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Princeton University Athletics
Men's Hoops Looks To End 2002 With A Bang At Cable Car Classic
December 24, 2002 | Men's Basketball
Dec. 24, 2002
The Princeton Tigers, fresh off their valiant three-point loss to No. 10 Texas on Sunday, will face Texas A&M Friday to open the Cable Car Classic, hosted by Santa Clara. Princeton is looking to end its current three-game skid and enter 2003 with some momentum.
Game Notes
Texas Two-Step - Princeton nearly earned its biggest upset in years on Sunday when it fell 57-54 at No. 10 Texas in an ESPN contest. Princeton led by three points at halftime and by two points with five minutes remaining.
Fit To Be Tied - Princeton and Texas were tied 11 times on Sunday and had nine lead changes.
D-Fence - With 9:38 remaining in the first half, Texas had three points. The Tigers forced five turnovers and six missed field-goal attempts.
Nice To Meet You - No current Princeton player has ever played against Texas A&M, Santa Clara or Mississippi Valley St. The Tigers are 2-0 all-time against the Aggies, having last faced them in 1997. Princeton is 1-1 against Santa Clara, having last played the Broncos in 1990. Princeton and Mississippi Valley St. have never met. California dreamin' - Princeton starts three players from California (Spencer Gloger, Santa Margarita; Ray Robins, Paso Robles; Will Venable, San Rafael) and has a fourth player (Mike Stephens, Napa) from California on its roster.
Seventh Heaven - Princeton set a program record by reaching its seventh consecutive postseason (four NCAA tournaments, three NITs). It is one of 19 teams to reach at least seven consecutive postseasons.
Three For All - Five of Princeton's eight games this season have been decided by exactly three points. Five of Princeton's 191 games prior to this season were decided by exactly three points.
Minute Man - Junior Spencer Gloger has played 117 of a possible 120 minutes in Princeton's last three games.
Poll Position - Princeton was picked to finish third in the annual preseason media poll. Penn picked up 11 first-place votes and 123 total points, while Yale picked up the remaining five first-place votes and 116 points. Princeton received 90 points, five more than Brown. Each of the top three teams in this year's poll shared the Ivy League championship last season. It was the first time in league history when there was a three-way tie for the championship.
Six Shooter - In the last nine years, Princeton has defeated six different Texas teams and owns a 9-2 record against the state. The Tigers are 2-1 against T.C.U., 2-1 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 last 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 Week, earning the award following the 2000-01 season. He averaged 5.6 points and 3.7 rebounds in 27 games that season.
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.
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 16 straight games, dating back to the 20th century.
Leading The Way - Spencer Gloger leads Princeton in points (17.5 per game), field goals (50), three-pointers (21) and free throws (19).
Taylor Made - The last Princeton player to lead the Ivy League in scoring for a full season was 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 476 points in 36 games. Senior captain Kyle Wente has scored 445 points in 67 games.
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 (0-5).
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.
The Shot - Junior Ed Persia had the 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).
Three For All - Princeton has made at least one three-pointer in every game since the rule was enacted in the 1986-87 season (450 games).
On The One Hand ... - Princeton has the longest current streak in Division I of consecutive games without allowing at least 100 points (922 games, dating to 1968 vs. North Carolina).
... On The Other Hand - Princeton has not scored at least 100 points in a game in 858 games, dating to a 108-64 win over Yale in 1971.
What's The Scoop? - Princeton's upcoming recruiting class was ranked in the Top 50 recently by the publication Hoop Scoop. Princeton has already had four recruits receive early admittance, including a pair of Californians, Harrison Schaen (6-9, Mater Dei HS) and Brian Elbogen (6-8, California HS). The other two players coming to Princeton next season are Max Schafer (6-1, Depaul HS, N.J.) and Luke Owings (6-5, Gonzaga HS, D.C.)
The Crystal Ball - Princeton returns to the Eastern time zone to play Holy Cross on Jan. 3, and then will look for its first home win this season on Jan. 7 against UMBC.