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Princeton University Athletics
Men's Basketball Hosts Yale to Begin Second Half of Ivy League Season
February 18, 2004 | Men's Basketball
Feb. 18, 2004
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The Princeton men's basketball team begins the second half of league play Friday night, hoping that the end of the season puts them at the same place they are after the first seven games--on top of the league standings.
Getting there won't be easy, of course, but the Tigers do have their first four games of the second half of the league season at home, beginning with Yale Friday night (8 p.m., CN8, WPRB-FM 103.3, GoPrincetonTigers.com) Princeton and Yale played one of the tightest games of the Ivy League season Jan. 31 in New Haven, with the Tigers coming back from a late deficit to win 49-47 thanks to Will Venable's putback and free throw with three seconds left.
The Tigers (13-7, 6-1), one-half game ahead of Brown in the league standings, have won 10 straight against Yale at Jadwin Gym.
The Bulldogs (9-12, 4-4) won three straight games after that close loss to the Tigers in late January but come into Princeton smarting from a 78-71 loss to Harvard in Cambridge last Saturday. Yale is led in the scoring column by guard Edwin Draughan (11.8 ppg) and former Tiger Dominick Martin (11.7 ppg), who also leads the team in rebounding (5.2 rpg).
Princeton won its second overtime game in as many Saturdays last weekend, scoring the first nine points of the overtime in a 78-71 win at Columbia. Judson Wallace had his second-straight 20-point effort against the Lions, scoring 23 points and adding a team-high eight rebounds. NOTE OF THE DAY
Home Cookin' -- Princeton plays the first of four straight home games today against Yale. Since Jadwin Gym opened in 1969, the Tigers have a 129-11 record at home against those four opponents.
EIGHT MORE THINGS YOU CAN'T LIVE WITHOUT
Close...Or Not Close -- Four of Princeton seven Ivy League games have been decided in overtime or by five points or less. The other three have been decided by 15 points or more.
More Close Calls -- Princeton defeated Yale 49-47 in New Haven three weekends ago when Will Venable scored on a putback and hit a free throw with three seconds left in regulation.
Pulling Through -- The Tigers have won 11 straight Ivy League games decided in overtime or by five points or less. Princeton is 12-1 in those games in four seasons under head coach John Thompson.
Beating the Bulldogs -- Princeton has 10 straight victories over Yale at Jadwin Gym. The average margin of victory in those games is better than 16 points per game.
A Team Game -- Princeton leads the Ivy League with a 6-1 record despite the fact that the Tigers don't have a player in the Top 10 in the league in scoring, assists or steals in conference games.
An Individual Game -- Will Venable, a guard, is shooting 33 for 48 (69%) from the field in Ivy League games and 58% from the field overall. Venable leads the Tigers in scoring in Ivy League games (13.3 ppg).
More Individuality -- Judson Wallace scored 23 points at Columbia and 22 points at Cornell. Wallace has now scored 21 or more points in six of Princeton's last 12 Ivy League games.
Lucky Number 7 -- A Princeton win against Yale would give the Tigers seven league wins and at least a .500 record in league play for the 51st consecutive year, the longest such streak in NCAA Division I.
MORE PRINCETON NOTES & ANECDOTES
Climbing the Charts -- Ed Persia (now with 142) needs just one three-pointer to pass Chris Mooney ?94 and move into sixth place on Princeton's all-time list.
It's Him...Or Him...Or Him -- In Princeton's last eight games, six different players (Will Venable, Ed Persia, Mike Stephens, Andre Logan, Scott Greenman, Judson Wallace) have led the team in scoring at least once.
Topping the Charts -- Princeton ranks in the top 5 in NCAA Division I in scoring defense (56.1 ppg) and the top 20 nationally in team field-goal percentage (48.2%).
The 50's and the 60's -- The Tigers are 10-0 this season when shooting 50% or better from the field and 11-0 this season when scoring 60 or more points.
