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Princeton University Athletics
Players Mentioned
Tigers Visit Marshall Saturday Afternoon To Begin Three-Game Road Swing
December 20, 2007 | Men's Basketball
One of Princeton's most impressive victories of 2006-07 came against Marshall at Jadwin Gym. The Tigers hope for a repeat performance Saturday afternoon when they visit Huntington, W.Va., for the first time since 1972 for a 3 p.m. matchup against the Herd at the Cam Henderson Center.
Live audio of Saturday's game will be available on the radio at WPRB-FM 103.3 and free on the internet at GoPrincetonTigers.com. A live video stream will also be available as part of the TigerZone.
A little more than a year ago, the Tigers defeated Marshall 61-45 at Jadwin Gym behind 20 points from Kyle Koncz and a defense that held the Herd to just 39% shooting from the field. Princeton had assists on 15 of its 20 baskets that day, and Koncz made four of his team's nine three-point shots.
Koncz had 14 points and four assists for Princeton (2-8) in a 71-66 loss to Manhattan at Jadwin Gym Sunday. Zach Finley led the Tigers with 17 points and eight rebounds; the Tiger sophomore center shot 8 for 13 from the field.
Marshall lost at No. 22 Louisville 85-75 Tuesday night at Freedom Hall, giving Cardinal head coach Rick Pitino his 500th career victory. Markel Humphrey had 24 points and 10 rebounds for the Thundering Herd, who are under the direction of first-year head coach Donnie Jones, a member of the coaching staff at Florida during the Gators' back-to-back NCAA championship seasons.
Princeton also plays at Monmouth Dec. 30 and Lehigh Jan. 6 before returning home to Jadwin Gym Jan. 9 against Lafayette.
TODAY'S TIP-IN...
No Sophomore Slump Sophomores Zach Finley and Lincoln Gunn are averaging a combined 22.2 points and 10.1 rebounds per game this season. The duo averaged a combined 9.3 points and four rebounds per game last season.
LAYUPS...
The Marshall Plan Princeton defeated Marshall 61-45 at Jadwin Gym last season. The Tigers led by as many as 20 points midway through the second half of that game.
Numbers Game Princeton scored 21 points off Marshall turnovers in last season's 61-45 win. The Tigers had just eight turnovers in the game.
50-50 Proposition Princeton shot 54% from the field against Manhattan Sunday. The Tigers hadn't shot 50% or better from the field in their last 30 games prior to Sunday.
On Court, On His Game Zach Finley is shooting 54% from the field and averaging 14.1 points per game in the eight games in which he has played at least 26 minutes this season.
Passing Through Lincoln Gunn has three or more assists seven times in 10 games this season.
On Schedule Princeton has played six of its first 10 games this season against teams from conferences ranked in the top six in conference RPI last season (ACC, Big East, Big 10, MVC, Pac 10).
On The Road Again Today's game is the first of three straight road games for Princeton. The Tigers also played three straight road games prior to Sunday's home game against Manhattan.
THE MID-RANGE GAME...
587 & 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 one of its games since the rule took effect for the 1986-87 season. The Tigers have now made at least one three-pointer in 587 straight games.
Conference USA Call Princeton defeated both Marshall (61-45) and Rice (51-28) from Conference USA last season at Jadwin Gym.
Parallel Lines Both Princeton and Marshall have first-year head coaches who either previously coached (MU's Donnie Jones) or played (Princeton's Sydney Johnson) at their respective schools.
Generation Gap Princeton's only other game at Marshall came 35 years ago last week. The Herd defeated the Tigers 78-64 on Dec. 16, 1972.
Arc Madness Lincoln Gunn, Kyle Koncz and Noah Savage have made a combined 54 three-point shots this season and a combined 300 three-point shots during their Princeton careers.
More Arc Madness Princeton made 15 three-point shots against Chaminade Nov. 21 at the Maui Invitational.
FROM WAY DOWNTOWN...
Remembering VBK The Tigers are wearing a “VBK” patch on their uniforms in 2007-08 in honor of former Princeton coach Butch van Breda Kolff, who passed away in August. van Breda Kolff led the Tigers to the 1965 Final Four and had a 103-31 record in five seasons at Princeton.
Up The Charts Noah Savage is now 10th all-time at Princeton with 125 career three-pointers. Kyle Koncz is now tied for 11th all-time with 120 three-pointers. He needs one “three” to pass Mike Bechtold '02 and move into 11th place alone.
