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Princeton University Athletics
Can Men's Hoops Inch Closer In Ivy Race? Princeton Looks To Answer YES
February 26, 2003 | Men's Basketball
Feb. 26, 2003
PRINCETON, N.J. - Two of the three Ivy League co-champions last season will meet Friday night with hopes of staying in the hunt for the 2003 crown. The YES Network will televise the second meeting between Princeton and Yale, when Princeton will look to complete the season sweep against the Bulldogs.
The game can also be heard live on WCTC 1450 AM and GoPrincetonTigers.com. Saturday's game against Brown will be available on both the internet and WBUD 1260 AM.
Princeton-Yale Notes in PDF Format
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The Facts
PRINCETON at YALE
The site Lee Amphitheatre *New Haven, Conn.
The date Friday, February 28, 2003 *7 p.m.
TV/Radio YES; WCTC 1450 AM; www.GoPrincetonTigers.com
The records Princeton: 13-9, 7-2 Ivy League (three wins in a row); Yale: 12-11, 6-4 Ivy League (two wins in a row)
The coaches Princeton: John Thompson (third season, 44-31); Yale: James Jones (fourth season, 50-59)
The series Princeton leads 132-75
Last time Princeton won 56-49, Feb. 15, 2003 at Princeton, N.J.
The Notes
The Race Is On With two full weekends of Ivy League play remaining, four teams remain in the hunt for the Ivy League title. Penn stands in first, and can eliminate Yale with any combination of Penn victories and Yale losses totalling two. Princeton has five games remaining, including a regular-season finale at home against Penn. The Tigers need Penn to drop one game before that meeting to have a chance at its third straight Ivy League championship. Three For One There was a three-way tie for first place in the Ivy League for the first time ever last year. If Brown beats Penn at home, there is a good chance for that scenario to repeat itself again this year. Brown and Penn would both have one loss, and Princeton would have two. If Princeton runs the table, and Brown and Penn win their remaining non-Princeton games, each team would end the Ivy season 12-2. If Penn beats Brown, the Bears and Tigers would still remain alive in the league race, but both would need a lot of help.
We Are All The Champions Princeton and Yale were among the three Ivy League champions last season. Yale topped Princeton in the first Ivy League playoff game before falling to Penn to determine the league representative to the NCAA tournament. Both teams won on their home courts, including a 59-46 win at Jadwin Gym on Feb. 22.
Out Of The Gates Yale averaged 33.5 points in the first half of its two wins over Princeton last year. In its loss at Princeton, the Bulldogs scored 15 first-half points.
Nine Lives Princeton holds a slim 5-4 advantage over Yale in the last nine meetings, with Princeton winning a 56-49 contest on Feb. 15 earlier in the season.
Double Trouble Senior Ray Robins helped Princeton past Yale in the first meeting between the two school this season with his first double-double of the season and the second of his career. Robins scored 15 points and grabbed a career-high 12 rebounds in a 56-49 home victory.
Half And Half The top half of the Ivy League (Brown, Penn, Princeton and Yale) is 24-0 against the bottom half of the league (Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth and Harvard).
Ray Of Hope Ray Robins scored 22 points overall, including the final four, to lead Princeton to a 67-66 win at Harvard last Saturday. Robins' final jumper, an 18-footer from above the free-throw line, gave the Tigers a four-point lead with 40 seconds remaining.
I'm Honored Ray Robins was named the Ivy League Player of the Week after averaging 19.5 points and 3.0 rebounds per game in the sweep of Harvard and Dartmouth. Robins shot 70.8% from the field for the weekend, including a 7-for-8 performance against Dartmouth on Friday.
It's Been A While Ray Robins was the first Ivy League Player of the Week since Nate Walton earned the award in leading Princeton past Penn in the finale of the 2000-01 season. Since earning that award, Princeton has won 45 games, including 18 of 23 in the league, played in the NCAA tournament and the NIT, won an Ivy League title and stayed in the race for another one.
Just Win, Baby Princeton has ensured itself of its 50th consecutive non-losing Ivy League season. Princeton's streak is the second longest of all time behind UCLA's current streak of 54. UCLA (3-11 in the Pac-10) will have its streak end at the end of this season.
More Win, Baby Princeton's streak of 50 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.)
50 Princeton (1953-active)
37 North Carolina (1964-01)
27 Arkansas (1924-51)
26 Purdue (1919-45)
Last Win 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.
Point, Counterpoint Princeton's top two scorers, based on points-per-game average, are no longer with the team. Junior Andre Logan averaged 12.0 points in the first three games before having knee surgery and withdrawing from school. He will have two years of eligibility remaining when he returns. Junior Spencer Gloger averaged 15.7 points per game before being ruled academically ineligible. Gloger is no longer enrolled at Princeton University.
Mr. Ed Ed Persia became Princeton's 11th player to hit 100 career three-pointers when he made two against Dartmouth. He then moved into 10th place all-time at Princeton with two more against Harvard, moving him ahead of Matthew Lapin. Persia needs eight more to move past Spencer Gloger and into ninth place all-time.
Brian's Song Brian Earl is the career leader in three-pointers at Princeton with 281. To catch Earl, Persia would need to average 5.6 three-pointers per game for the rest of his career.
Center of Attention Sophomore Judson Wallace averaged 12.5 points and 7.5 rebounds per game in Princeton's sweep of Harvard and Dartmouth last weekend. He shot 76.9% from the field (10 for 13) and 83.3% from the free-throw line (5 for 6).
Say Wente Senior captain Kyle Wente leads the Ivy League in steals (2.09 per game) and assist:turnover ratio (2.38, 81 assists/34 turnovers).
Great Scott Freshman Scott Greenman matched a career-high with 11 points in Princeton's 70-60 victory over Dartmouth last weekend. Greenman, a one-time Ivy League Rookie of the Week, made four straight baskets, including three from beyond the arc. Greenman's 11 points were more than he scored in his first seven Ivy League games combined (six).
Will-ing Them To Victory Sophomore Will Venable is the active leading scorer for Princeton right now, averaging 11.2 points per game. He is averaging 3.9 points per game more in Princeton's 13 wins (12.9 ppg) than he is in its nine losses (8.0). That is the second largest margin on the team, next to Ray Robins (12.7 ppg in wins, 8.0 in losses).
Marginally Speaking Princeton leads the Ivy League in turnover margin (+1.64) 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 (1.25).
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 61.9 average (Penn, 59.4). The Tigers are 26th in the country.
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 (462 games).
On The One Hand ... Princeton has the longest current streak in Division I of consecutive games without allowing at least 100 points (935 games, dating to 1968 vs. North Carolina).
... On The Other Hand Princeton has not reached the 100-point mark in 871 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 travel to Brown Saturday night to try and avenge an 80-73 loss at home on Feb. 14. Jason Forte led Brown with 18 points and nine assists in the win. It was Brown's first win at Princeton in 53 attempts, which had been the longest streak in Division I college basketball.