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Princeton University Athletics
Princeton Travels To Penn With Title On The Line
March 03, 2002 | Men's Basketball
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PRINCETON vs. PENNSYLVANIA
The site The Palestra * Philadelphia, Pa.
The date Tuesday, March 5, 2002 * 8:00 p.m. EST
Radio/TV WHWH AM 1350, www.GoPrincetonTigers.com, WPRB FM 103.3/ Comcast SportsNet, DIRECTV, HDNet
The records Princeton: 16-9 (11-2 Ivy League), Pennsylvania: 23-6 (10-3 Ivy League)
The coaches Princeton: John Thompson (second season, 32-20), Pennsylvania: Fran Dunphy (13th season, 229-126)
The series Pennsylvania leads 110-95
Last meeting Pennsylvania defeated Princeton 62-38 *?Feb. 12, 2002
What's at stake? Plenty. Princeton enters the game at 11-2 in the Ivy League, one game ahead of Penn (10-3) and one-half game ahead of Yale (11-3, regular season finished). Princeton, who has already clinched a tie for its ninth Ivy title in 14 years, would win the outright championship and gain an automatic NCAA tournament berth with a win. A Penn win over Princeton would create a three-way tie for the championship between Penn, Princeton and Yale.
What happens if there is a three-way tie? Should Penn defeat Princeton, then the three teams would be deemed tri-champions and would play off for the automatic bid. The Quakers would be the top seed in the three-team playoff by virtue of best head-to-head record with Princeton and Yale. The Tigers and Bulldogs would then play, and the winner would face Penn.
When and where would these games be? The first game would be Thursday night at the Palestra, and the winner of that game would play Penn Saturday night at Lafayette. How many straight years have Princeton and Penn met in the regular season finale where one of them could win the outright title with a win and the other could force a playoff with a win? Four.
What happened the last three times the teams met in this situation? The team in first place won all three. Penn was one game up on Princeton with one to play in 1999 and 2000 and won, while Princeton was one game up on Penn with one to play last year and won.
How many straight years has either Princeton or Penn represented the Ivy League in the NCAA tournament? 13 straight, not to mention 31 of the last 33.
What happened the first time Princeton played Penn this season? The Quakers defeated Princeton 62-38 on Feb. 12 at Jadwin Gym. Penn used a 20-0 first half run to build a 24-3 lead.
What did Princeton shoot from the field against Penn in the first meeting this season? A season-low 27.5%.
What did Princeton shoot from three-point range in that first game? The Tigers were 6 for 23.
What were the first half shooting numbers? Penn shot 54.5% (12 for 22), Princeton shot 25% (6 for 24).
What are Penn's rebounding numbers for the year? The Quakers have been outrebounded as a team 994-925.
What were the rebounding numbers for the first game between Princeton and Penn? Penn outrebounded Princeton 39-27.
What has the team that has won the first game of the season between Princeton and Penn done in the second game in 10 of the last 11 years? Won.
How many of the last 27 Princeton-Penn games have been decided by at least 10 points? 19.
With one regular-season league game left in his second season, what is John Thompson's record in Ivy games? 22-5.
Where does that rank among Princeton's last four coaches (of the last 39 seasons)? Fourth, with a chance to tie for third. Thompson's predecessor Bill Carmody went 28-0 in his first two seasons. Pete Carril, Carmody's predecessor, went 26-2. Before Carril, Butch van Breda Kolff went 23-5.
Since the formation of the Ivy League in the 1956-57 season, what is Princeton's seasonal record against Penn? Prior to the start of this season, Princeton and Penn had completed 45 season series. Not including playoff games, Princeton has swept Penn 17 times, Penn has swept Princeton 11 times and the teams have split 17 times.
How many times has Penn won its first game against Princeton? 21.
In those 21 seasons, what is Princeton's record in the second game? 10-11.
What is Princeton's record this season when it shoots at least 46% from the field? 13-0.
What is Princeton's record this season when it shoots less than 46%? 3-9.
Of Princeton's three wins when shooting less than 46%, how many were against Columbia? Two.
Of Princeton's 25 games, how many has the team that had the lead longest won? 21.
Of the four games this season where the team that had the lead longer lost, how many were against Columbia and how many were this past weekend? Two and two.
How many points did Princeton and Penn allow Columbia in the two first halves this weekend? 65.
