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Princeton University Athletics
Tigers Host Yale in Return to Ivy Play
February 02, 2006 | Men's Basketball
Feb. 2, 2006
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Three weeks ago, the Princeton men's basketball team went overtime in its Ivy opener to earn its 13th straight home win against Columbia. Friday night, in their return to conference play, the Tigers will look for another lucky 13.
The Tigers have wins over Yale at Jadwin Gym in each of the past 12 seasons, a number they hope to extend Friday as the league season gets into full swing. Game time is 7:30, and the game will be televised locally by Patriot 8.
Princeton (3-12, 1-1 Ivy) certainly faces a challenge in a Yale (11-8, 3-1 Ivy) team that earned a weekend sweep of Harvard and Dartmouth last weekend. The Bulldogs have won six of their last eight games, with one of those losses coming at Kansas in early January.
The Tigers fell at Davidson 65-50 Sunday night in their return from a 14-day exam break. Princeton was effective offensively in the first half, making 11 of its first 19 shots, but the Wildcats used two second-half scoring runs to take control.
Princeton used its sixth different starting lineup Sunday night, with junior Justin Conway making his first career start and junior Luke Owings returning to the starting lineup for the first time since Dec. 6. Conway had seven points and three assists in 33 minutes, his first minutes of the 2005-06 season.
Of Princeton's 12 straight wins against Yale at Jadwin Gym, 10 have come by double-digit margins. The Tigers defeated the Bulldogs 58-43 at Jadwin last season, holding Yale to just four second-half field goals. FACT OF THE DAY
Going for 13 Princeton has won 12 straight games against Yale at Jadwin Gym. 10 of those 12 victories have come by double-digit margins.
EIGHT MORE THINGS YOU MIGHT WANT TO KNOW
Home Court Advantage Princeton and Penn have hosted 150 Ivy League weekends. The Tigers and Quakers have combined to finish 4-0 97 times and 3-1 43 times and have never combined to finish 0-4 or 1-3.
Justin Time 6-4 Justin Conway started at center for Princeton at Davidson. Conway had played one career minute prior to Sunday, the final minute of a 66-44 win over Harvard last March.
Double Digits Justin Conway became the 11th Princeton player to start a game this season when he earned a start at Davidson Sunday. Only two Tigers who have played have not started a game.
Arc Madness Princeton has attempted 344 three-point shots and 285 two-point shots this season. The Tigers have made exactly the same number of three-pointers as two-point shots (116).
Heating Up Princeton made 11 of its 19 shots in the first half against Davidson Sunday. The Tigers' 19 field goals in the game were their most in a game since making 20 against Wyoming Dec. 10.
In and You Win In their three victories this season, the Tigers have shot a combined 59-for-125 from the field (47.2%). In their 12 losses, the Tigers have shot a combined 173-for-504 from the field (34.3%).
Line Dancing Princeton shot 55 free throws in its first two Ivy League games (27.5 per game). The Tigers shot 104 free throws in their 13 non-conference games (8.0 per game).
On the Road Again Princeton plays five straight road games in a nine-day span beginning next Friday at Harvard.
MORE THINGS TO KNOW
The 50's Princeton is 3-0 this season when scoring 51 points or more and 0-12 when scoring 50 points or less.
For Starters The Tigers used their sixth different starting lineup Sunday at Davidson. No starting lineup has started more than four games this season.
Ivy Talk Every Ivy League team has at least one league loss besides Penn, which enters this weekend 2-0 in league play.
Downtown Deliveries Princeton is averaging nearly eight three-pointers per game. The Tigers have made at least eight "threes" nine times in 15 games.
Turnarounds Princeton finished 4-11 in non-conference games in 1979-80, but finished 11-3 in Ivy League play to tie for the league title before losing to Penn by one point in an Ivy playoff game.
TEAM NOTES & ANECDOTES
Injury Report Geoff Kestler has bursitis in his right hip and is out for tonight's game. Matt Sargeant has missed nine games due to a groin injury but could play tonight. Alex Okafor has been limited by tendon injury in his right hand suffered in practice Dec. 16.
Tests, On & Off the Court The Tigers did not play between Jan. 14 and Jan. 29 due to exams. Princeton students take first-semester exams in mid-January after returning from holiday break.
537 & 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 537 straight games.
Knockin' Em Down Sophomore Kyle Koncz has made 26 of his 60 three-point attempts (43.3%) since entering the starting lineup 10 games ago.
Deep Thoughts Noah Savage, Kyle Koncz and Luke Owings have combined to make 78 of 205 three-point attempts this season (38%).
More Deep Thoughts 11 Princeton players have made at least two three-point shots this season; five players have made at least nine three-pointers.
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.
Shutdown Mode Princeton led the nation in scoring defense in 2004-05, allowing opponents to score just 54.3 points per game. The Tigers are fifth in that category this season (56.0 ppg).
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 (at Air Force) and finished fourth in the balloting for Associated Press National Coach of the Year.
More Ivy Talk Princeton has won 25 Ivy League championships; Penn has won 23 league crowns. The other six league schools have combined to win nine league championships.
Even More Ivy Talk Either Princeton (1989-92, 96-98, 01, 04) or Penn (1993-95, 99-00, 02-03, 05) has represented the Ivy League in the NCAA tournament in each of the last 17 seasons.
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 1,513 victories in 106 seasons of varsity basketball.
PLAYER NOTES & ANECDOTES
All-Around Player Noah Savage leads the Tigers in scoring, rebounding, three-pointers and free throws and is second on the team in assists.
Leader of the Pack Noah Savage averaged 16.8 points per game in Princeton's first five games this season, including a career-best 21-point performance against Temple.
Start Me Up Noah Savage is the only current Princeton player to started every game of his career. Savage has started all 43 career games.
Distance Learning Scott Greenman now has 113 career three-pointers. He needs eight three-pointers to pass Mike Bechtold '02 and move into ninth place at Princeton.
Experience Scott Greenman has started 66 of the last 67 games in which he has played. He missed four games this season due to a back injury.
Taking Care of It Scott Greenman has 118 assists and 78 turnovers over the past three seasons. He has a team-high 23 assists this year.
Bombs Away Kyle Koncz has made at least three three-point shots in seven of Princeton's last 10 games. He made three of his six three-point attempts against Davidson on Sunday.
Stepping Out Kyle Koncz's took 20 consecutive shots from three-point range before scoring on a layup with 7:19 left in the first half against Davidson.
Taking His Shots Luke Owings is a 51% career shooter from the field overall and a 43% 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.
Helping Out Justin Conway had a team-high three assists for Princeton against Davidson Sunday.
In the Buff Edwin Buffmire made two free throws with 0.8 seconds left against Columbia to send the game into overtime. Buffmire scored a career-high 12 points in that game.
Stritt Talk Michael Strittmatter made 11 of his 12 free-throw attempts against Columbia and Cornell. He made two free throws with 15 seconds left against Columbia that tied the game at 52-52.
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 in the only game he didn't start..
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.
Alexander Was Great Alex Okafor's three-point play with 4:03 left in overtime gave Princeton the lead against Columbia Jan. 13. Okafor has averaged 13 minutes in 14 games this year and is averaging two rebounds per game.