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Princeton University Athletics
Princeton, Temple Meet on National TV Monday Night
December 17, 2004 | Men's Basketball
Dec. 17, 2004
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Princeton and Temple. Two teams with distinctive styles. Two teams with even more distinctive basketball traditions. Two teams in the hunt for the postseason every year.
It's a perfect matchup for a national television audience, and ESPN2 will be at Temple's Liacouras Center Monday night (7 p.m., WHWH-AM 1350, GoPrincetonTigers.com) when the Tigers and Owls meet for, amazingly, the first time since the 1974-75 season.
How long has it been? Princeton's leading scorer in its last game against Temple was Mickey Steuerer, who scored 20 points in a 59-48 Tiger victory on Jan. 14, 1975. 11 years later, Mickey had a son, Kevin, and Kevin is now a freshman basketball player at Princeton.
Princeton (5-2) joined Temple in one category Sunday afternoon, when the Tigers defeated Monmouth by a 56-52 score to earn the 1,500th win in program history. The Tigers and the Owls (1,626) are two of just 14 programs in NCAA Division I with 1,500 all-time victories.
The Tigers have won four straight, thanks to some stingy defensive play (36.2% opponent FG%) and the resurgent play of senior center Judson Wallace, the Ivy League Player of the Week. Wallace had a season-high 23 points at Monmouth, shooting a perfect 13-for-13 from the free-throw line, and leads Princeton in scoring at 13.3 points per game.
Temple (3-5), which nearly upset fifth-ranked Wake Forest this past Monday at the Liacouras Center, has played what probably is the nation's toughest schedule so far this year. Seven of the Owls' eight opponents thus far have been from the SEC, ACC, PAC-10 or Big East, and the only one that wasn't was Penn. Junior Mardy Collins, who ranks third nationally in steals per game (3.9), is also just 13 points away from become Temple's 41st 1,000-point scorer.
NOTE OF THE DAY
Talking About Defense Four times in its last eight halves of basketball, Princeton has held an opponent to five field goals or fewer in a half.
EIGHT MORE THINGS YOU CAN'T LIVE WITHOUT
Even More Defense Princeton is allowing fewer than 34 points per game from the field. Tiger opponents are averaging fewer than 15 field goals per game through seven games.
Can We Get Any More Defensive? Princeton ranks third nationally in points allowed per game (50.1) and 10th nationally in field-goal percentage defense (36.2%).
How About Some Offense? Five different players have led Princeton in scoring in its first seven games--Luke Owings (Bucknell), Will Venable (Syracuse and Wyoming), Noah Savage (Lafayette), Scott Greenman (Holy Cross) and Judson Wallace (Rutgers, Monmouth).
What About Free Throws? Princeton finished a perfect 18-for-18 from the foul line Sunday at Monmouth. Judson Wallace was a perfect 13-for-13 from the line in that game.
Good Things Come in Threes 54% of Princeton's field-goal attempts this season (156 of 290) have come from three-point range.
Road Warriors Princeton is 13-5 in its last 18 road games. Two of those five losses have come to teams ranked in the top five in the country at the time (Syracuse this year, Duke last year).
Road Warriors 2 Princeton has played six games away from home in its first seven games. The Tigers will play two more games away from Jadwin Gym after tonight before returning home Dec. 31.
Happy Returns? Senior Andre Logan, who started 20 games last year, may return against Temple after missing Princeton's first seven games. Logan, a fifth-year senior, had a third knee surgery Nov. 5.
TIDBITS ON PRINCETON & TEMPLE
It's Been a While Though Princeton and Temple are separated by only 40 miles, the teams haven't played each other since 1975. No player on either team was born until 1982.
Marching Toward March Princeton has appeared in either the NCAA tournament or NIT in 13 of the last 21 seasons. Temple has appeared in either the NCAA tourney or NIT in each of those 21 seasons.
The 1,500 Club Princeton became one of 14 NCAA Division I programs with 1,500 all-time wins with its win at Monmouth Sunday. Temple is seventh on that all-time list with 1,626 victories.
Rest for the Weary Princeton will have seven days without a game before playing Temple. The Owls will have six days without a game before hosting the Tigers.