Aloha & Mahalo Princeton was the first Ivy League team to play in the Maui Invitational.
The Jadwin Effect Princeton has won 90 of its last 119 games at Jadwin Gym (76%), including 63 of its last 78 Ivy League home games in that time.
Us Or Them Either Princeton (nine times) or Penn (10 times) has been the Ivy League's NCAA tournament representative in each of the last 19 seasons (1989-2006).
Us Or Them 2 Princeton has won 25 Ivy League titles; Penn has won 25 Ivy championships. The other six Ivy League schools have combined to win 10 league crowns.
Shining Moments Princeton has made 23 NCAA tournament appearances. Only 22 Division I schools had made more appearances than the Tigers entering 2006-07.
Branching Out Six Princeton graduates or former Princeton assistant coaches are currently Division I head coaches. (Bill Carmody, Northwestern; Craig Robinson '83, Brown; Joe Scott '87, Denver; John Thompson '88, Georgetown; Chris Mooney '94, Richmond; Sydney Johnson '97, Princeton).
The Worldwide Leader Princeton will appear on national television on ESPN, ESPN2 or ESPNU at least six times this season.
Princeton In The Pros Two recent Princeton graduates play in Italy's top division. Mason Rocca '00 plays for Napoli and also played for the Italian national team in the 2006 FIBA World Championships, while Judson Wallace '05 plays for Capo D'Orlando after two seasons playing in Germany.
More Princeton in the Pros Former Tiger basketball star Chris Young '02 played in the Major League All-Star game in 2007. The San Diego Padres' starting pitcher led the National League in earned run average for much of the 2007 season.
Even More Princeton in the Pros Head coach Sydney Johnson played seven seasons of professional basketball in Italy and Spain after graduating from Princeton. His teams won three league championships in those seven seasons.
PLAYER NOTES & ANECDOTES
Bombs Away Kyle Koncz has made at least three three-point shots 14 times in 36 games in the past two seasons. He had three “threes” against Manhattan on Sunday.
More Bombs Away Kyle Koncz made a team-high 51 three-point shots last year. He had four or more three-pointers in a game six times in 26 games.
Toughing It Out Kyle Koncz did not practice after Jan. 1 last season due to a stress fracture in his foot but still played in 26 games and led the Tigers in scoring.
For Starters... Noah Savage has started 69 career games, most of any player on the current Princeton roster.
Playing The Percentages Noah Savage is a 37% career shooter from three-point range and a 76% career shooter from the free-throw line.
It's About Experience Noah Savage has played in 91 of 92 games in his career at Princeton.
Swatting Them Zach Finley's seven blocks against Chaminade were the most by a Princeton player since Chris Young had seven against Xavier on Dec. 27, 1999.
Record Breaker Zach Finley's seven blocked shots against Chaminade set a Maui Invitational record for blocks in a game.
A Perfect 10 Zach Finley made his first 10 shots in Princeton's season-opening win against Central Connecticut at Jadwin Gym Nov. 11.
Gunning It 6-3 Lincoln Gunn had his first career “double-double” at Rutgers with 13 points and 10 rebounds. His previous career high in rebounds in a game was six.
Double Trouble Lincoln Gunn has five double-figure scoring games this season.
Return To Paradise Lincoln Gunn served as a ballboy while attending the Maui Invitational several times as a child while growing up in California.
Devil Of A Game Marcus Schroeder's season-high 12 points led Princeton against Arizona State. He also had four rebounds in that game.
Stritt Talk 6-8 Michael Strittmatter made 22 of his 50 three-point attempts last season. He was leading the Ivy League in three-point percentage for much of the season.
On Guard Matt Sargeant has made seven three-point shots in 15 attempts this season and 15 of 29 shots overall (51%) in nine games.
Land O'Lake Sophomore Nick Lake has averaged eight minutes per game in the last eight games. He did not play as a freshman or in the first two games this season.
History Lesson Kevin Steuerer's father Mickey was a team captain for the 1974-1975 Princeton team that won the National Invitation Tournament, the only Ivy League team to have won a postseason national tournament.
The New Guys Princeton has three freshmen on its 2007-08 roster, 6-8 Kareem Maddox and 6-3 Dan Mavraides are California natives, while 6-4 Bobby Foley comes to Princeton from Richmond, Va.
High Riser 6-8 Kareem Maddox, who played 15 minutes in the season opener, was a McDonald's All-America nominee in 2006-07. He was named the Ventura County Player of the Year as a senior.