish ball movement flummoxed Harvard’s defense, which often was slow to rotate and left Cornell with wide-open opportunities.

Still, a team fresh off mentions in Sports Illustrated and the Wall Street Journal should not be losing by 36 points.

The game’s outcome might be best explained as a perfect example of the Crimson’s glaring weaknesses—for one, its penchant for turning the ball over.

Harvard ranks 326th out of 347 Division I schools in taking care of the basketball, and many of this weekend’s gaffes were especially egregious.