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Princeton University Athletics
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January 06, 2003 | Men's Basketball
Jan. 6, 2003
The men's basketball team has been all over the country during the last two weeks, but it will stay in familiar territory for the rest of the month. Tuesday's battle with UMBC (7:30, WCTC 1450 AM, GoPrincetonTigers.com) opens a four-game homestand for the Tigers, who have lost four of their last five games by a total of 13 points.
Princeton-UMBC Game Notes in PDF Format
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The Facts
UMBC at PRINCETON
The site Jadwin Gym * Princeton, N.J.
The date Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2003 *7:30 p.m.
TV/Radio WCTC 1450 AM; www.GoPrincetonTigers.com
The records Princeton: 4-7 (two losses in a row); UMBC: 4-6 (six losses in a row)
The coaches Princeton: John Thompson (third season, 36-29); UMBC: Tom Sullivan (eighth season, 96-111)
The series Princeton leads 1-0
Last time Princeton won 67-55 on Dec. 12, 1993
Game Notes
Home Sweet Home - Princeton returns home tonight after five games on the road. The Tigers are looking for their first home win of the 2002-03 campaign after dropping contests to FIU and Rutgers at Jadwin Gym.
Third Time's A Charm - Princeton has not lost its first three home games since the 1979-80 season, when the Tigers fell to Northeastern, Villanova and St. John's.
Been There, Done That - Princeton has started each of its last two seasons with 4-7 records. Both times, it went on to win the Ivy League championship. Long Time, No See - Princeton and UMBC haven't met since the 1993-94 season, when the Tigers won their first ever meeting with the Retrievers 67-55 in the consolation game of the Otis Spunkmeyer Classic at Berkeley, Calif.
Common Cold - Both Princeton and UMBC have lost to one common opponent this season, Santa Clara.
Cross-ed Up - Jave Meade hit a free throw with 4.3 seconds left to lead Holy Cross to a 55-54 victory over Princeton Friday night.
Close But No Cigar - Princeton's last four losses have come by a total of 13 points, including a one-point loss to Holy Cross last Friday night.
Three For One - Princeton played five games all of last season that were decided by three points. It has already played five games this season that have been decided by three points or less.
Top Gun - Junior Spencer Gloger leads Princeton with 17.1 points per game. The last Princeton player to end a season with a better scoring average was Brian Taylor (25.0 ppg, 1971-72).
Streaking - Spencer Gloger has scored in double figures in 19 straight games, dating back to the 20th century. He kept his streak alive with a three-pointer in the final seconds of Friday's 55-54 loss to Holy Cross. The shot tied the score at 54-54 with 5.5 seconds remaining.
A League (Almost) Of His Own - Spencer Gloger trailed Brown's Earl Hunt by one-tenth of a point in the Ivy League scoring race (17.2/17.1). The last Princeton player to lead the Ivy League in scoring was Brian Taylor, who did it during the 1971-72 season.
Margin-ally Speaking - Princeton leads the Ivy League in turnover margin, causing an average of 13.3 turnovers while recording 12.9 per game. The ratio of +0.36 per game leads Penn +0.29.
Oh Captain, My Captain - Senior captain Kyle Wente is second in the Ivy League in assist/turnover ratio with a 2.24 ratio per game.
Will The Thrill - Sophomore Will Venable's 11.4 ppg average is more than double last year's average of 5.6 ppg. It is also the second highest scoring average in John Thompson's three years as head coach of Princeton.
12 Days Of Christmas - Will Venable led Princeton to a victory over Big 12 member Texas A&M with 21 points in a 76-62 victory in the Cable Car Classic.
Four Score - Junior Ed Persia scored a career-high 20 points in the Cable Car Classic championship game, a 77-71 loss to Santa Clara. He brought Princeton back in the first half with three-pointers on four consecutive Princeton possessions and ended up scoring 14 straight points for the Tigers.
Special K - Konrad Wysocki recorded Princeton's third double-double of the season with 10 points and 11 rebounds against Texas A&M. After missing the first six games of the season with a sprained ankle, the former Ivy League Rookie of the Year has averaged 5.6 points and 4.6 rebounds off the bench.
Texas Two-Step - Princeton nearly earned its biggest upset in years on Dec. 22 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.
Board Games - Sophomore Judson Wallace has started every game at center for Princeton this season and leads the team with 6.5 rebounds per game. Wallace is also averaging 7.9 points per game and is the active team leader in three-point percentage (9 for 21; .429).
The Shot - Junior Ed Persia had the highlight of the season so far for Princeton. 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).
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 - Princeton has made at least one three-pointer in every game since the rule was enacted in the 1986-87 season (453 games).
On The One Hand ... - Princeton has the longest current streak in Division I of consecutive games without allowing at least 100 points (925 games, dating to 1968 vs. North Carolina).
... On The Other Hand - Princeton has not reached the 100-point mark in 861 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 California kids, 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 will take its annual exam break for the next three weeks before returning to the court on Jan. 27 to take on Ursinus. That will be the final nonleague game of the season for the Tigers, who will open defense of their two Ivy League championships at home on Jan. 31 when they take on Harvard.