Board Work -- Princeton is outrebounding its Ivy League opponents by an average of more than seven rebounds per game. The Tigers have had a double-digit rebound margin in four of those games.
The Winning Numbers -- Princeton can clinch an above .500 regular season with a victory against Yale. The Tigers have finished above .500 in each of the last 17 years and 44 of the last 47 seasons.
Going Overtime -- Princeton has outscored two opponents 30-15 in overtime this season. The Tigers scored the first nine points of overtime against Columbia last Saturday.
Close, But No Cigar -- 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 -- Since the current travel partner format debuted in the Ivy League, an opposing team has swept its road trip to Penn and Princeton just three times (Yale in 1987 and 1958, Harvard in 1985).
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 121-26 (.823) 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.
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 486 games.
Three-Mendous -- Ed Persia has at least one three-point shot in 19 of 20 games this season and 23 of his last 24 games overall. Persia has at least one three-point shot in 42 of Princeton's 47 games over two seasons.
Deep Thoughts -- 389 of Ed Persia's 570 career field-goal attempts (68%) have come from three-point range. Persia's 389 three-point attempts rank fifth all-time at Princeton behind Brian Earl, Gabe Lewullis, Sean Jackson and Sydney Johnson.
Accepting Charity -- Ed Persia streak of 26 consecutive free throws dating back to last season ended in the first half at Columbia Saturday. Persia is still shooting 24 for 26 (92%) from the line for the season.
Heatin' Up -- Ed Persia is averaging 10.8 points over Princeton's last 13 games. He averaged 7.4 points in the first seven games of the season.
Where There's A Will... -- Will Venable is averaging 13.4 points over his last eight games and has scored in double figures in seven of those eight games.
Conference Call -- Will Venable has scored 11 or more points five times in seven Ivy League games after scoring 11 or more points twice in 13 non-conference games.
Shooting Star -- Will Venable is shooting 48 for 73 (66%) from the field overall in his last 11 games.
Mr. Versatility -- Will Venable leads the Tigers in steals (24) and is second on the team in assists (57) and rebounding (4.8 rpg). He leads the team in rebounding in conference games (5.7 rpg).
MORE FROM THE HARDWOOD...
Double Trouble -- Judson Wallace is the only Princeton player averaging in double figures in scoring (13.5 ppg) despite the fact that he averages only 26.5 minutes per game.
A Judson Come Lately -- Judson Wallace is averaging 15.2 points per game over his last 23 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 has scored 159 of his 256 points this season in the first five games of the season and the last two games. He scored 97 points in the 13 games in between.
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 12 games ago.
Start Me Up -- Andre Logan is shooting exactly 50% from the field (58 for 116) in his last 15 games.
All about Andre -- Andre Logan has played in just 21 of Princeton's last 63 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 147 points this season in 20 games this season after scoring 54 points in 20 games his entire freshman season.
Deep Thoughts -- Scott Greenman has 28 three-point shots in 77 attempts this year. Greenman had 10 three-pointers his entire freshman season.
More Deep Thoughts -- Scott Greenman has at least two three-pointers in nine of Princeton's 20 games this season. Greenman had three ?threes? at Columbia, including one that tied the game at 62 with 1:42 to go.
Super Schaen -- Harrison Schaen had a career-high 12 rebounds against Penn last Tuesday. Schaen's 12 rebounds were the most by a Princeton player this season.
Late Arrival -- Harrison Schaen tied the game at 42 late in regulation against Harvard and his two free throws in the second overtime put Princeton ahead for good. Schaen also hit two free throws to open overtime at Columbia that 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 39 for 72 (54.2%) 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 17 for 19 from the free-throw line in Princeton's last nine games.
Jersey Guy -- Max Schafer scored a career-best 10 points against Dartmouth Feb. 6. Schafer is averaging better than 18 minutes per game over Princeton's last 13 games.
Who's The New Guy? -- Luke Owings has 53 of the 148 points scored by Princeton freshmen this season. Owings also had 10 rebounds in Princeton's sweep of Brown and Yale Jan. 30-31.