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Princeton University Athletics
State-ment Game
December 12, 2002 | Men's Basketball
Dec. 12, 2002
Riding the momentum of a two-game winning streak, Princeton returns to Jadwin Gym Saturday night at 7:30 p.m. (CN8, WCTC, GoPrincetonTigers.com) to take on local rival Rutgers. The Tigers (3-2) are coming off one of their best offensive performances in years against Lafayette, and will need similar success against a tough Rutgers (4-2) team.
Princeton-Rutgers Game Notes in PDF Format
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Game Notes
State-ing Their Cases - This intrastate rivalry has been even recently, although Princeton owns a 71-37 all-time lead in the series. Each team has won five of the last 10 games, although Rutgers is currently riding a two-game winning streak.
Last Season - Rutgers shot 55.2% from the field and outscored Princeton 46-38 in the second half to earn a 72-60 win over the Tigers at Louis Brown Athletic Center. Current senior Jerome Coleman led all scorers with 24 points, while Mike Bechtold '02 had a team-best 16 points for Princeton. The contest was tied at halftime.
Three-peat - Princeton is looking to complete its first three-game non-league winning streak since the 1999-2000 season tonight. The Tigers earned road wins at Monmouth and Lafayette in their last two starts.
Bouncing Back - Princeton is 12-0 with an average margin of victory of 15.3 points in home games following a home loss.
Point Taken - Princeton had its highest point total against a Division I opponent since a 1995 win over Cornell in its 89-75 win over Lafayette. Leopard Hunting - Sophomore Will Venable set a career high with 23 points in the win over Lafayette. His previous career high was 18 points, which he set last season against Lafayette.
Two Out Of Three Ain't Bad - Princeton made 66.7% of its total shots (18 for 27), three-point shots (six for nine) and free throws (four for six) in the first half of last Saturday's win against Lafayette.
Playing The Percentages - Princeton ended the Lafayette win with a 64.7 shooting percentage. The Tigers never shot above 58% from the field in a game last season.
Great Scott - Freshman Scott Greenman was named Ivy League Rookie of the Week after keying a first-half surge against Monmouth with a pair of three-pointers.
Mirror Image - Princeton has nearly the same statistics as its opponents in a number of categories. The Tigers have scored two fewer points than their opponents (341-339), have one fewer assist (73-72) and one fewer rebound (156-155). The Tigers have made one more field goal (123-122) than their opponents.
Return To Sender - Junior Spencer Gloger has made the most of his return to the Princeton men's basketball game. He has a team-best points-per-game average of 17.0 and leads the team in field goals (28), three-point field goals (12), and free throws (17). Gloger is also second on the team with 6.0 rebounds per game. The last person to average 17.0 points per game was Kevin Mullin, who did it in the 1983-84 season.
Climbing Ivy - Spencer Gloger leads the Ivy League in scoring with his 17.0 points-per-game average. Gloger is also eighth in the league in rebounds (6.0 per game).
Will The Thrill - Sophomore Will Venable has made 20 of 28 two-point shots this season.
Ray Of Hope - Senior Ray Robins may not have had the highlight of last week, but his reverse alley-oop against Lafayette highlighted an 18-point performance. Robins shot 7 for 9 from the field.
Four Score - Princeton currently has four players averaging double-digits in points (Spencer Gloger, Andre Logan, Will Venable, Ray Robins). The last Princeton team to end a season with four players with at least 10.0 points per game was the 1986-87 team (Alan Williams, Bob Scrabis, Dave Orlandini, Joe Scott).
The Shot - Junior Ed Persia had that highlight of last week. He grabbed both an unbelievable victory and national attention by defeating Monmouth with an 85-foot bank shot at the buzzer. The play began with .7 of a second remaining on the clock and the score tied at 57-57.
The Aftermath - Since last Tuesday, Ed Persia has been interviewed on The Bob Valvano Show on ESPN Radio, been the subject of a story The New York Times among other newspapers, and his shot was shown as the Top Play of the day on SportsCenter, beating out another near buzzer beater by Steve Blake in a rematch of last year's NCAA championship game between Maryland and Indiana.
The Significance - Persia's shot completed a 10-point rally in Princeton's 60-57 win over Monmouth, ending a two-game losing streak by the Tigers.
Working Overtime - Princeton rebounded following its home-opening overtime loss to Florida International by topping Monmouth 60-57. It was the 15th straight time that Princeton has followed an overtime loss with a win.
Walking Wounded - Princeton has gotten off to a 3-2 start without the services of some key players. Andre Logan didn't play in either of the last two games with discomfort in his knee, although he is expected to be available for Lafayette. Konrad Wysocki, the 2000 Ivy League Rookie of the Year, has yet to play a minute after spraining his ankle in the preseason.
What Offseason? - Sophomore Matt Verbit, the starting quarterback for the football team during the final five weeks of the 2002 season, is now playing for the basketball team. Four Ivy Leaguers over the last 10 years have played for both the varsity football and basketball teams in the same year: Brown's James Perry (1997-98), Yale's Ken Marschner (1997-98), Columbia's Chris Tillotson (1997-98) and Dartmouth's Nick Murphy (1999-2000).
First And Goal - Sophomore Jon Berger, who was called up from the J.V. team during the 2002 preseason, scored his first collegiate point on a layup in the final minutes of Princeton's 89-75 win over Lafayette.
Three For All - Princeton has made at least one three-pointer in every game since the rule was enacted in the 1986-87 season (446 games).
On The One Hand ... - Princeton has the longest current streak in Division I of consecutive games without allowing at least 100 points (919 games, dating to 1968 vs. North Carolina).
... On The Other Hand - Princeton has not scored at least 100 points in a game in 855 games, dating to a 108-64 win over Yale in 1971.
Scouting Rutgers - The Scarlet Knights opened their season with a 3-2 record and outscored their opponents by nearly seven points per game. Jerome Coleman leads Rutgers with 19.4 points per game, while Herve Lamizana has a team-best 5.6 rebounds per game. Rutgers' two losses have come to North Carolina and Auburn.
The Crystal Ball - Princeton will take on Rider this Wednesday at 8 p.m. at Sovereign Bank Arena in Trenton. The Tigers defeated the Broncs 69-57 last season.
Austin Powers - Princeton will travel to Austin, Texas, next Sunday for its lone ESPN appearance of the season when it battles No. 2 Texas. Princeton leads the all-time series 4-2 and has won the last two contests.