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Princeton University Athletics
Cowboy Up
November 20, 2004 | Men's Basketball
Nov. 20, 2004
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Eight months ago, the Princeton men's basketball team headed for the Rocky Mountains for the NCAA tournament. Now, the Tigers return to the region for a first-ever meeting with a team their head coach knows all about.
When the Tigers face Wyoming Monday night at the Arena-Auditorium in Laramie (9 p.m. EST, WHWH-AM 1350, GoPrincetonTigers.com), it will mark the first game between two schools that been consistent postseason qualifiers in the last decade. On the other hand, it will be the 10th time Joe Scott has coached against the Cowboys, a Mountain West Conference rival of Scott's former school, Air Force.
Princeton (1-1) hasn't played since falling at No. 6 Syracuse, 56-45, in the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic Nov. 12 at the Carrier Dome. Wyoming began its season Friday night with a 77-63 home victory over Alcorn State. Steve Leven and Justin Williams each had 16 points to lead the Cowboys.
Senior guard Will Venable has gotten off to a strong start for the Tigers, who play their first five games away from home. Venable is shooting 9 for 11 from the field through two games and had 17 points against the sixth-ranked Orange, shooting 5 for 5 from the field and 6 for 6 from the line. Senior center Judson Wallace had 11 points against Syracuse but has averaged just 20 minutes per game in the first two games due to foul trouble.
Princeton was chosen to finish first in the Ivy League in a preseason poll, while Wyoming, which finished 11-17 overall and 4-10 in league play last year, was chosen to finish last in the eight-team Mountain West this season.
Note of the Day
The Familiar & the Unfamiliar Princeton and Wyoming have never played, but Tiger head coach Joe Scott faced the Cowboys nine times in the last four seasons while the head coach at Air Force.
Eight More Things You Can't Live Without
A Close Call Princeton was tied with sixth-ranked Syracuse with eight minutes left Nov. 12 at the Carrier Dome before the Orange pulled away for a 56-45 victory.
Getting Defensive The Tigers have held their opponents to just 36% shooting overall and 24% shooting from three-point range in their first two games.
Getting Offensive Will Venable and Luke Owings, Princeton two leading scorers this year, have combined to shoot 19 for 27 (70.4%) from the field through two games this season.
Postseason Points The Tigers have reached the postseason eight times in the last nine seasons (5 NCAA, 3 NIT). The Cowboys have reached the postseason four times in the last six years (1 NCAA, 3 NIT).
60-60 Proposition The Tigers have won their last 18 games when scoring 60 or more points. Princeton was 17-0 last season when reaching the 60-point mark.
Passing Through Princeton's centers have combined for 14 of the team's 25 assists through two games. Judson Wallace has a team-high eight, while Mike Stephens is second on the team with six.
Youth Movement Five of Princeton's nine players who have seen action this year are either freshmen or sophomores. Three of the Tigers' first four players off the bench are either freshmen or sophomores.
Road Warriors Princeton will play nine of its first 10 games away from home; the Tigers have just one home game prior to Dec. 31, a Dec. 8 matchup with local rival Rutgers.
TEAM NOTES & ANECDOTES
Numbers Game Princeton needs just four victories to reach the 1,500-win mark as a program. Only 13 other schools in Division I have reached 1,500 wins.
Mountain Man Joe Scott was named Mountain West Conference "Coach of the Year" last season after leading Air Force to its first NCAA tournament in 42 years and its first regular-season conference title.
Mountain Men Princeton's trip to Wyoming is one of two trips for the Tigers to the Mountain Time Zone this season. The Tigers play at the Sun Bowl Tournament at UTEP Dec. 27 and 28.
Not Mountain Men Princeton has played just one game against a Mountain West team since the inception of that conference in 1999--a matchup with UNLV in Charlotte, N.C., in Dec. 1999.
Cowboy Up Scott led Air Force to a 52-47 win at Wyoming last year. The Falcons also defeated the Cowboys in Colorado Springs earlier in the year.
Injury Report... Andre Logan had surgery on his left knee on Nov. 5 for the third time since 2002 and will be out several weeks. Logan started 21 games a year ago and averaged 8.2 points per game.
First Off... Princeton played the first official game of the 2004-05 season Nov. 11, when it defeated Bucknell 61-48 at the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic in Syracuse.
Senior Moments Princeton has five seniors this season (Berger, Logan, Stephens, Venable, Wallace), its largest senior class since the 1997-98 season, when the Tigers finished 27-2.
Election Year Princeton was among 46 teams receiving at least one vote in the preseason USA Today/ESPN Coaches Poll that was released in late October.
