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Princeton University Athletics
Players Mentioned
Tigers Visit Milwaukee for Pepsi Blue & Gold Classic
November 30, 2006 | Men's Basketball
10 seasons ago, the Princeton men's basketball team put the first exclamation point on what would become a 24-4 season by winning a tournament at Marquette. In 2006, the Tigers head to that same tournament simply looking to keep winning.
Princeton has won four straight heading into this weekend's Pepsi Blue & Gold Classic, where the Tigers will face North Dakota State in the first round Friday at 6:30 ET at Milwaukee's Bradley Center (WBUD-AM 1260, GoPrincetonTigers.com). Host Marquette and Northwestern State play in the other first-round game.
The Tigers (4-1), looking for their best start since the 1997-98 team started 7-0, have allowed an average of 42 points in their last three games, all victories. Princeton trailed Lafayette 22-19 at halftime Tuesday night, but then scored the first 12 points of the second half and held on for a 44-42 win over the Leopards.
Kyle Koncz and Luke Owings each scored 12 points in that game for the Tigers, combining to shoot 7 for 12 from three-point range. Koncz, Princeton's leading scorer (14.0 ppg), has been on fire from behind the arc this season, connecting on 17 of his first 31 three-point shots.
North Dakota State (3-2), in its final year as a provisional Division I member before joining the Mid-Continent Conference in 2007-08, has won two straight heading into Friday's game, home wins against Furman and Wisconsin-Green Bay. The Bison also took Texas Tech nearly to the wire in Lubbock before losing an 85-81 decision.
Saturday's consolation and championship games at the Bradley Center begin at 6:30 and 9 p.m. (ET) respectively. Both undefeated Marquette, ranked No. 8 in the AP poll and No. 9 in the ESPN/USA Today poll, and 4-2 Northwestern State were NCAA tournament teams a year ago.
FACT OF THE DAY
Sweet Memories The Tigers won this tournament at Marquette, then known as the First Bank Classic, 10 seasons ago. Princeton defeated Rice 59-54 in the first round and then host Marquette 66-62 in the championship game.
EIGHT MORE THINGS YOU MIGHT WANT TO KNOW
Drive For Five Princeton has won four straight games. The Tigers have not won five straight games since the 2003-04 season, when they won nine straight games to end the regular season.
More Drive For Five A Princeton win Friday would give the Tigers a 5-1 start, their best since beginning the 1997-98 season 7-0.
Getting Defensive The Tigers have allowed 42, 45 and 39 points in their last three games, all wins. Those three opponents have combined to shoot 12 for 46 (26%) from three-point range.
More Defense Princeton's five opponents have combined for 34 assists (6.8 per game) and 85 turnovers (17 per game) this season.
Tournament Tested Princeton has won at least one game each of its last five appearances in a in-season four-team tournament featuring a consolation/championship format.
Second to None The Tigers had a 12-0 run in the second half at Lafayette, turning a 22-19 deficit into a 31-22 lead. Princeton had a 16-4 second-half run at Manhattan, turning a 30-25 deficit into a 41-34 lead.
Road Warriors Princeton is playing its first seven games this season away from Jadwin Gym. The Tigers' home opener comes against Lehigh next Wednesday (Dec. 6).
Non-Conference Call Princeton now has four non-conference wins this season; the Tigers had two non-league wins all of last season.
MORE ABOUT THE BEGINNING OF 2006-07
First Time For Everything North Dakota State is the third team in Princeton's first six games that the Tigers are meeting for the first time. Loyola Chicago and Alabama A&M were the others.
Iron Man Freshman point guard Marcus Schroeder has played 198 of a possible 200 minutes for Princeton through five games. He came out for two minutes in the first half against Alabama A&M Nov. 12.
Good Things Come in Threes The Tigers have made at least eight three-point shots in four of their five games this season, including nine in Tuesday night's win at Lafayette.
Distance Learning The Tigers have taken 106 of their 201 field-goal attempts this season (53%) from three-point range.
Striping It The Tigers have 88 free-throw attempts this season compared to 69 for their opponents. Princeton last finished a season with more free-throw attempts than its opponents in 1997-98.
Shooting Stars Princeton's four leading scorers this season have combined to shoot 56% from the field (68 for 122) and 50% from three-point range (32 for 64).
TEAM NOTES & ANECDOTES
Injury Report Junior guard Matt Sargeant suffered a hairline fracture two weeks ago but is in uniform this weekend. Senior forward Luke Owings missed two weeks of practice after suffering an ankle sprain Oct. 23 but has returned to start each of Princeton's first five games.