How many points did Princeton and Penn allow Columbia in the two second halves this weekend? 30.
By how many combined points did Princeton and Penn trail Columbia at halftime this weekend? 21.
When did Princeton take its first lead of the game against Columbia Saturday night? Princeton defeated Columbia 49-48 Saturday night. The Tigers trailed from the second minute of the game, when the Lions took a 2-0 lead, until 33.5 seconds remained, when Mike Bechtold hit the game-winning three-pointer.
How many of Princeton's 49 points against Columbia did Mike Bechtold score? 25, a career high. Bechtold's previous high was 23 against Lafayette last season.
When was the last time a Princeton player scored more than half the team's points in a game? 1995, when Rick Hielscher scored 34 of Princeton's 64-56 loss at Dartmouth.
How many points per game did Mike Bechtold average for the first 20 games of the season? 8.4.
How many points has Mike Bechtold averaged for the last five games? 15.2.
What is Mike Bechtold's three-point percentage for the last five games? 50% (15 for 30).
What was Mike Bechtold's three-point percentage Saturday night against Columbia? 50% (5 for 10).
What was the rest of the team's? 22% (4 for 18).
How many three-pointers does Mike Bechtold have this season? 53.
How many three-pointers did Mike Bechtold have for his first three seasons combined59? 59.
Where does Mike Bechtold rank all-time at Princeton in three-pointers? Eighth, with 112.
Where does Mike Bechtold rank all-time at Princeton in three-pointers per minutes played? Second. Bechtold has 112 three-pointers in 1,413 minutes, an average of one every 12.6 minutes. Only Sean Jackson (one every 10.6 minutes) had a better average.
How many times this season did Princeton have either the Ivy League Rookie of the Week or Player of the Week? Zero.
How many Princeton players average in double figures in scoring? None.
Where does Princeton rank individually in the Ivy League? No Tiger is in the Top 15 in scoring or rebounding or in the Top 10 in assists. No Tiger is ranked in the top 10 in shooting from either the field or the foul line.
What is Ahmed El-Nokali's shooting percentage in Princeton's 16 wins? 50%.
What is Ahmed El-Nokali's shooting percentage in Princeton's nine losses? 27%.
What is Ahmed El-Nokali's shooting percentage in Princeton's two Ivy losses? 18.8% (3 for 16, including 0 for 4 against Penn).
Ahmed El-Nokali has played a team-high 801 minutes. How many more minutes has he played than Kyle Wente, who is second? 99.
How many times did Kyle Wente lead the team in rebounding in the first nine games of the season? Zero.
How many times has Kyle Wente led the team in rebounding in the last 16 games? 11.
How many steals and turnovers does Kyle Wente have? 30 steals, 27 turnovers this season (with 61 assists, by the way). For his career he has 64 steals and 61 turnovers.
How many times this season has Ray Robins scored five or fewer or 14 or more points in a game? 21 times in 25 games.
How many times this season has Ray Robins scored two or fewer or 16 or more points in a game? 16 times in 25 games.
How many points and rebounds per game has Dominick Martin averaged in the last five games? 6.2 points, 3.4 rebounds.
How many points and rebounds per game did Dominick Martin average for the first 20 games? 2.9 points, 2.0 rebounds.
How many points per game has Ed Persia averaged in the last six games and how many did he average for the 19 before that? 9.5 per game for the last six, 4.2 prior to that.
What has been Will Venable's three-point shooting from the first Penn game and what was it before that? Will Venable, who led Princeton with 11 points in the first Penn game, is 8 for 12 from three-point range beginning with that game. He was 2 for 15 for the season prior to that.
How many times had Konrad Wysocki been to the Palestra in his life prior to last year's Princeton-at-Penn game? Zero.
What did Konrad Wysocki do at the Palestra last year? Wysocki, then a freshman, had 12 points and 10 rebounds a year ago at Penn.
How many different players have led Princeton in scoring in a game this season? Nine.
How many of Princeton's nine losses have come to teams in the Top 25? Three. Princeton has lost to No. 1 Kansas, No. 2 Maryland and No. 25 California. In addition, St. Joe's was ranked ninth when Princeton lost to them.
Princeton has already clinched a tie for the Ivy League title. How many championships has Princeton won in the last 14 years? Nine.
How many straight years has Princeton played in the postseason? Six.