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Princeton University Athletics
Men's Basketball Hosts Columbia To Begin Final Home Ivy Weekend
February 26, 2004 | Men's Basketball
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Without help from anyone else, the Princeton men's basketball team can clinch the outright Ivy League championship by winning four of its final five games. To do that, however, the Tigers must concentrate on one game at a time, beginning with a matchup with Columbia at Jadwin Gym Friday night (7:37 p.m., Patriot, WPRB 103.3, GoPrincetonTigers.com).
Though Princeton's win over Columbia two weekends ago was its fifth straight over the Lions and its 32nd in the last 35 meetings between the teams, the victory was anything but an easy one. The Tigers trailed by 11 points in the first half and by eight points with just over eight minutes left before coming back to tie the game on Will Venable's layup in the final seconds of regulation. Princeton would then score the first nine points in overtime on the way to a 78-71 victory.
The Tigers have beaten Columbia 20 of the last 21 years at Jadwin Gym, including each of the last 10 seasons, but the 2003-04 Lions are clearly a different group than in recent years. Under first-year head coach Joe Jones, Columbia is 4-6 in league play this year and 8-15 overall after finishing winless in league play and 2-25 overall last year. On the court, Matt Preston leads the Lions in scoring at 15.3 points per game.
Princeton (15-7, 8-1 Ivy) can tie a season high five-game winning streak with a victory Friday. The Tigers have won nine of their last 10 games and 11 of their last 14 games since beginning the season 4-4. NOTE OF THE DAY
Turning the Tide -- Princeton has trailed by at least seven points in the first half in each of its last six games but has come back to win five of those games.
EIGHT MORE THINGS YOU CAN'T LIVE WITHOUT
Getting Ahead of Ourselves -- The Tigers can clinch an outright Ivy League title and the league's automatic NCAA tournament berth by winning four of their last five games.
More Turning the Tide -- In their last four games, the Tigers are averaging 41 points in the second half after averaging 27 points in the first half.
Injury Report -- Ed Persia may not play this weekend after sustaining a deep thigh contusion against Brown Saturday. Persia did not play in the second half of that game.
Just Win, Baby -- Princeton leads the Ivy League despite the fact that the Tigers don't have a player ranked higher than ninth in conference games in scoring, rebounding, assists, steals or three-pointers made.
Sweep Facts -- Since the Ivy League went to its current travel partner format in 1957-58, the Tigers have swept Columbia and Cornell in Princeton 38 times in 46 seasons.
Roll On Columbia -- Princeton has defeated Columbia at Jadwin Gym in 20 of the last 21 seasons. The only loss in that time period came during the 1992-93 season.
Center of Attention -- Judson Wallace has scored 20 or more points in eight of Princeton's last 14 Ivy League games dating back to last season. Wallace was named the Ivy League Player of the Week on Monday.
A Good Combination -- The Tigers are ranked third in NCAA Division I in scoring defense (56.7 ppg) and 17th the country in team field-goal percentage (48.4%).
MORE PRINCETON NOTES & ANECDOTES
It's Almost March...-- Princeton has reached the NCAA tournament 22 times, including 11 appearances in the last 23 years and eight appearances in the last 15 years.
It's Almost March II -- Princeton reached the postseason seven straight years from 1996-2002. The Tigers made the NCAA field in 1996, 1997, 1998 and 2001 and the NIT field in 1999, 2000 and 2002.
It's Almost March III -- Princeton reached the NCAA tournament in 2001 in John Thompson's first year as head coach. The Tigers finished 11-3 in the Ivy League before falling to North Carolina in the first round.
It's Almost March IV -- Princeton has won 24 Ivy League titles since the formal creation of the league in 1955-56. Penn has won 22 titles, while the other six schools have won a combined 10 titles.
It's Almost March IV -- The Ivy League is the only league among the 31 conferences in NCAA Division I that does not use a postseason tournament to determine its automatic qualifier to the NCAA tournament.
