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Princeton University Athletics
Tigers Visit 16th-Ranked Wake Forest Saturday Afternoon
December 15, 2005 | Men's Basketball
Dec. 15, 2005
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One of the best things about team sports on any level is that, no matter what happens one day, there's always another game to prepare for and higher goals at the end of the rainbow for which to strive.
So the Princeton men's basketball team moves on from a disappointing Wednesday night in Jadwin Gym and prepares for a trip to Wake Forest, ranked No. 16 in both the AP and USA Today polls this week. The game between the Tigers and Demon Deacons, just the third all-time between the two teams, is set for 4 p.m. Saturday on ESPN2.
The Tigers (2-5) are playing an Atlantic Coast Conference opponent in the regular season for the fifth time in the past six years. Princeton met Duke in 2004-05, 2003-04 and 2000-01 and played Maryland in 2001-02.
Even without former All-America Chris Paul, Wake Forest (7-2) still features one of the top inside-outside combinations in college basketball in Eric Williams and Justin Gray. Williams is averaging nearly 17 points and eight rebounds per game, while Gray leads the Deacons in scoring, averaging nearly 19 points per game.
The Demon Deacons had won 21 consecutive home at Joel Coliseum until this past Tuesday night, when DePaul escaped Winston-Salem with an 84-81 victory.
Princeton is playing just its third road game this season but will play away from home four times in in its next five games beginning Saturday. The Tigers' lone home game between Wednesday's game against Monmouth and the Ivy opener Jan. 13 against Columbia is a matchup with Division III Carnegie Mellon Dec. 28. The Tigers' leading scorer, sophomore Noah Savage, will look to get back on track after going without a point against Monmouth Wednesday. Savage averaged better than 16 points per game in Princeton's first five games, including a career-best 21-point performance against Temple.
FACT OF THE DAY
Same Court, Different Game Princeton scored 21 points in its loss to Monmouth Wednesday. The Tigers scored 22 points in the first 11 minutes of their previous game, a win against Wyoming Saturday.
EIGHT MORE THINGS YOU MIGHT WANT TO KNOW
For Starters Princeton's starting lineup in its past two games has featured four players who had never started or played more than 15 minutes in a collegiate game prior to this season.
For Starters 2 Princeton has three returning starters from a year ago, but senior guard Scott Greenman has not started the past two games due to a back injury and junior Luke Owings has come off the bench in the last two games.
Deep Thoughts Princeton entered Wednesday's game averaging 8.8 three-pointers per game but finished just 2 for 20 from behind the arc against Monmouth. The Tigers had made 11 three-pointers in each of their previous two games, against both Temple and Wyoming.
More From Deep The Tigers have attempted 164 three-pointers and 131 two-point shots this season.
Even More From Deep Princeton has made 55 three-pointers and 56 two-point shots this season.
Time Card All 11 active Princeton players who have seen action this season are averaging in double figures in minutes. Only one player (Noah Savage) is averaging more than 30 minutes per game.
Win over Wake Princeton defeated Wake Forest in the 1997 Jimmy V Classic at The Meadowlands. The Tigers finished 26-1 in the regular season that year, with the only loss coming at North Carolina.
ACC-essible Princeton has a 19-16 all-time record against the 11 other current Atlantic Coast Conference members besides Duke.
MORE THINGS TO KNOW
Tough Stretch Princeton returns home Sunday and then flies to California, where the Tigers will play Stanford in the Pete Newell Challenge in Oakland Wednesday.
On the Rebound In its two wins this year, Princeton has been outrebounded 47-45, In their five losses, the Tigers have been outrebounded 161-113.
On Schedule Princeton has now played an ACC opponent in five of the past six seasons. The Tigers played at Duke the last two seasons and in 2000 and played Maryland in 2001.
Yin and Yang The Tigers are allowing only 54 points per game this season. Wake Forest is averaging better than 81 points per game.
On the Road Again Princeton played five of its first seven games at home but now plays four of its next five games away from home.
TEAM NOTES & ANECDOTES
Injury Report Scott Greenman missed the Wyoming game due to a back injury and played just five minutes against Monmouth. Matt Sargeant missed four games due to a groin strain but was dressed against Monmouth.
Just a Little While Back... Princeton also started 2-5 in 2001-02, but recovered to win 14 of its final 20 regular-season games and reach the NIT.
All-Around Player Noah Savage entered the week ranked in the top eight in the Ivy League in scoring, field goal percentage, three-point field goal percentage and free throw percentage.
