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Princeton University Athletics
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Tigers Shut Down Almond, Rice On Way To Impressive 51-28 Victory
January 06, 2007 | Men's Basketball
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To show you just how good Princeton's defense was in its win over Rice Saturday afternoon at Jadwin Gym, you need only look at one statistic in particular.
The Owls' Morris Almond entered the game averaging a NCAA Division I-best 31.4 points per game. Saturday, his entire team scored only 28.
The result was an impressive 51-28 Princeton victory that marked the Tigers' fewest points allowed against a Division I opponent since a 55-27 win over Yale on Jan. 11, 1991. Even more amazing was Princeton's effort on Almond, who scored a season-low nine points (his previous season low was 13) and had four turnovers in 31 minutes.
"I wasn't sure how you stop someone who's averaging 32 points per game," said Joe Scott, the Franklin C. Cappon-Edward G. Green '40 Head Coach of Men's Basketball at Princeton, "so we concentrated on just stopping what they try to do offensively as a whole. Overall, we did a good job in being tough, physical and smart with our defense."
Almond, who had scored a Conference USA record 44 points in Rice's loss to Vanderbilt Tuesday, made just three of his eight shots Saturday and one of his five three-point attempts.
Meanwhile, Princeton (9-4) continued its own success from beyond the arc, scoring its first 15 points on three-point baskets and using its stifling defense to take a double-digit lead midway through the first half. The Tigers, who made at least 10 three-pointers for the third game in a row, then pulled away with a 9-0 run midway through the second half, punctuated by a Marcus Schroeder strip of Almond and a Noah Savage dunk with 9:15 left that made it 39-19 Princeton.
"We knew coming in it would be a challenge, but we just concentrated on playing solid defense and trying to make it hard for them," said Schroeder, who had seven points, six rebounds and five assists before coming out of the game, with two minutes left, for the first time since Dec. 9.
Luke Owings led Princeton offensively with 13 points, shooting 5 for 9 from the field, and the Tigers outrebounded Rice 31-19, including 11-3 on the offensive glass. The Tigers forced 18 Rice turnovers, including nine from guard Lorenzo Williams, and had 15 assists on their 19 baskets.
Rice (6-7), which lost its second straight game, shot 33% from the field and 2 of 9 from three-point range. No Owl player scored in double figures.
Princeton never led by fewer than 11 points in the final 22 minutes of the game. The Tigers took their biggest lead at 41-19 on a Zach Finley layup with 8:42 left and had eight players score.
Justin Conway added a career-best six assists and five rebounds for Princeton, which had lost at Rice 52-41 last January.
NOTES
* Princeton allowed just 24 points in a win over Division III Western Maryland (now McDaniel) in Jan. 2002.
* Almond had scored at least 24 points in each of his team's last 10 games entering Saturday's game. His previous season low of 13 came against Gonzaga in the NIT Season Tip-Off in early November.
* 14 of the 16 Tiger players who dressed saw action, including the first action of the season for junior Zach Woolridge, freshman Pawel Buczak and freshman Chris Petrie, who a three-point shot for the final Princeton points in the final minute.
* The Tigers entered the game ranked No. 1 in the nation in scoring defense, allowing 50.9 points per game (now 49.2)
* Princeton starts Ivy League play next weekend, visiting Columbia on Friday and Cornell on Saturday.