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Princeton University Athletics
Columbia Visits Jadwin For Ivy League Opener in Men's Basketball
January 11, 2006 | Men's Basketball
Jan. 11, 2006
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Princeton hasn't had the chance to go into its exam break with Ivy League games under its belt in four years. Friday's league opener against Columbia at Jadwin Gym, however, gives the Tigers more than just that one opportunity.
First, there's a chance to start the league season with a win. Second, there's a chance for a ninth straight win over the Lions and a 13th straight win over Columbia at Jadwin Gym. And finally, there's a chance to do it in front of an ESPNU national audience.
Game time is 9 p.m. for the Tigers and Lions, who are meeting for the 214th time in a series that began in 1900-01, the first season of varsity basketball for both schools.
Princeton has won 23 of 24 games against Columbia over the past 12 seasons, with the lone loss coming in New York City in 2001.
Friday's game is the first of four home games to begin the league season for Princeton (2-10), which hosts Cornell Saturday and then Yale and Brown in early February.
Columbia (7-6) broke a four-game losing streak with an 82-42 victory over CCNY on Saturday. The Lions won their first five games this season before losing six of their next seven after that.
Ivy League play began last Saturday, when Harvard defeated Dartmouth in Cambridge 78-65. The Tigers were picked to finish third in the league's Preseason Media Poll behind the Crimson, picked second, and Penn, picked to repeat as league champion.
Bob Wischusen and former North Carolina star Hubert Davis have the call Friday night for ESPNU, which will also televise the Princeton-Penn game from Jadwin March 7. FACT OF THE DAY
Crazy Eights The Tigers have won eight consecutive games against Columbia, their longest current streak against an Ivy League opponent. No current Tiger player has lost to Columbia during his career at Princeton.
EIGHT MORE THINGS YOU MIGHT WANT TO KNOW
Home Court Advantage Princeton has defeated Columbia 12 consecutive times at Jadwin Gym and 22 times in the past 23 seasons at Jadwin Gym.
Balancing Out The Tigers play their first four Ivy League games at home but then play their next five league games after that on the road.
Ivy Talk Princeton and Penn have hosted 149 Ivy League weekends. The Tigers and Quakers have combined to finish 4-0 97 times and 3-1 42 times and have never combined to finish 0-4 or 1-3.
Arc Madness Princeton has attempted 275 three-point shots and 226 two-point shots this season. The Tigers have made 95 three-point shots and 86 two-point shots.
For Starters 10 Princeton players have started at least two games this season; seven players have started at least five games. Only one player (Noah Savage) has started all 12 games.
Tests, On & Off the Court Princeton doesn't play for 15 days after Saturday's game against Cornell due to the University's first-semester exams and intersession.
The P's Have It Either Princeton or Penn, or both teams, have earned at least a share of the Ivy League title in each of the last 17 seasons (1989-2005).
The P's Have It 2 Princeton has won 25 Ivy League titles; Penn has won 23 Ivy League titles; the remaining six Ivy schools have combined to win nine Ivy League titles.
MORE THINGS TO KNOW
Rivalry Week Princeton has met Columbia more than any other opponent. Today's game is the 214th meeting between the schools.
Just One in Two Dozen Princeton has a 23-1 overall record against Columbia in the last 12 seasons. The Lions' lone win in that span came in New York City in 2001.
Turnarounds Princeton began the 1979-80 season 2-11, then won 13 of its last 16 regular-season games to tie for the Ivy League title before falling to Penn by one point in an Ivy playoff game.
By The Numbers In their two victories this season, the Tigers have shot 42-for-87 from the field (48.3%). In their 10 losses, the Tigers have shot 139-for-414 from the field (33.6%).
Downtown Deliveries Princeton has made at least seven three-pointers nine times in 12 games and 10 or more three-pointers four times in 12 games.
