SYRACUSE, N.Y. — By now you’ve surely read all the stories of the different styles of basketball Kentucky and Cornell play.

The Big Red, an Ivy League school that has never been on this stage before, has danced to the Sweet 16 on its three-point shooting. Cornell leads the nation in three-point percentage (.434) and ranks third in three-point field-goals made (9.7).

But Tom Leach, UK’s play-by-play radio broadcaster, brought up an interesting coversation topic Wednesday night. He wondered what Cornell’s three-point shooting is like against the major opponents on its schedule.

Wonder no more, Tom. I decided to take a look at what Cornell’s three-point shooting has looked like against what I would call the high-major opponents.

Alabama — 10-for-18 (55.6 percent)Seton Hall — 11-for-29 (37.9 percent)Syracuse —  13-for-37 (35.1 percent)St. John’s — 11-for-18 (61.1 percent)Kansas — 9-for-26 (34.6 percent)Temple — 9-for-23 (39.1 percent)Wisconsin — 8-for-15 (53.3 percent)

That comes out to 71-of-166 (42.8 percent) three-point shooting against the so-called high-major opponents. What’s that tell us? Well, not what UK fans might have hoped, considering that’s just a shade off what Cornell normally shoots. 

Basically, this team, regardless of the level of competition or the type of defense it will face against Kentucky, appears to be able to knock down the long-range shot.

If you’re looking for a silver lining, look at Cornell’s toughest competition of the season. Against Kansas and Syracuse, both No. 1 seeds in the NCAA Tournament, the Big Red shot a combined 22-of-63 (34.9 percent).

Even better for the Cats is that the Syracuse game took place in the Carrier Dome, the site of Thursday’s Sweet 16 matchup. Does that mean the Big Red had trouble with the depth perception and shooting angles in the dome? That’s hard to judge off just one game.

One thing that list above tells me is that Cornell is battle tested. How many teams can say they will have played three No. 1 seeds in one season?