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Princeton University Athletics
Men's Hoops Battles No. 10 Texas Sunday On ESPN
December 20, 2002 | Men's Basketball
Dec. 20, 2002
The Princeton men's basketball will take the national stage Sunday at 5:00 EST when it takes on No. 10 Texas at the Frank Erwin Center in Austin. The Tigers are looking to continue their two-game winning streak over the Longhorns while ending their current two-game losing skid.
Princeton-Texas Game Notes in PDF Format
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Game Notes
Texas Two-Step - Princeton has won its last two contests against Texas, although both have come at neutral sites. In 1998, the Tigers defeated the Longhorns 56-46 in the semifinal of the Rainbow Classic, played in Honolulu. In 1997, Princeton opened its season with a 62-56 win over Texas in the Coaches v. Cancer Classic, played in East Rutherford, N.J.
Hog Heaven - The last time Princeton played at the Frank Erwin Center, it lost a 1990 NCAA first-round contest 68-64 to Arkansas.
Six Shooter - In the last nine years, Princeton has defeated six different Texas teams and owns a 9-1 record against the state. The Tigers are 2-1 against T.C.U., 2-0 against Texas and Texas A&M and 1-0 against North Texas, Rice and UTEP. Princeton will play Texas A&M in the first round of the Cable Car Classic in Santa Clara, Calif., on Dec. 27.
Return To Sender - Junior Konrad Wysocki made his return to the Princeton lineup Wednesday against Rider after suffering a sprained ankle in the preseason. Wysocki scored eight points and grabbed three rebounds in his first game back. Special K - Konrad Wysocki is the last Princeton player to be named Ivy League Rookie of the Year, earning the award following the 2000-01 season. He averaged 5.6 points and 3.7 rebounds in 27 games that season.
Charity Work - Sophomore Will Venable missed his first free-throw attempt of the season, giving him a .733 career free-throw percentage. Since then, he has improved his percentage 62 points by making 18 consecutive free throws. Against Rutgers, Venable made a career-best 10 free throws.
Minute Man - Junior Spencer Gloger has played every minute of Princeton's last two games.
Double Trouble - Judson Wallace recorded Princeton's first double-double of the season when he scored 15 points and grabbed 12 rebounds in the 76-70 loss to Rutgers. Will Venable followed that up one game later with his first career double-double against Rider when he scored 10 points and grabbed 10 rebounds.
Something Has To Give - Texas' James Thomas came into the McNeese State averaging a double-double (13.4 points, 11.5 rebounds). Princeton hasn't given up a double-double this season.
Making His Point - Spencer Gloger scored a team-high 26 points against Rutgers. No Princeton player had scored more since Ray Robins scored 28 in a 60-38 win over Cornell last season.
Streaking - Spencer Gloger has scored in double figures in 15 straight games, dating back to his freshman season of 1999-2000. Gloger did not play either of the last two seasons.
Leading The Way - Spencer Gloger leads Princeton in points (18.4 per game), field goals (45), three-pointers (20) and free throws (19).
Taylor Made - Spencer Gloger has been at or near the top of Ivy League scoring all season. The last Princeton player to lead the Ivy League in scoring for a full season is Brian Taylor, who averaged 25.0 points per game during the 1971-72 season.
Junior Mint - Spencer Gloger leads all Princeton players in career points, despite playing in 31 fewer games than his closest teammate. Gloger has scored 465 points in 35 games. Senior captain Kyle Wente has scored 431 points in 66 games.
Board Games - Judson Wallace and Spencer Gloger are averaging just below 14.0 rebounds per game. The last time Princeton had two players combine to average more than 14 per game was 1973-74, when Andy Rimol and Barnes Hauptfuhrer averaged 14.6.
Rallying Cry - Princeton has experienced both sides of major second-half comebacks this season. In its dramatic 60-57 win over Monmouth, Princeton came back from 10 points down. On Wednesday, Rider rallied from 13 points down to win 62-59.
Playing The Percentages - Princeton is undefeated in games where it has a better field-goal percentage than its opponents (3-0) and winless in games when it doesn't (0-4).
Three For One - Four of Princeton's seven games this season have been decided by three points. Last season, a total of five games were decided by three points or less.
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.
Climbing Ivy - Spencer Gloger leads the Ivy League in scoring with his 18.4 points-per-game average. Gloger is also eighth in the league in rebounds (6.3 per game).
Will The Thrill - Sophomore Will Venable has made 22 of 32 two-point shots this season and 18 of 19 free throws.
Four Score - Princeton currently has four players either averaging or just below 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 the early part of the season. He grabbed both an unbelievable victory and national attention by defeating Monmouth on Dec. 3 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.
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 (449 games).
On The One Hand ... - Princeton has the longest current streak in Division I of consecutive games without allowing at least 100 points (921 games, dating to 1968 vs. North Carolina).
... On The Other Hand - Princeton has not scored at least 100 points in a game in 857 games, dating to a 108-64 win over Yale in 1971.
Time Travel - Princeton's next four games will be in three different time zones: Texas (Central), the two games in the Cable Car Classic (Pacific) and Holy Cross (Eastern).