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Princeton University Athletics
Men's Basketball Meets Cornell in Battle for First Place
February 12, 2004 | Men's Basketball
Feb. 12, 2004
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While Princeton's two meetings every season with Penn may get much of the attention, and while every Ivy League game takes on added importance with no postseason tournament, the Tigers' meeting with Cornell Friday night in Ithaca (8 p.m., WPRB-FM 103.3, GoPrincetonTigers.com) will likely turn out to be one of the biggest games in the Ivy League this season.
A Princeton win would leave the Tigers as the only Ivy team with just one league loss. A Cornell win would give that same distinction to the Big Red and potentially leave the Tigers as one of three teams in a logjam with two league losses should Penn win at Columbia and Brown win at Harvard. After this weekend, the Tigers play four consecutive home games before traveling to Harvard and Dartmouth on the final weekend of league play.
The Tigers (11-7, 4-1) can take comfort in their performance of two weekends ago on the road, when Princeton used dominating defense and clutch play to sweep Brown and Yale and start the Ivy season 2-0. They can also take comfort in the play of junior guard Will Venable, who is leading the team in both scoring (10.8 ppg) and rebounding (6.2) in conference play.
Cornell (10-9, 5-1), which lost its first league game at Yale last Saturday, has the Ivy League's top two scorers in senior guard Ka'Ron Barnes (20.8 ppg) and junior guard Cody Toppert (17.7 ppg). Barnes also leads the league in assists for the Big Red, who average a league-high 74 points per game. Princeton has swept its road weekend with Cornell and Columbia nine of the last 10 years and 12 of the last 15 seasons.
NOTE OF THE DAY
What it Means -- A win at Cornell Friday would leave Princeton as the only Ivy team with just one league loss. A Cornell win could leave the Tigers as potentially one of three teams with two league losses.
EIGHT MORE THINGS YOU CAN'T LIVE WITHOUT
Both Ends of the Floor...-- Princeton ranks second in Division I in scoring defense (55.2 ppg) and 24th in Division I in team field-goal percentage (47.9%).
At Home on the Road -- The Tigers have won nine of their last 10 games at Newman Arena. The average margin of victory in those nine wins is better than 15 points per game.
Series Facts -- Princeton has a 19-1 record against Cornell the last 10 seasons and a 27-3 record against the Big Red in the last 15 seasons.
More Series Facts -- Princeton has swept its road weekend with Cornell and Columbia in nine of the last 10 seasons and 12 of the last 15 seasons.
On the Defensive -- Princeton is holding its opponents to 35% shooting in Ivy League play. The Tigers have held those opponents to 40% or worse shooting in nine of 10 halves in those five games.
On Any Given Night -- In the last six games, five different Princeton players (Mike Stephens, Will Venable, Andre Logan, Ed Persia, Scott Greenman) have led the team in scoring.
Board Work -- Princeton is outrebounding its five Ivy League opponents by an average of 7.6 rebounds per game. The Tigers have outrebounded four of their five league opponents by double digits.
Movin' On Up -- Ed Persia now has 140 career three-pointers, moving him into seventh place on Princeton's all-time list. Persia needs three three-pointers to pass Chris Mooney '94 and move into sixth place.
MORE PRINCETON NOTES & ANECDOTES
60-60 Proposition -- Princeton hasn't lost this season when it scores 60 or more points. The Tigers are 9-0 when scoring 60 or more and 2-7 when scoring 59 or less.
Long-Range Planning -- The Tigers are shooting 39% from three-point range in Ivy League games after shooting 32% from behind the arc in non-conference play.
Balancing Act -- Seven Princeton players are averaging between 5.2 points and 12.4 points per game. Five Tiger players have scored between 133 and 211 points this season.
Getting Offensive -- Princeton has shot better than 49% from the field in 10 of 18 games this season. The Tigers are a perfect 8-0 this year when shooting 50% or better from the field.
Road Warriors -- The Tigers are 5-3 in road games this season. Princeton is the only Ivy League team with a winning record in away games.
Stop That Right There -- Princeton has lost multiple games in a row only once this season, and one of those losses came to top-ranked Duke Dec. 17.
Getting Defensive -- Princeton held its first four Ivy League opponents to 50 points or fewer despite the fact the Harvard game had two overtimes.
Close Calls -- Five of Princeton's seven losses this season have come by four points or less, and the Tigers had a chance to tie or go ahead in each of those five games in the final two minutes of the game.
Ivy Fact No. 1 -- Princeton has a 119-26 (.821) record in Ivy League games over the last 11 seasons. The Tigers have just 12 losses to Ivy teams other than Penn in those 11 seasons.
