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Princeton University Athletics
Princeton Hosts Penn in Regular-Season Finale at Jadwin
March 07, 2005 | Men's Basketball
March 7, 2005
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The Princeton men's basketball team scored the first basket of the 2004-05 Division I regular season, way back on Nov. 11 against Bucknell. Tuesday night at Jadwin Gym, the Tigers close out the Division I regular season when they meet archrival Penn (7:30 p.m., CSTV, WHWH-AM 1350, GoPrincetonTigers.com).
Princeton's matchup with the Ivy champion Quakers is important in many ways. First, a Princeton win would extend the team's streak of consecutive seasons with at least a .500 record in conference play to 52 straight years. Second, the Tigers can earn a measure of revenge for their overtime loss at Penn a month ago, when the Quakers came back from 18 points down in the final eight minutes.
Most importantly, it's Princeton-Penn, and that makes it important no matter what. The teams meet for the 212th time Tuesday night, when the Tigers look for their first win over the Quakers at Jadwin Gym since 2001. It's also Senior Night, and the five Princeton seniors (Jon Berger, Andre Logan, Mike Stephens, Will Venable, Judson Wallace) will be recognized prior to the game.
The Tigers (15-12, 6-7 Ivy) hope that their outstanding shooting continues against a Penn team that has won their Ivy League games by an averaging margin of nearly 14 points per game. Princeton has shot 56% from the field overall and and 49% from three-point range in its last five games, four of which have been wins.
Penn (19-8, 12-1 Ivy) clinched the Ivy title and the league's NCAA berth Feb. 26 at Columbia, then defeated Dartmouth by 27 and Harvard by 17 last weekend at The Palestra.
The Quakers lead the all-time series with Princeton 115-96. There have been 103 games in Princeton, 102 games in Philadelphia and six at neutral sites since the teams first played in 1903.
NOTE OF THE DAY
Why It Matters A win against Penn tonight would extend Princeton's streak to 52 consecutive seasons with at least a .500 record in conference play, the longest current streak in NCAA Division I. The Tigers have never finished below .500 in Ivy play since official league play began in 1956-57.
EIGHT MORE THINGS YOU CAN'T LIVE WITHOUT
Filling It Up Princeton is shooting 56% from the field overall (107 for 191) and 49% from three-point range (40 for 81) in its last five games.
One More to Go Will Venable needs one point tonight to become Princeton's 26th 1,000-point scorer. Venable had 19 points at Dartmouth on Saturday, his most since scoring 21 at Duke Jan. 5.
Winning Numbers Princeton clinched its 19th consecutive winning season when it defeated Dartmouth Saturday. The Tigers can make it 12 straight years with at least 16 wins with a win tonight.
Senior Night Princeton will honor its five seniors prior to tonight's game. Members of that class have helped the Tigers to two NCAA appearances, one NIT berth and 83 victories over the last five seasons.
Numbers Game Princeton leads the Ivy League in overall field-goal percentage (49.5%), three-point field-goal percentage (44.2%) and free-throw percentage (76.2%) in conference games.
Turnaround Team Princeton has won five of its last seven games since Feb. 12 after losing five of its previous seven games before that day.
Home, Sweet Home Princeton is 8-2 at home this season. Seven of those eight wins at Jadwin Gym have come by double-digit margins.
Deep Thoughts Princeton has the top two three-point shooters by percentage in Ivy League games (Luke Owings, 17-for-25, 68%, Scott Greenman, 27-for-49, 55%).
PRINCETON & PENN--THINGS TO KNOW
Happy 212th... Princeton and Penn are meeting for the 212th time in men's basketball. The Tigers have played only Columbia (213 meetings) more often than they have played Penn.
Comeback City Princeton led Penn 53-35 with 7:35 left in Philadelphia Feb. 8, but the Quakers then outscored the Tigers 21-3 to send the game into overtime and 14-6 in the overtime period.
Time for a Turnaround Penn has won its last three games against Princeton at Jadwin Gym and five of its last six games against the Tigers in Princeton.
A Rivalry Anyway In each of the last three years, the Ivy League's automatic NCAA berth has already been decided when Penn & Princeton have met in the last game of the regular season.
The .500 Club Princeton and Penn are the only Ivy League teams that will finish the 2004-05 season with overall records above the .500 mark.
TEAM NOTES & ANECDOTES
Ivy Talk Princeton can finish in a tie for third place in the league standings if the Tigers can beat Penn and Brown defeats Yale tonight. The Tigers would finish in sixth place with a loss tonight.
Injury Report Freshman Matt Sargeant and Kyle Koncz are both out of the Princeton lineup with stress fractures. Sophomore John Reynolds is out for Princeton's last two games with mononucleosis.
On the Defensive Princeton ranks second nationally in scoring defense this season, allowing its opponents to score just 54.0 points per game.
More From Downtown Seven different Princeton players have at least 13 three-point shots this season. Five of those players are shooting 36% or better from the three-point line.
Balancing Act Eight different Princeton players (Scott Greenman, Matt Sargeant, Luke Owings, Will Venable, Andre Logan, Judson Wallace, Mike Stephens, Noah Savage) have led the Tigers in scoring in at least one game this season.
Thanks For the Help Princeton has an assist on 67% of its baskets this season (329 of 492). The Tigers had an assist on 21 of their 26 baskets last Friday night in a 22-point win against Harvard.
Shooting Stars Princeton's shooting percentage of 70.3% against Harvard last Friday marked the third best field-goal percentage in a game by a Division I team this season.
Downtown Princeton Nearly 50% of the Tigers' field-goal attempts this season have come from three-point range. The Tigers have attempted 531 three-pointers in 27 games (19.7 per game).
The 500 Club Princeton has made at least one three-point shot in all 521 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.
Left-Handed Complements Two of Princeton starters (Scott Greenman, Will Venable) are left-handed.
Coach Speak Joe Scott returned to Princeton last 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.
Ivy Talk 2 Princeton has won 25 Ivy League titles since official league play began in 1956-57. Penn's title this season is the 23rd in program history. The other six schools have a combined total of nine titles.
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
20-20 Vision Judson Wallace is 18th on Princeton's all-time scoring list despite the fact that he has averaged just 22.1 minutes per game for his career.
More Milestones Will Venable has 252 career assists, ninth all-time at Princeton, and 156 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 27 from 49 (55%) from three-point range in Ivy games. He has made at least two three-point shots in 31 of Princeton's 55 games the past two seasons.
Iron Man Scott Greenman has played more minutes in Ivy League games (460, 35.4 per game) than any other Princeton player this season.
More Deep Thoughts 273 of Scott Greenman's 384 career field-goal attempts (71%) have come from three-point range, including 131 of 176 (74%) 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 17 of 25 three-pointers (68%) through 13 games.
And He's The Backup? Senior center Mike Stephens has averaged 18.7 minutes per game, 7.2 points per game and is shooting 50% from the field in Ivy League play.
New Roles Mike Stephens has attempted 116 field goals this season after attempting 106 field goals in his first three years combined.
<> Andre Logan shot a perfect 6-for-6 from the field and 3-for-3 from three-point range in Princeton's win over Harvard last Friday.
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.
In the Buff Sophomore Edwin Buffmire played 19 minutes against both Harvard and Dartmouth this past weekend. Buffmire entered the game having played 25 minutes in five games the entire season.