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Princeton University Athletics
2004-05 Tiger Basketball Facts
October 19, 2004 | Men's Basketball
Oct. 19, 2004
Princeton Basketball Facts 2004-05
Just Win, Baby The Princeton men's basketball team needs just five victories to reach 1,500 all-time wins. Only 13 Division I teams have 1,500 wins heading into the 2004-05 season.
Your Worldwide Leader... At least two Princeton games this season will be nationally televised by ESPN or ESPN2. Princeton's game at Temple Dec. 20 is slated for ESPN2, while the game at Duke Jan. 5 is set for ESPN. Should the Tigers reach the Coaches vs. Cancer final four at Madison Square Garden Nov. 18-19, those games will also be televised on ESPN or ESPN2.
Mountain Man Head coach Joe Scott no longer coaches at Air Force, but he will be taking his Princeton team to the Mountain Time Zone twice. The Tigers play at Wyoming Nov. 22 and participate in UTEP's Sun Bowl Tournament Dec. 27-28.
Milestone Seasons Judson Wallace needs just 251 points to pass the 1,000-career-point mark, while Will Venable needs 285 points for 1,000. The last Princeton player to reach the 1,000-point mark was Gabe Lewullis in 1999. Who is it This Year? In each of the last four seasons, the Tigers have played a team during the regular season that has gone on to reach the Final Four. Princeton played Duke last year and in 2001, played Maryland in 2002 and met Texas in 2003.
Statitude Princeton finished 3rd nationally last season in points allowed per game (56.8) and 14th nationally in team field-goal percentage (48.1%). The Tigers finished 17-0 last season when they scored at least 60 points.
Many Happy Returns Princeton returns 81% of its scoring and 82% of its rebounding from a season ago.
The Jadwin Effect Entering the 2004-05 season, Princeton has the following home winning streaks against Ivy League opponents--Cornell, 19 games dating back to 1985-86; Dartmouth, 17 games dating back to 1987-88; Harvard, 15 games dating back to 1989-90; Yale, 11 games dating back to 1993-94; Columbia, 11 games dating back to 1993-94.
Wonderful Wallace Judson Wallace scored 26 or more points four times last season. Prior to last season, Princeton players had scored 26 or more points a total of 15 times in the previous 14 seasons.
Sunday Surprise The season's first Ivy League weekend will be an unusual one. Harvard, Dartmouth, Columbia & Cornell will play a Saturday-Sunday schedule, while Yale, Brown, Princeton & Penn play the usual Friday-Saturday schedule.
Where There's A Will... Will Venable shot 60% from the field and played 36 minutes per game in Ivy League play last season. No other Princeton player averaged more than 31 minutes in Ivy League play.
Close Calls Princeton lost eight times in 2003-04. In five of those eight games (UC Irvine, Rutgers, Lafayette, Oklahoma, Minnesota), the Tigers had a chance to tie the game or take the lead at some point in the final two minutes of the game.
Board Work Princeton outrebounded its opponents by nearly three rebounds per game last season. In Ivy League play, the Tigers outrebounded their opponents by an average of nearly eight rebounds per game.
New Faces Even though Joe Scott is a familiar face, there are some new faces on the Princeton staff. Assistant coach Tony Newsom was previously the associate head coach at Holy Cross, while Williams graduate John Fitzgerald joins the staff as the Director of Basketball Operations.
Birthday Boys Eight Princeton players have birthdays during the 2004-05 regular season. The Tigers have games scheduled on four of those days (Dec. 28, Dec. 31, Feb. 25 and March 8).
Dec. 2 Patrick Ekeruo (20)
Dec. 28 (Sun Bowl Tourn.) Max Schafer (20)
Dec. 31 (Loyola) Judson Wallace (22)
Jan. 15 Michael Rudoy (20)
Jan. 20 Noah Savage (19)
Feb. 25 (Columbia) Luke Owings (20)
Feb. 27 Scott Greenman (21)
March 8 (Penn) Matt Sargeant (19)