Exit Polls The Tigers were chosen to win the Ivy League for the second straight year in a preseason media poll. Princeton was chosen first on 14 of 16 ballots in the poll.
Arc de Triomphe Princeton, along with Vanderbilt and UNLV, are the only teams to have made at least one three-point shot in every game since the rule came into effect for the 1986-87 season. The Tigers' streak currently stands at 496 games.
We're Honored Princeton has two returning first-team All-Ivy players (Judson Wallace, Will Venable) for the first time since the 1996-97 season, when Steve Goodrich and Sydney Johnson returned.
By the Numbers Princeton finished third nationally in scoring defense and 14th nationally in team field-goal percentage last season.
Conference Call Princeton finished its 2003-04 conference season with at least a .500 record for the 51st straight year, a current streak more than twice as long as any other team in NCAA Division I.
The Sweet 15 Princeton has won at least 15 games in each of the last 18 seasons and has not finished below .500 in a season since 1984-85.
Who's Back? Princeton returns 12 letterwinners from a year ago, including seven players who played in at least 26 games last year. All seven of those players averaged at least 12 minutes per game.
Who's Not Back? Princeton lost sharpshooting guard Ed Persia to graduation, while sophomore forward Harrison Schaen is taking the year off from school for personal reasons.
New Faces Tony Newsom is in his first year as a Princeton assistant coach after three seasons at Holy Cross. John Fitzgerald is in his first year in the new position of Director of Basketball Operations.
TV Stars Princeton will appear on ESPN2 against Temple Dec. 20 and ESPN at Duke Jan. 5. The Tigers also have two nationally-televised games on CSTV--against Rutgers Dec. 8 and Penn March 8.
On Schedule Princeton has played a team that eventually reached the Final Four in each of the last four seasons (Duke in 2001, Maryland in 2002, Texas in 2003 and Duke in 2004).
PLAYER NOTES & ANECDOTES
Center of Attention Judson Wallace averaged 15.3 points and 6.4 rebounds last year. He was the first Princeton player since Bob Roma in 1978-79 to average 15 points and six rebounds for a single season.
20-20 Vision Judson Wallace scored 26 or more points four times last season. Prior to last year, Princeton players had scored 26 or more points 15 times total in 14 years.
Milestone Year? Judson Wallace needs 236 points to reach the 1,000-point mark for his career.
Playing the Percentages Will Venable shot 56.8% from the field last season. He shot 63% on two-point shots.
Mr. Versatility Will Venable led Princeton in assists (81, 2.9 apg) and steals (1.5 spg) last season.
O-R-I-O-L-E-S Will Venable was drafted by the Baltimore Orioles in the 15th round (439th overall pick) of the June 2004 MLB Free Agent draft.
Back on Court Andre Logan played in 26 of 28 games last year after missing 40 of the previous 43 Princeton games due to knee injuries
Logan's Run Andre Logan is in his fifth year of eligibility. He was awarded a fifth year after missing all but three games in 2002-03 due to injury.
From Way Downtown Scott Greenman led the Tigers with 42 three-point shots last season. Greenman had at least two three-pointers in 15 of Princeton's 28 games last year.
Taking Care of It Scott Greenman had just 26 turnovers in 28 games last season despite averaging nearly 31 minutes per game.
On Center Stage Mike Stephens shot 53% from the field as a junior. He had 107 points last season after scoring 37 points combined in his first two years.
Playing the Best Mike Stephens scored 10 points at Duke last season while helping hold Duke's Shelden Williams to just six points.
Shooting Star Luke Owings led Princeton in three-point shooting percentage (15-35, 42.9%) last season. Owings shot 53% (34-64) overall from the field.
It's About Connections Luke Owings attended the same high school (Washington, D.C.'s Gonzaga) as former Princeton coach and current Georgetown coach John Thompson III.
The Emperor Maximilian Max Schafer started the final six games for Princeton last season and averaged nearly 25 minutes per game in those six games.
Shot Chart Max Schafer shot 44% from three-point range in Ivy League games last year (12 for 27).
Savage Garden Princeton native Noah Savage has started the team's first two games this season. Savage played at The Hun School, just a mile or so down the road from the Princeton campus.
More Honors Senior Jon Berger won the team's Paul Richard Friedman Memorial Award as a junior. The award is given to the member of the program "who has done his very best every day in every way."
I'm Lovin' It Freshman guard Matt Sargeant and freshman forward Kyle Koncz were each McDonald's All-America nominees during their senior year of high school.