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Princeton University Athletics
Men's Basketball Hosts Harvard to Begin Final Home Weekend
March 03, 2005 | Men's Basketball
March 3, 2005
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The Princeton men's basketball team returns home for good this weekend, where the Tigers will get a one-by-one chance in each of their final three games to avenge three difficult losses on the road.
Princeton's first chance comes Friday night, when the Tigers host Harvard at Jadwin Gym at 7:05 p.m. The game will be televised live by the YES Network, with Spero Dedes providing the play-by-play and Bobby Hurley doing color commentary.
The Tigers (13-12, 4-7 Ivy) fell to the Crimson (13-12, 7-5 Ivy) by a 61-57 score in Cambridge a month ago despite 53% shooting for the game and 10 of 21 shooting from three-point range. Princeton led 48-44 with 5:40 remaining in that game, but Harvard then used a 10-2 run after that to take control.
Harvard swept Yale and Brown last weekend at home and is in a three-way tie with Cornell and Dartmouth for second place in the league standings. 7-0 center Brian Cusworth was the Ivy League Player of the Week last week after averaging 20 points and eight rebounds for the Crimson in those two wins.
Princeton will play its final three games at home after playing 17 of its first 25 games away from Jadwin Gym. The three-game home stretch is just the second one for the Tigers this season.
NOTE OF THE DAY
Clean Sweeps Princeton has swept its home weekend against Harvard and Dartmouth in each of the last 15 seasons. The last time either team won at Princeton was a Harvard win here on Feb. 3, 1989.
EIGHT MORE THINGS YOU CAN'T LIVE WITHOUT
We Need Three Princeton has never finished with a below .500 record in Ivy League games since official league play began in 1956.
25 Years Ago... Princeton was also 4-7 in Ivy League play in 1978-79, but won its last three games to finish at 7-7.
We Need Two Princeton has never had a league season in which it did not have at least one weekend sweep since the start of official Ivy League play with the current travel partners in 1956.
Home, Sweet Home Princeton is 6-2 at Jadwin Gym this season. The Tigers finished the regular season 5-10 in road games.
Leaders of the Pack Princeton is shooting 47.5% from the field, 42.2% from three-point range and 75.1% from the free-throw line in Ivy League games, tops in the league in each category.
Luke Lights it Up Luke Owings shot 12-for-15 from the field and 5-for-6 from three-point range in Princeton's two games last weekend. Owings scored 35 points in two games last weekend after scoring 36 points in his previous seven games.
Milestone Days Will Venable needs just 33 points in Princeton's last three games to become the 26th 1,000-point scorer in program history.
Downtown Princeton Luke Owings (15-23, 65.2%) and Scott Greenman (22-39, 56.4%) are the top two three-point shooters by percentage in Ivy League play.
PRINCETON & HARVARD--THINGS TO KNOW
It Was The 80's Harvard's last season sweep of Princeton in men's basketball came during the 1983-84 season.
Seeing Crimson Princeton has won 27 of its last 29 meetings with Harvard. The Tigers had won 10 straight against the Crimson before Harvard's win in Cambridge Feb. 5.
Double Vision Princeton defeated Harvard in double overtime at Jadwin Gym last year. It was the first multiple-overtime game in the then 35-year history of the building.
Offensiveness The Tigers shot 53% at Harvard Feb. 5 and made 10 of 21 three-point shots. Princeton shot 61% from the field in the second half of that game.
By the Numbers Princeton has a 66-11 record against Harvard in games played in Princeton. The Crimson have lost 15 straight games at Jadwin Gym.
TEAM NOTES & ANECDOTES
Injury Report Both Matt Sargeant and Kyle Koncz are out of the Princeton lineup with stress fractures. Will Venable injured a rib at Cornell but should play against Harvard.
On the Defensive Princeton ranks second nationally in scoring defense this season, allowing their opponents to score just 54.4 points per game.
Half and Half Princeton has led at halftime in eight of its 11 Ivy League games this season, but the Tigers have won only three of those eight games.
We've Been Away Princeton has played 17 of its first 25 games this season away from Jadwin Gym (15 road games, two neutral-site games).
Conference Call Princeton has finished with a .500 or above record in conference play for 51 consecutive years, a current streak more than twice as long as any other team in NCAA Division I (Syracuse has the second-longest streak).
More From Downtown Nearly 50% of the Tigers' field-goal attempts this season have come from three-point range. The Tigers have attempted 499 three-pointers in 25 games (20.0 per game).
The 500 Club Princeton has made at least one three-point shot in all 519 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.
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.
We're Honored Princeton had 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.
Left-Handed Complements Two of Princeton starters (Scott Greenman, Will Venable) are left-handed.
History Lesson Princeton earned its 25th Ivy League title and 23rd NCAA tournament appearance last season, finishing 13-1 in the league to win by three games over Penn & Brown.
Just Like This Year Princeton finished third nationally in scoring defense last year, allowing opponents to score just 56.8 points per game.
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 again in 2004).
PLAYER NOTES & ANECDOTES
Production Line Judson Wallace is Princeton's leading scorer in Ivy games (9.9 ppg) despite averaging just 20.5 minutes per game in those 11 games.
Up the Charts If Judson Wallace scores his current average (12.4 ppg) in the final three games of the regular season, he would finish 16th all-time in scoring at Princeton.
20-20 Vision Judson Wallace has scored 20 or more points in 13 of his last 30 Ivy League games.
More Milestones Will Venable has 241 career assists, 10th all-time at Princeton, and 145 career steals, fourth all-time at Princeton.
Mr. Versatility Will Venable ranks second in the Ivy League in steals and fifth in the league in assists.
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 the Princeton baseball team in 2004.
Deep Thoughts Scott Greenman is shooting 22 from 39 (56%) from three-point range in Ivy games. He has made at least two three-point shots in 29 of Princeton's 53 games the past two seasons.
Helping Out Scott Greenman finished with a career-high six assists in the win at Brown Feb. 19. Greenman has 57 assists and just 34 turnovers (1.7-1 ratio) this season.
More Deep Thoughts 263 of Scott Greenman's 370 career field-goal attempts (71%) have come from three-point range, including 121 of 162 (75%) this season.
Career Game Noah Savage had season highs of 18 points and six rebounds at Yale Feb. 18. Savage shot 6 for 9 from three-point range in Princeton's two games that weekend.
I'm Honored, Again Noah Savage has been named the Ivy League Rookie of the Week twice this season, on Nov. 29 and again on Dec. 21.
Bombs Away Luke Owings leads the Ivy League in three-point percentage in league games. He has made 15 of 23 three-pointers (65%) through 11 games.
And He's The Backup? Center Mike Stephens averaged 22.5 minutes and shot 6-for-13 from the field in Princeton's games at Columbia and Cornell last weekend.
New Roles Mike Stephens has attempted 111 field goals this season after attempting 106 field goals in his first three years combined.
The Minutes Andre Logan is averaging 19.5 minutes per game in Ivy League play after averaging 11 minutes per game in six non-league appearances.
He's A Player Andre Logan was leading Princeton in scoring when he sustained a torn ACL in Jan. 2002. He was then averaging better than 12 points per game in 2002-03 before his season ended after three games.
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.
Minutes Man Max Schafer is averaging nearly 28 minutes per game in Princeton's last eight games. He is Princeton's leading bench player in terms of minutes played (19.8 minutes per game).