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Princeton University Athletics
Men's Basketball Returns Home, Welcomes Dartmouth
February 23, 2006 | Men's Basketball
Feb. 23, 2006
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Princeton has swept its home weekend against Dartmouth and Harvard 16 seasons in a row. The Tigers probably need to make it 17 in a row to maintain their chances in an Ivy League season nearing its conclusion.
Step one is Friday night at Jadwin Gym, when Dartmouth visits for a 7:30 p.m. game (WHWH-AM 1350, GoPrincetonTigers.com). Princeton defeated the Big Green 52-49 at Leede Arena in Hanover two weeks ago and has won 18 straight against Dartmouth at Jadwin.
The Tigers (8-14, 6-3 Ivy), who sit two games behind league leader Penn with five games remaining for each team, played a series of nailbiters in their recently-concluded five-game road trip. Four of those games saw a game-winning or game-tying shot attempt in the final three seconds of regulation, and the Tigers won three of them.
Dartmouth (5-18, 3-7 Ivy) won just two of its first 18 games but has now won three of its past five, including a sweep of Yale and Brown this past weekend. Senior Mike Lang, one of the league's best long-range shooters, leads the Big Green in scoring at 10.9 points per game.
Princeton shot 50% from the field in both of its games last weekend, a stunning come-from-behind win in double overtime at Cornell and a tough one-point loss in the final seconds at Columbia. The Tigers are shooting better than 45% from the field in their last eight games after making 36% of their shots in their first 14 games.
Senior guard Scott Greenman has been the catalyst for Princeton during the Ivy season, averaging a team-best 15 points per game in Ivy play. Greenman, who twice extended the Cornell game with late three-point shots, has made 20 of his 42 three-point attempts (48%) in league play. FACT OF THE DAY
Taking Care of It Princeton has committed fewer than 10 turnovers five times in its last six games. The Tigers had 28 assists and just 17 turnovers in 90 minutes in games against Cornell and Columbia this past weekend.
EIGHT MORE THINGS YOU MIGHT WANT TO KNOW
Streak #1 Princeton has defeated Dartmouth 18 consecutive years at Jadwin Gym. 15 of those wins have come by double-digit margins.
Streak #2 Princeton hasn't lost to either Dartmouth or Harvard at Jadwin Gym since falling to Harvard 63-57 on Feb. 3, 1989, a span of 33 games.
On the Mark Princeton is shooting 45% from the field in its last eight games after shooting 36% from the field in its first 14 games.
The 50's Princeton made exactly 50% of its shots against both Cornell and Columbia last weekend. Prior to last weekend, the Tigers had shot 50% from the field only once in their first 20 games.
Close Calls Four of Princeton's last five games have featured a game-winning or game-tying shot attempt in the final three seconds of regulation.
Just a Few Days Ago... Princeton trailed just once, at 2-0, in its 52-49 win at Dartmouth Feb. 11. Luke Owings' three-pointer 2:15 into the game gave the Tigers a lead they would never relinquish.
Great Scott Senior guard Scott Greenman is averaging nearly 17 points per game for Princeton in his last five games. Greenman's career scoring average is 7.5 points per game.
Weekend Update Princeton and Penn have never finished a combined 1-3 or 0-4 when hosting an Ivy League weekend since the current Ivy travel partner format was adopted in 1956.
MORE THINGS TO KNOW
The Iron Seven Seven players (Savage, Greenman, Owings, Koncz, Conway, Buffmire, Strittmatter) have played 97% of Princeton's minutes in the team's last eight games.
Justin Time 6-4 junior Justin Conway has started each of Princeton's last eight games at center. Conway, the second shortest player in Princeton's starting five, had a season-high 13 points at Columbia.
Aiming High Against Cornell, Noah Savage (28) and Scott Greenman (27) became the first pair of Princeton teammates to score 27 or more points in the same game since December 1969, when John Hummer (32) and Geoff Petrie (31) did it against Indiana.
Turnarounds Princeton was 4-11 in its non-conference season in 1979-80, but finished 11-3 in Ivy League play to tie for the league title before falling to Penn by one point in an Ivy playoff game.
