Men's Hoops Makes Trip North With Little Margin For Error

Feb. 20, 2003

The men's basketball embarks on the second half of its Ivy League schedule this weekend with games at Dartmouth and Harvard. Princeton is 5-2 in the league this year and will begin the trip against a Big Green squad that swept its last home weekend.

The Facts

PRINCETON at DARTMOUTH
The site Leede Arena * Hanover, N.H.
The date Friday, February 21, 2003 *7 p.m.
Radio WCTC 1450 AM; www.GoPrincetonTigers.com
The records Princeton: 11-9, 5-2 Ivy League (one win in a row); Dartmouth: 6-15, 2-6 Ivy League (two wins in a row)
The coaches Princeton: John Thompson (third season, 42-31); Dartmouth: Dave Faucher (13th season, 131-179)
The series Princeton leads 138-56 Last time Princeton won 57-52, Feb. 1, 2003 at Princeton, N.J.

The Notes

Gentlemen, Start Your Engines After completing the first half of its Ivy League schedule, Princeton (5-2) finds itself two games behind Penn (7-0) and 1.5 games behind Brown (7-1). The Tigers face both teams once more this season, including a home game against Penn in the season finale. Seven teams are still mathematically alive in the league race; Columbia (0-8) is eliminated. Just win, baby Should Princeton win at least two of its remaining seven games, it would ensure itself of its 50th consecutive non-losing Ivy League season. Princeton's current streak of 49 is the second longest of all time behind UCLA's current 54, though UCLA (2-10 in the Pac-10) will have it streak end at the end of this season.

More win, baby Princeton's streak of 49 consecutive non-losing conference seasons is the second-longest in history. The top five all-time:

54 UCLA (1948-02) (The Bruins' streak will end at 54.)
49 Princeton (1953-active)
37 North Carolina (1964-01)
27 Arkansas (1924-51)
26 Purdue (1919-45)

Last win Should Princeton win two of its remaining seven games, it will have its 50th consecutive non-losing league season. When UCLA's 54-year streak ends this season, Princeton will have the longest active streak. The second-longest belongs to Syracuse, which will have its 22nd straight non-losing league record this season.

Sweep Dreams Princeton has swept that Harvard/Dartmouth road weekend five times in the last seven seasons and is 12-2 during that stretch.

Will He Play Sophomore Will Venable has missed one of Princeton's last 45 games, the 57-52 victory over Dartmouth on Feb. 1. In two games against the Big Green last season, Venable averaged 12.0 points per game, the most against any Ivy League team.

Ray Of Hope Senior Ray Robins took Venable's spot in the starting lineup and scored 14 points against Dartmouth. He also took Spencer Gloger's place in the starting lineup last weekend and led Princeton with 15 points.

Splitting Headache In its first Ivy championship season under John Thompson two years ago, Princeton split a wild weekend on this road trip. Princeton made two field goals in the final seven minutes and Dartmouth's Ian McGinnis hit the game-winning layup in a 57-56 win. The next night, Kyle Wente hit a 25-foot three-pointer at the buzzer to give Princeton a 69-67 win at Harvard in a game that had three lead changes in the final 19.7 seconds.

Mr. Ed Ed Persia can become Princeton's 11th player to hit 100 career three-pointers if he makes two this weekend. He would move past Matt Lapin and into 10th place all-time with four. Spencer Gloger became the 10th player in school history to hit 100 three-pointers earlier this season and currently stands in ninth with 109.

Secondary Ed-ucation In Ivy League games, Ed Persia is shooting 60.9% from the field (28 for 46) and 55.2% from three-point range (16 for 29).

Double Trouble Senior Ray Robins recorded his second career double-double on Saturday night when he scored 15 points and grabbed 12 rebounds in leading Princeton to a 56-49 win over Yale. It was his second-highest scoring total this season (Lafayette, 18) and his best in Ivy League games. His 12 rebounds is a career high and the second-highest rebound total for a Princeton player this season (Judson Wallace, 14).

More Double Junior Konrad Wysocki has come off the bench to score in double figures in each of Princeton's last three games.

20-20 Vision Princeton had two players with at least 20 points for the second time this season in its 67-61 win against Harvard earlier in the season. Will Venable led all scorers with 21 points, while Judson Wallace scored a career-high 20 points. The other game was Lafayette (Venable, 23; Gloger, 22).

Say Wente Senior captain Kyle Wente leads the Ivy League in steals (1.95 per game) and assist:turnover ratio (2.38, 69 assists/29 turnovers).

Marginally Speaking Princeton leads the Ivy League in turnover margin (+2.05) and is one of two teams in the league to have forced more turnovers than it has committed. It also leads the Ivy League in assist:turnover ratio (1.26).

For Starters When Spencer Gloger missed Saturday's contest, it meant that no Princeton player has started all 20 games this season. Three players (Ed Persia, Ray Robins and Kyle Wente) have played in all 20 games this season, while three other players have started in every game they've played (Spencer Gloger, Will Venable, Judson Wallace).

Getting Defensive Princeton, which has earned the national scoring defense title eight times in the last 10 years, is currently second in the Ivy League with a 61.8 average (Penn, 59.4). The Tigers are 26th in the country.

Back To Ed Ed Persia has been Princeton's best offensive performer over the last two weeks. In the span of five games, he is averaging 12.4 points per game and is shooting 62.2% from the field (23 for 37).

Last Ed Ed Persia is second on the team in scoring in Ivy League games, .1 of a point behind Spencer Gloger. Persia has scored 73 points in the six games for a 12.2 average, while Gloger has 74 points for a 12.3 average.

52 Pickup Princeton's streak of 52 straight wins at home over Brown ended last Friday night when the Bears earned an 80-73 victory. Brown shot 61.0% from the field and was led in scoring by Jason Forte, who picked up 18 points to go along with nine assists.

Scoring Frenzy Brown became the first Ivy team to score 80 points against Princeton in 224 games (Dartmouth 81-71, 1987).

A League of Their Own Princeton, Penn, Yale and Brown are 16-0 against the other four Ivy League teams. Princeton's two losses are to Pennsylvania and Brown, while Yale's four losses are to Brown (twice), Princeton and Pennsylvania. Brown has lost to Pennsylvania.

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.

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.

Three For All Princeton has made at least one three-pointer in every game since the rule was enacted in the 1986-87 season (460 games).

On The One Hand ... Princeton has the longest current streak in Division I of consecutive games without allowing at least 100 points (933 games, dating to 1968 vs. North Carolina).

... On The Other Hand Princeton has not reached the 100-point mark in 869 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 Following Saturday's contest at Harvard, Princeton will play its final road weekend of the season next weekend when it travels to Yale and Brown. The Yale game will be televised live on the YES Network.

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