TEAM NOTES & ANECDOTES
Injury Report Matt Sargeant has missed seven games due to a groin strain suffered in November. Alex Okafor has been limited by tendon injury in his right hand suffered in practice Dec. 16 and did not play at Rice last week.
More Ivy Talk Princeton (83 points) was chosen third in the Ivy League's Preseason Media Poll behind Penn (128) and Harvard (96). Ivy play began last Saturday when Harvard defeated Dartmouth.
By the Percentages Princeton led the Ivy League in field goal percentage (49.1%), three-point field goal percentage (42.0%) and free throw percentage (75.0%) in conference games last season.
534 & Counting Princeton is one of only three Division I teams (Vanderbilt and UNLV are the others) to have 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 534 straight games.
More Deep Thoughts Princeton ranks 45th nationally in Division I in three-pointers per game. The Tigers make 7.9 "threes" per game this season.
The 60's Princeton has won 30 of its last 31 games when it scores 60 or more points in regulation. The Tigers were 10-1 last year and 19-0 in 2003-04 when scoring 60 or more points.
The Jadwin Effect Princeton has an all-time home record of 336-82 (80.4%) in 37-plus seasons playing in Jadwin Gym.
Roster Report Junior guard Max Schafer left the team for personal reasons in early December. Freshman center Noah Levine left the team in late December.
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 at Princeton from 1992-2000.
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.
Paradise Found Princeton is scheduled to play in the Maui Invitational in November 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 16th on the all-time list with 1,512 victories in 106 seasons of varsity basketball.
PLAYER NOTES & ANECDOTES
All-Around Player Noah Savage leads the Tigers in scoring, rebounding, three-pointers, free throws and assists in 2005-06.
Leader of the Pack Noah Savage has led Princeton in scoring in six of the team's 12 games. He averaged 16.8 points per game in the team's first five games.
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.
Filling It Up Scott Greenman needs one three-pointer to pass Spencer Gloger and move into 10th place all-time at Princeton in that category.
Experience Scott Greenman has started 63 of Princeton's last 68 games. He did not start five games this year due to a back injury.
Long-Range Predictions 303 of Scott Greenman's 447 career field-goal attempts (68%) have come from three-point range.
Stepping Out 63 of Kyle Koncz's 74 career field goal attempts have come from three-point range, including 58 of 69 field-goal attempts this season (84%).
Doubling Up Kyle Koncz scored a team-high 18 points in Princeton's win over Wyoming Dec. 10. Prior to that game, Koncz had 19 career points in 11 games.
Taking His Shots Luke Owings is a 51% career shooter from the field overall and a 45% career shooter from beyond the three-point arc.
Head of the Class Luke Owings was the valedictorian of his high school class at Gonzaga College Prep in Washington, D.C.
In the Buff Edwin Buffmire played a career-high 37 minutes against Rice last Thursday. Buffmire shot 4 for 6 from the field and had 10 points in the game.
Stritt Talk Michael Strittmatter had four assists against Rutgers Dec. 31. Three came on backdoor passes and another came on a fast-break opportunity.
New Kid on the Block Sophomore Kevin Steuerer averaged 32 minutes per game in a six-game stretch from Dec. 6 through Dec. 28. Steuerer had played three career minutes prior to that.
History Lesson Kevin Steuerer's father Mickey was a team captain for the 1975 Princeton team that won the NIT, the only Ivy League team to have won a postseason national tournament.
Sure as Schaen Harrison Schaen's 10 points against Wake Forest tied a career high, previously set against Southern Vermont in Jan. 2004.
Quick Starts Geoff Kestler started each of Princeton's first nine games. Kestler had a season-high eight points against Colgate Dec. 3 and played 18 minutes off the bench at Rutgers.
Not Standing Pat Patrick Ekeruo played all 40 minutes against Temple and had a career-best seven rebounds. Ekeruo had a career-high five assists against Stanford Dec. 21.
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 12 minutes in 11 games this year and is averaging two rebounds per game.