The 60's Princeton has won 35 of its last 37 games (2003-04 to present) in which it has scored 60 or more points in regulation time.
554 & 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 554 straight games.
Quite A Streak Princeton had 20 consecutive seasons with at least a .500 or better record before finishing 12-15 last season.
Accepting Charity Princeton finished fourth in the nation last season in free-throw percentage as a team, connecting on 77.3% of its free-throw attempts (266 of 344). Saint Joseph's, New Hampshire and Gonzaga finished ahead of the Tigers.
From Downtown Princeton's four returning starters from a year ago are shooting 29 for 64 (45%) from three-point range. They combined to shoot 139 of 368 (38%) from three-point range last season.
More From Downtown Princeton made 10 or more three-point shots in a game nine times in 27 games last season, including five times in the last 12 games of the season.
Coach Speak Joe Scott is in his third season as Princeton's head coach and his 11th season overall as a coach for the Tigers. He was an assistant for eight seasons at Princeton from 1992-2000.
More Coach Speak Joe Scott played point guard for the Tigers from 1983-87 and still ranks tied for fifth all-time at Princeton with 144 steals.
Even More Coach Speak Joe Scott was named the Mountain West Conference Coach of the Year in 2004 (at Air Force) and finished fourth in the balloting for Associated Press National Coach of the Year.
Final Coach Speak Assistant coaches Mike Brennan and Howard Levy also played basketball at Princeton for former coach Pete Carril, who was also Scott's head coach.
Branching Out Five Princeton graduates or former Princeton assistant coaches are currently Division I head coaches. (Bill Carmody, Northwestern; Chris Mooney, Richmond; Craig Robinson, Brown; Joe Scott, Princeton; John Thompson, Georgetown).
Wait 'Til Next Year! Princeton will play in the Maui Invitational in November 2007 along with Duke, Illinois, Oklahoma State, Arizona State, LSU, Marquette and host Chaminade.
PLAYER NOTES & ANECDOTES
Captain, My Captain Senior Justin Conway is Princeton's team captain in 2006-07. Conway is a former walk-on to the program who had played one career minute prior to Jan. 29 of last season.
Numbers Game Justin Conway has averaged nine points, 4.1 rebounds and 2.7 assists in 18 games since becoming a starter last January.
More Honors Justin Conway earned honorable mention All-Ivy honors in 2005-06 despite not playing in Princeton's first two Ivy League games.
Bombs Away Kyle Koncz has made at least three three-point shots in 14 of his last 27 games.
More Bombs Away 160 of Kyle Koncz's 193 field-goal attempts (83%) the last two seasons have come from three-point range.
Buckets & Buckets Kyle Koncz had made 17 of his 31 three-point attempts and all 11 of his free-throw attempts this season.
Conference Call Luke Owings earned honorable-mention All-Ivy honors as a junior. He averaged almost 11 points and five rebounds in conference play.
Experience Luke Owings had played in 77 career games entering 2006-07, 22 more than any other Princeton player entering the season.
Arc Madness Noah Savage needs five three-point shots to move into the top 15 all-time at Princeton and eight three-pointers to reach 100 for his career.
Point Man Noah Savage is Princeton's leading returning scorer from a year ago. He averaged exactly 10 points per game as a sophomore.
Start Here, Start There Marcus Schroeder and Lincoln Gunn were also the starting backcourt at De La Salle High School in Concord, Calif. in 2005-06, leading their team to a 32-1 record and a state title.
Helping Out Marcus Schroeder's seven assists against VMI Nov. 11 were the most by a Princeton player since Will Venable had seven assists against Harvard in March 2005.
Gunn-Er Lincoln Gunn's three-point shot with 33 seconds left gave Princeton a five-point lead against VMI Nov. 11. Gunn took 14 three-pointers in three games at the BCA Classic, making four.
Old School Marcus Schroeder and Lincoln Gunn have known each other and played basketball together since elementary school.
Stritt Talk Michael Strittmatter scored a career-high 17 points in Princeton's loss to Loyola Nov. 10. Strittmatter has made 15 of his 23 shots in Princeton's first four games this season.
Buffed Up Edwin Buffmire averaged more than 25 minutes per game off the bench in 2005-06. He shot nearly 50% from the field and led Princeton in blocked shots.
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.
Related Matters Chris Petrie is the nephew of former Tiger standout and current Sacramento Kings general manager Geoff Petrie. His father, George, is the men's basketball coach at Gettysburg College.