Youth is Served Both Princeton and Temple are currently starting two players who are either freshmen or in their first year of eligibility (Sargeant, Savage for Princeton; Tyndale, Marshall for Temple).
TEAM NOTES & ANECDOTES
Injury Report Luke Owings has a stress fracture in his left foot and will likely be sidelined for at least one more week. Owings started Princeton's first four games and averaged 8.8 points and 4.8 rebounds.
Injury Report 2 Andre Logan played in 26 of 28 games last year, but missed 40 of the previous 43 games before that and has missed all seven games this year due to knee problems.
Seven is Enough Princeton has played just seven players in each of its last three games. Max Schafer and Mike Stephens have been the only reserves to have played in those games.
Four in a Row... The Tigers have won four straight games. Princeton has had at least one winning streak of five games or more in each of the last 11 seasons.
Coach Speak Joe Scott returned to Princeton in April after four years as head coach at Air Force. Scott was the Mountain West Conference "Coach of the Year" last season after leading the Falcons to their first NCAA tournament in 42 years.
The 500 Club Princeton has made at least one three-point shot in all 501 of its games since the rule came into effect for the 1986-87 season. The Tigers, along with Vanderbilt and UNLV, are the only schools to have made at least one three-pointer in every one of their games in that time.
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.
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.
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.
Just Like This Year 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 (Syracuse has the second-longest streak).
TV Stars Princeton will also appear on ESPN when it plays at Duke Jan. 5. The Tigers also have one more nationally-televised game on CSTV--against Penn March 8 at Jadwin Gym.
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
Accepting Charity Judson Wallace finished 13-for-13 from the free-throw line against Monmouth. Bill Bradley holds the school record for most free throws without a miss, shooting 16-for-16 from the line against Saint Joseph's in the 1963 NCAA tournament first round.
20-20 Vision Judson Wallace has scored 20 or more points 15 times in his last 40 games dating back to 2002-03.
Milestone Year? Judson Wallace needs just 158 points to reach the 1,000-point mark for his career. He would become just the 25th Princeton player to score 1,000 career points.
Minute Man Will Venable has played 119 of 120 minutes in Princeton's last three games and 271 out of a possible 290 minutes for the season.
Mr. Versatility Will Venable is averaging 7.5 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game in Princeton's last four games, all wins.
National Pastime Will Venable was drafted by the Baltimore Orioles in the 15th round of the 2004 MLB Entry Draft after hitting .344 in 96 at-bats for Princeton in 2004.
Taking Care of It Scott Greenman has just 33 turnovers in 35 games the last two seasons. Greenman has a team-high 20 assists and just seven turnovers in seven games this year.
Deep Thoughts Scott Greenman has attempted 27 three-point shots in Princeton's last three games.
More From Deep 185 of Scott Greenman's 265 career field-goal attempts (70%) have come from three-point range, including 43 of 57 (75%) this season.
Start Me Up Noah Savage was the first Princeton freshman to start his first career game since Ed Persia started at Duke in the first game of the 2000-01 season. Savage has started all seven games.
Home Games Noah Savage is a Princeton resident who played basketball at The Hun School, just a mile or so down U.S. Route 206 from the Princeton University campus.
Start Me Up Matt Sargeant's seven points at Monmouth were a season high. Sargeant is averaging 27 minutes per game since entering the starting lineup three games ago.
He's Our Center 6-10 center Mike Stephens has 10 assists and just three turnover in 131 minutes this season. Stephens is also second on the team with five blocked shots.
Super Sub Mike Stephens has played 22 or more minutes off the bench three times in seven games.
21-Point Salute Luke Owings scored 21 points in his first career start, Princeton's 61-48 season-opening win against Bucknell Nov. 11.
Smart Guy Luke Owings was the valedictorian of his high school class at Washington, D.C.'s, Gonzaga College Prep, the same high school attended by former Princeton coach John Thompson.
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 a knee injury.
He's A Player Andre Logan was leading the team in scoring when he first sustained a torn ACL in Jan. 2002. He was then averaging 12 points per game in 2002-03 before ending his season after three games.
Time Chart Guard Max Schafer has played in all seven games off the bench this year. He started the final six games last year due to an injury to starting guard Ed Persia.