60-60 Proposition -- The Tigers are 13-0 this season when scoring 60 or more points and 2-7 when scoring 59 points or fewer.
50-50 Proposition -- The Tigers are 11-0 this season when shooting 50% or better from the field.
In Case You Missed It -- Princeton trailed Columbia 51-43 with 8:32 left two weeks ago but came back to tie the game with four seconds left in regulation and then win the game in overtime.
Board Work -- Princeton has outrebounded five of its nine Ivy League opponents this season by a double-digit margin. The Tigers are averaging better than seven rebounds more than their opponents in league games.
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 -- Since the current travel partner format debuted in the Ivy League in 1957-58, 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 -- Princeton has a 123-26 (.826) 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 488 games.
Back on Track -- Judson Wallace scored 114 points in his first five games (22.8 ppg) and has 94 points in his last four games (23.5 ppg). In the 12 games in between, Wallace scored 97 points (8.1 ppg)
A Judson Come Lately -- Judson Wallace is averaging 16 points per game over his last 25 games dating back to Feb. 28 of last season. In the previous 42 games of his career, Wallace averaged 5.5 points.
Making History -- Judson Wallace had at least 26 points four times in 21 games this season; every other Princeton player combined has had at least 26 points in a game 15 times in the last 14 seasons.
Double Trouble -- Judson Wallace is the only Princeton player averaging in double figures in scoring (14.5 ppg) despite the fact that he averages only 26.7 minutes per game.
Where There's A Will... -- Will Venable is averaging 13.2 points over his last 10 games and has scored in double figures in nine of those 10 games.
Conference Call -- Will Venable has scored 11 or more points seven times in nine Ivy League games after scoring 11 or more points twice in 13 non-conference games.
Shooting Star -- Will Venable is shooting 56 for 94 (60%) from the field overall in his last 11 games.
Mr. Versatility -- Will Venable leads the Tigers in steals (30) and is second on the team in assists (62).
MORE FROM THE HARDWOOD
Up the Charts -- Ed Persia is now sixth all-time at Princeton with 143 career three-pointers. He needs 13 ?threes? to move past Bob Scrabis '89 into fifth place.
Deep Thoughts -- 394 of Ed Persia's 577 career field-goal attempts (68%) have come from three-point range. Persia's 394 three-point attempts rank fifth all-time at Princeton behind Brian Earl, Gabe Lewullis, Sean Jackson and Sydney Johnson.
Accepting Charity -- Ed Persia is shooting 28 for 30 (93%) from the free-throw line for the season. Persia's only two misses came at Columbia Feb. 14.
The Lonesome Ed -- Ed Persia is the only senior on Princeton's roster. Persia has played in all 104 games of his career heading into this weekend.
Nice to Have You Back -- Andre Logan is averaging nine points, five rebounds and three assists per game since entering the starting lineup 14 games ago.
Start Me Up -- Andre Logan is shooting nearly 50% from the field (65 for 132) in his last 16 games.
All about Andre -- Andre Logan has played in just 23 of Princeton's last 65 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 162 points this season in 22 games this season after scoring 54 points in 20 games his freshman season.
Deep Thoughts -- Scott Greenman has 31 three-point shots in 85 attempts this year. Greenman had 10 three-pointers his entire freshman season.
More Deep Thoughts -- Scott Greenman has at least two three-pointers in 10 of Princeton's 22 games this season. Greenman had three ?threes? at Columbia, including one that tied the game at 62 with 1:42 to go.
Jersey Guy -- Max Schafer is shooting 7 for 13 from three-point range in Ivy League games. Schafer's three-pointer with 5:46 to go against Brown put Princeton ahead for good.
Super Schaen -- Harrison Schaen had a Princeton season-high 12 rebounds against Penn Feb. 10. Schaen had seven rebounds in just 14 minutes against Brown last Saturday.
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 73 (53.4%) 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 11 games.
Who's The New Guy? -- Luke Owings has 61 of the 171 points scored by Princeton freshmen this season. Owings had seven points and four rebounds in 18 minutes against Brown last Saturday.