.png&width=24&type=webp)
Princeton University Athletics
Players Mentioned
Men's Basketball Tips Off 2006-07 Against Loyola Chicago At SportsTime Ohio BCA Classic
November 08, 2006 | Men's Basketball
Exactly four weeks after practice began, the Princeton men's basketball team plays the earliest season opener in program history when the Tigers face Loyola (Ill.) Friday evening at 5:30 p.m. in the BCA Classic at Ohio State's Value City Arena (WBUD-AM 1260 and GoPrincetonTigers.com).
Princeton will play three games at the eight-team tournament, which begins Friday and ends Sunday. The winner of the Princeton-Loyola game will play the winner of the Ohio State-VMI game on Saturday at 8 p.m., while the losers of those games willl meet at 2 p.m. Saturday. The complete BCA Classic bracket can be accessed at the above link.
The Tigers return seven players from the eight-player rotation that developed during most of last year's Ivy League season, and also feature a freshman class which includes a likely starting backcourt of De La Salle (Calif.) High School teammates Marcus Schroeder and Lincoln Gunn.
Team captain Justin Conway, as well as classmate Luke Owings, were both honorable mention All-Ivy picks a year ago, while juniors Kyle Koncz and Noah Savage combined for more than 100 three-point shots in 2005-06.
Loyola was chosen to win its conference, the Horizon League, in a preseason poll and features an All-America candidate in 6-7 guard Blake Schilb. Schillb averaged better than 19 points and five rebounds last season, when the Ramblers finished 19-11.
Princeton is playing in a season-opening tournament for the third consecutive year. The Tigers hosted Drexel in the NIT Season Tip-Off in 2005 and played in the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic at Syracuse in 2004. The Tigers will play in another early-season tournament, the Maui Invitational, in 2007.
FACT OF THE DAY
The Old & The New Seven of the 17 players on Princeton's 2006-07 roster started at least four games and averaged at least 15 minutes per game last season. Seven of the other 10 players on the roster are freshmen.
EIGHT MORE THINGS YOU MIGHT WANT TO KNOW
Turnarounds Princeton won nine of its final 12 games last season. The Tigers shot 50% or better from the field five times in those 12 games and made 10 or more three-pointers five times in those 12 games.
Arc de Triomphe More than half of Princeton's field goal attempts last season (572 of 1123, 50.9%) came from three-point range.
On The Defensive Princeton finished second nationally in scoring defense in 2005-06, allowing just 55.6 points per game. Head coach Joe Scott's former team, Air Force, finished first (54.7 ppg).
Friday Night Live The Tigers did not play an exhibition game prior to the regular season. Princeton did participate in a closed scrimmage against St. Francis (N.Y.) last Thursday.
The Captain Princeton's team captain in 2006-07 is senior Justin Conway, who had played one career minute prior to Jan. 29 of last season and was a walk-on to the program as a freshman in 2003.
Togetherness Princeton's probable starting backcourt of freshmen Marcus Schroeder and Lincoln Gunn played together in high school, helping lead De La Salle to a 32-1 record and a state title in 2006.
On the Road Again Princeton is playing its first seven games this season either on the road or at neutral sites. The Tigers' first home game comes Dec. 6 against Lehigh.
Three In a Row Princeton is playing in a season-opening exempt tournament for the third straight year. The Tigers played in the NIT Season Tip-Off in 2005 and the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic in 2004.
MORE TIDBITS TO BEGIN 2006-07
Happy 107th Friday's game begins the 107th season of Princeton men's basketball. The Tigers rank 17th among NCAA Division I schools with 1,522 all-time victories.
6 Outta 7 Ain't Bad Seven players played more than 95% of Princeton's minutes in the team's final 12 games last season. Six of those players return to the 2006-07 team.
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.
Possession Time Princeton averaged fewer than 42 field goal attempts per game last season. The Tigers took more than 50 shots in a non-overtime game once in 24 games.
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).
A Blip on The Radar Princeton finished 12-15 overall last season, ending a stretch of 20 consecutive .500 or better seasons and 19 straight above .500 seasons.
TEAM NOTES & ANECDOTES
Injury Report Senior Luke Owings sustained a right ankle sprain in practice Oct. 23. He returned to practice this week and could play against Loyola Friday.
What Ifs The Tigers have a 6-7 all-time record against Ohio State, whom they haven't played since 1981. Princeton's only meeting with VMI came in the 1964 NCAA tournament, an 86-60 Tigers win.
549 & 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 549 straight games.
On Schedule Princeton could play as many as seven games before Jan. 1 against teams that reached postseason play in 2005-06.
From Downtown Princeton's four returning starters from a year ago combined to shoot 139 of 368 (37.7%) 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.
The 60's Princeton has won 34 of its last 36 games (2003-06) in which it has scored 60 or more points in regulation time (5-1 in 2005-06, 10-1 in 2004-05 and 19-0 in 2003-04).
Good Vibrations Princeton enters the 2006-07 season on a two-game winning streak. The Tigers defeated Yale and Penn at the end of last season, and the Ivy League does not have a postseason conference tournament.
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.
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.
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.
I'm Honored Justin Conway earned honorable mention All-Ivy honors in 2005-06 despite not playing in Princeton's first two league games.
Numbers Game Justin Conway averaged 8.8 points, 4.2 rebounds and 3.1 assists in 13 games as a starter in 2005-06. He also made all but two of his 27 free-throw attempts.
Start Me Up Junior Noah Savage has started all 55 career games entering the 2006-07 season.
Arc Madness Noah Savage needs eight three-point shots to move into the top 15 all-time at Princeton and 11 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.
Conference Call Luke Owings earned honorable-mention All-Ivy honors as a junior. He averaged almost 11 points and five rebounds in conference play.
Filling It Up Luke Owings is a 51% shooter for his career from the field and a 42% shooter for his career from three-point range.
Experience Luke Owings has played in 77 career games entering the 2006-07, 22 more than any other Princeton player.
Bombs Away Kyle Koncz made at least three three-point shots in nine of his last 22 games as a sophomore.
More Bombs Away 129 of Kyle Koncz's 155 field-goal attempts last season (83.2%) came from three-point range.
Seeing Crimson Kyle Koncz made 11 of 17 three-point shots and scored a combined 43 points in Princeton's two wins against Harvard last 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.
Stritt Talk Michael Strittmatter did not play in Princeton's first seven games a year ago but then averaged nearly 16 minutes per game in the final 20 games.
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.
Old School Marcus Schroeder and Lincoln Gunn have known each other and played basketball together since elementary school.
Dakota Delight Zach Finley was named “Mr. Basketball” for the state of South Dakota in 2006. He helped lead St. Thomas More to a state championship last season.
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.