Triple in Doubles Princeton has three players (Savage, Greenman, Owings) averaging in double figures in Ivy League play. Only Noah Savage averaged in double figures in non-conference play.
TEAM NOTES & ANECDOTES
Injury Report Geoff Kestler has bursitis in his right hip and is currently out of the lineup. Alex Okafor has been limited by a tendon injury in his right hand suffered in practice in mid-December.
544 & 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 544 straight games.
Knockin' Em Down Princeton has had a player make six three-pointers in a game three times in the last six games. Prior to Feb. 4, the Tigers hadn't had a player make six three-pointers in a game since the last game of the 2002 season.
The 60's Princeton has won 32 of its last 34 games when it scores 60 or more points in regulation. The Tigers are 3-1 this year, were 10-1 last year and 19-0 in 2003-04 when scoring 60 or more in regulation.
Double Digits Princeton made 12 three-pointers against Cornell. It was the eighth time in 21 games this season the Tigers have made at least 10 three-pointers in a game.
From Downtown Noah Savage, Kyle Koncz, Scott Greenman and Luke Owings have combined to make 144 of 382 three-point attempts this season (38%).
More From Downtown Scott Greenman has made 22 of his 41 (54%) three-point shots in his last eight games. He made six of his first 35 three-pointers (17%) in his first 10 games.
Shutdown Mode Princeton led the nation in scoring defense in 2004-05, allowing opponents to score just 54.3 points per game. The Tigers entered this week in the top 10 in this season (55.8 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.
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.
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 17th on the all-time list with 1,518 victories in 106 seasons of varsity basketball.
PLAYER NOTES & ANECDOTES
Filling It Up Scott Greenman is averaging 17 points per game in Princeton's last seven games. He has two games with 27 points in that stretch.
Distance Learning Scott Greenman now has 132 career three-pointers, ninth all-time at Princeton. C.J. Chapman '01 is next on the Princeton list with 139 three-pointers.
Experience Scott Greenman has started 73 of the last 74 games in which he has played. He missed four games this season due to a back injury.
Taking Care of It Scott Greenman has 138 assists and 90 turnovers over the past three seasons. He has a team-high 43 assists (and just 28 turnovers) this year.
Quick Starts Noah Savage scored 11 consecutive points for Princeton in the first half at Cornell. He had six of Princeton's 12 three-pointers in the game.
Double Trouble Noah Savage has 11 double-figure scoring games this season. He had a career-high 28 points at Cornell last Friday.
Big Shot Noah Savage's baseline jumper with 0.2 seconds remaining on the clock gave Princeton a 60-59 win at Harvard last Friday.
Start Me Up Noah Savage is the only current Princeton player to started every game of his career. Savage has started all 50 career games.
On Track Luke Owings led Princeton in scoring against both Dartmouth and Penn. Those games were his first back-to-back double-figure scoring games this season.
Taking His Shot Luke Owings is a 50% shooter for his career from the field and a 42% shooter for his career from three-point range.
Bombs Away Kyle Koncz has made at least three three-point shots in eight of his last 17 games.
Career Night Kyle Koncz had six three-pointers and a career-high 20 points in Princeton's win at Harvard Feb. 10.
The New Guy Justin Conway had played one career minute, and none this season, before starting at Davidson Jan. 29. He has averaged more than 30 minutes per game since that day.
Doing Just Fine Justin Conway is averaging 6.1 points and 3.5 rebounds per game since entering the starting lineup Jan. 29 at Davidson.
I'm Honored Justin Conway won the team's Friedman Memorial Award last season, given to the member of the team "who does his very best every day in every way."
Stritt Talk Michael Strittmatter made three-point shots on consecutive possessions for Princeton against Yale Feb. 3, turning a 40-37 deficit into a 43-40 lead midway through the second half.
In the Buff Edwin Buffmire had a career-best three blocked shots in Princeton's win against Yale. Buffmire also had eight points, four rebounds, two assists and two steals.
Point Man Edwin Buffmire averaged 9.2 points per game in five consecutive starts beginning Dec. 28.
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.