Ivy Fact No. 2 -- Since formal Ivy League play began in 1955-56, Princeton has won 24 league titles, Penn has won 21 and the other six schools have won 10 titles combined.
Ivy Fact No. 3 -- Princeton has a .500 or above record in conference play in 50 consecutive years, the longest-such streak in NCAA Division I basketball.
The Streak Continues! -- 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 484 games.
Three-Mendous -- Ed Persia has at least one three-point shot in 17 of 18 games this season and 21 of his last 22 games overall. Persia has at least one three-point shot in 40 of Princeton's 45 games over two seasons.
Deep Thoughts -- 386 of Ed Persia's 564 career field-goal attempts (68%) have come from three-point range. Persia's 386 three-point attempts rank fifth all-time at Princeton behind Brian Earl, Gabe Lewullis, Sean Jackson and Sydney Johnson.
Accepting Charity -- Ed Persia has made 22 consecutive free throws dating back to a miss at Columbia Feb. 7 of last season. Persia is a perfect 15 for 15 from the free-throw line this year.
Heatin' Up -- Ed Persia is averaging 11.1 points over Princeton's last 11 games. He averaged 7.4 points in the first seven games of the season.
Where There's A Will... -- Will Venable is shooting 20 for 29 (69%) from the field in five Ivy League games. Venable is leading Princeton in scoring in conference games (10.8 ppg).
Conference Call -- Will Venable has scored 11 or more points three times in five Ivy League games after scoring 11 or more points twice in 13 non-conference games.
Shooting Star -- Will Venable is shooting 35 for 54 (65%) from the field overall in his last nine games.
Mr. Versatility -- Will Venable leads the Tigers in steals (24) and is second on the team in assists (54) and rebounding (4.8 rpg). He leads the team in rebounding in conference games (6.2 rpg).
MORE FROM THE HARDWOOD
Double Trouble -- Judson Wallace is the only Princeton player averaging in double figures in scoring (12.4 ppg) despite the fact that he averages only 26 minutes per game.
A Judson Come Lately -- Judson Wallace is averaging 14.5 points per game over his last 22 games dating back to Feb. 28 of last season. In the previous 42 games of his career, Wallace averaged 5.5 points.
Star Power -- Judson Wallace scored 114 points (22.8 ppg) in Princeton's first five games. Wallace was ranked in the Top 10 nationally in scoring after the season's first five games.
Making History -- Judson Wallace had at least 26 points three times in Princeton's first five games this season; every other Princeton player combined has had at least 26 points in a game 15 times in the last 14 seasons.
Nice to Have You Back -- Andre Logan is averaging nine points, five rebounds and 2.5 assists per game since entering the starting lineup 10 games ago.
Start Me Up -- Andre Logan is shooting 53 for 104 (.510) from the field in his last 13 games.
All about Andre -- Andre Logan has played in just 19 of Princeton's last 61 games due to knee and hand injuries.
One More Year -- Andre Logan is a junior in eligibility. Logan withdrew from school for the spring semester last year after playing in just three games early in the season. He also had a second knee surgery last year.
Not So Green Anymore -- Scott Greenman has scored 133 points this season in 18 games after scoring 54 points in 20 games his entire freshman season.
Deep Thoughts -- Scott Greenman has 24 three-point shots in 67 attempts this year. Greenman had 10 three-pointers his entire freshman season.
More Deep Thoughts -- Scott Greenman has at least two three-pointers in eight of Princeton's 18 games this season. Greenman had both of Princeton's three-point shots against Harvard last Saturday.
Super Schaen -- Harrison Schaen had a career-high 12 rebounds against Penn Tuesday. Schaen's 12 rebounds were the most by a Princeton player this season.
Late Arrival -- Harrison Schaen only played eight minutes against Harvard, but his layup tied the game at 42 late in regulation and his two free throws in the second overtime put Princeton ahead for good.
The Big Fella -- Mike Stephens had a career-high 16 points against Southern Vermont Jan. 26. His previous career high of 10 points came against top-ranked Duke Dec. 17.
Playing the Percentages -- Mike Stephens is shooting 36 for 67 (53.7%) from the field for the season. Stephens was 6 for 7 from the field against Southern Vermont Jan. 26.
Line Dancing -- Mike Stephens is shooting 14 for 15 from the free-throw line in Princeton's last six games. He was a perfect 6 for 6 from the line at Brown Jan. 30.
Jersey Guy -- Max Schafer scored a career-best 10 points against Dartmouth last Friday. Schafer is averaging better than 15 minutes per game over Princeton's last 11 games.
Who's The New Guy? -- Luke Owings has 53 of the 139 points scored by Princeton freshmen this season. Owings also had 10 rebounds in Princeton's sweep of Brown and Yale Jan. 30-31.