TV Stars Princeton's matchup with Stanford will also be nationally televised. The Pete Newell Challenge will be televised by CSTV.
Roster Report Junior guard Max Schafer left the team for personal reasons last week. Schafer played in 56 games in three seasons and averaged 2.5 points per game.
529 & Counting Princeton is one of only three Division I teams (Vanderbilt and UNLV) that has made at least one three-point shot in every game since the rule took effect in 1986-87. The Tigers have now made at least one three-pointer in 529 straight games.
Ivy Talk Princeton (83 points) was chosen third in the Ivy League's Preseason Media Poll behind Penn (128) and Harvard (96).
Shutdown Mode Princeton led the nation in scoring defense in 2004-05, allowing opponents to score just 54.3 points per game.
Non-Conference Call Princeton finished 9-5 in non-conference play a year ago. Seven of those 14 games came against teams that reached postseason play.
Coach Speak Joe Scott is in his second season as Princeton's head coach and his 10th season overall as a Princeton coach. He was an assistant for eight seasons before spending four years at Air Force.
More Coach Speak Joe Scott was named the Mountain West Conference Coach of the Year in 2004 and finished fourth in the balloting for Associated Press National Coach of the Year.
More Ivy Talk Princeton has won or shared 25 Ivy League titles since official league play began in 1955-56, while Penn has won or shared 23. The other six schools have a combined total of nine titles.
Paradise Found Princeton is scheduled to play in the Maui Invitational in 2007 along with Duke, Illinois, Oklahoma State, Arizona State, LSU, Marquette and host Chaminade.
Winning Numbers Princeton became the 14th Division I team to record 1,500 all-time victories early last season. The Tigers currently rank 15th on the all-time list with 1,512 victories in 106 seasons of varsity basketball.
PLAYER NOTES & ANECDOTES
Shooting Star Noah Savage is shooting 46% from the field and 46% from three-point range. The rest of the Tigers are shooting 35% from the field and 29% from three-point range.
Leader of the Pack Noah Savage led Princeton in scoring in each of the team's first five games before scoring six points against Wyoming and no points against Monmouth.
In the Neighborhood Noah Savage is a Princeton resident and attended The Hun School, about a mile down U.S. Route 206 from the Princeton campus.
End of the Line Scott Greenman had started 61 consecutive games before a back injury kept him out of the Wyoming game.
Filling It Up Scott Greenman needs two three-pointers to pass Spencer Gloger and move into 10th place all-time at Princeton in that category.
Long-Range Predictions 293 of Scott Greenman's 432 career field-goal attempts (68%) have come from three-point range.
Taking Care of It Scott Greenman has 120 assists and 66 turnovers in 62 games the past three seasons.
Taking His Shots Luke Owings is a 51% career shooter from the field overall and a 44% career shooter from beyond the three-point arc.
Bombs Away Luke Owings led the Ivy League in three-point field goal percentage in league games in 2004-05. Owings made 17 of 28 three-point shots (60.7%) in 14 games.
Head of the Class Luke Owings was the valedictorian of his high school class at Gonzaga College Prep in Washington, D.C.
Doubling Up Kyle Koncz scored 18 points against Wyoming last Saturday. He entered the game with 19 career points in 11 games.
Stepping Out 41 of Kyle Koncz's 46 career field goal attempts have come from three-point range.
Not Standing Pat Patrick Ekeruo played all 40 minutes against Temple and had a career-best seven rebounds. Ekeruo's nine points led the Tigers against Monmouth.
Start Me Up Geoff Kestler has started each of Princeton's first seven games. Kestler had a season-high eight points against Colgate Dec. 3.
Holding Court Harrison Schaen's 17 minutes against Wyoming were his most since playing 25 minutes in the season opener against Drexel Nov. 14.
Welcome Back Harrison Schaen started Princeton's first three games in 2005-06. Schaen took the 2004-05 season off from school before returning in September.
In the Buff Edwin Buffmire was a perfect 3 for 3 from the field against Wyoming last Saturday. Buffmire has played in three games this season, playing 18 minutes against both Colgate and Wyoming.
Alexander Was Great Alex Okafor was an All-Bay Area selection by the San Francisco Chronicle in both his senior and junior years of high school. Okafor has averaged 13 minutes in seven games this year.
Sargeant-At-Arms Matt Sargeant had a career-high four assists in 17 minutes at Lehigh, but missed four games due to a groin injury suffered in practice three weeks ago.