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Princeton University Athletics
Tigers Hit the Road For Big Ivy Weekend at Harvard, Dartmouth
February 09, 2006 | Men's Basketball
Feb. 9, 2006
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Five games on the road in a nine-day span will test the mettle of any team. The Princeton men's basketball team gets a chance to test its mettle beginning Friday night.
That's when the second-place and 3-1 Tigers visit 4-2 Harvard for a 7 p.m. game at Lavietes Pavilion (WHWH-AM 1350, GoPrincetonTigers.com), a place that in recent history has seen a host of close games between the two teams.
In fact, the last five games between the Tigers and Crimson at Lavietes have been decided by a total of 18 points. In last year's 61-57 Harvard win, neither team led by more than four points in the final 19 minutes of the game.
The Tigers (5-12, 3-1) have simply been shooting the ball better in the past several weeks, making 20 of 45 three-point shots in a weekend sweep of Yale and Brown at Jadwin Gym this past week. With a lineup featuring Noah Savage and Scott Greenman at guard, Kyle Koncz and Luke Owings at forward and Justin Conway at center, Princeton has shot nearly 47% from the field in its last three games.
Harvard (12-7, 4-2 Ivy) lost at the buzzer at Cornell last weekend and is led by an outstanding pair of inside threats in Matt Stehle and Brian Cusworth. The Crimson's win over Princeton in Cambridge last season was its first since 1999. Princeton visits Dartmouth Saturday night. The Tigers fell at both Dartmouth and Harvard last season but rebounded to sweep those teams at Jadwin Gym later in the year.
After a game at archrival Penn Tuesday, Princeton travels to Cornell and Columbia Feb. 17-18.
FACT OF THE DAY
Shooting It Princeton has shot 45% or better from the field five times in its past seven games after shooting 45% or better twice in its first 10 games this season.
EIGHT MORE THINGS YOU MIGHT WANT TO KNOW
Taking Care of It Princeton has 42 assists and 28 turnovers in its last three games. The Tigers had more assists than turnovers just four times in their first 14 games this season.
Stopping It Princeton allowed just nine points in the final 10:19 in its win over Yale before holding Brown to 37 points and 26% shooting the next night.
Bombing It Princeton made 20 of 45 three-point shots (44%) in its wins against Yale and Brown. Scott Greenman made eight of his 12 three-point attempts in the two games.
Lucky Number Seven Seven players (Kyle Koncz, Luke Owings, Justin Conway, Scott Greenman, Noah Savage, Edwin Buffmire and Michael Strittmatter) have played 94% of the minutes for Princeton in its last three games.
Close Calls Princeton's last five games against Harvard at Lavietes Pavilion (four wins, one loss) have been decided by a total of 18 points.
More Close Calls Neither Princeton nor Harvard led by more than seven points at any time during last year's game at Lavietes Pavilion. Neither team led by more than four points in the final 19 minutes.
Road Warriors Princeton plays five straight road games in a nine-day span beginning today. The Tigers played their first four Ivy League games at home.
The 50's Princeton is 5-0 this season when scoring 51 points or more and 0-12 when scoring 50 points or less.
MORE THINGS TO KNOW
The Downtown Train Princeton has attempted 389 three-point shots and 320 two-point shots this season. The Tigers have made 136 three-pointers and 133 two-point shots.
Justin Time 6-4 junior Justin Conway has started each of Princeton's last three games at center. Conway had not played this season prior to Jan. 29 and had played just one career minute prior to that day.
Board Work Justin Conway had six rebounds against both Yale and Brown. He became the first Princeton player this year to have at least six rebounds in consecutive games.
For Starters... 11 Princeton players have started at least three games this season. Only one player (Noah Savage) has started all 16 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 Both Geoff Kestler, who had bursitis in his right hip, and Matt Sargeant, who had a groin injury, have returned to practice and are now dressed for games. Alex Okafor has been limited by tendon injury in his right hand suffered in practice Dec. 16.
539 & 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 539 straight games.
The 60's Princeton has won 31 of its last 32 games when it scores 60 or more points in regulation. The Tigers are 2-0 this year, were 10-1 last year and 19-0 in 2003-04 when scoring 60 or more points.
Double Digits Princeton made 10 three-pointers against Brown. It was the sixth time in 17 games this season the Tigers have made at least 10 three-pointers in a game.
Knockin' Em Down Noah Savage's six three-pointers against Brown were the most by a Princeton player since Mike Bechtold made six against Louisville in the 2002 NIT.
Deep Thoughts Noah Savage, Kyle Koncz and Luke Owings have combined to make 88 of 232 three-point attempts this season (38%).
More Deep Thoughts Scott Greenman has made 11 of his 17 (65%) three-point shots in his last three 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 are second in that category this season (54.5 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 1,515 victories in 106 seasons of varsity basketball.
PLAYER NOTES & ANECDOTES
All-Around Player Noah Savage leads the Tigers in scoring, three-pointers and free throws and is second on the team in assists.
Big Day Noah Savage scored a career-high 23 points for Princeton against Brown Saturday. Savage has scored in double figures nine times this season.
Start Me Up Noah Savage is the only current Princeton player to started every game of his career. Savage has started all 45 career games.
Distance Learning Scott Greenman now has 121 career three-pointers, ninth all-time at Princeton. C.J. Chapman '01 is next on the list with 139 three-pointers.
Experience Scott Greenman has started 68 of the last 69 games in which he has played. He missed four games this season due to a back injury.
Taking Care of It Scott Greenman has 124 assists and 80 turnovers over the past three seasons. He has a team-high 29 assists (and just 18 turnovers) this year.
Bombs Away Kyle Koncz has made at least three three-point shots in seven of Princeton's last 12 games.
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.
Doing Just Fine Justin Conway is shooting 50% from the field and averaging 4.3 rebounds per game since entering the starting lineup.
Stritt Talk Michael Strittmatter made three-point shots on consecutive possessions for Princeton Friday against Yale, 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 for Princeton beginning Dec. 28.
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.
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 12 minutes in 15 games this year and is averaging 1.5 rebounds per game.