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Princeton University Athletics
Players Mentioned
Men's Basketball Visits Evansville For Wednesday Night Tilt
December 04, 2007 | Men's Basketball
The first-ever meeting between a pair of storied college basketball programs, Princeton and Evansville, is set for Wednesday night at 8:05 p.m. ET at the 11,600-seat Roberts Stadium in downtown Evansville, Ind. The game can be heard live on WPRB-FM 103.3 and at GoPrincetonTigers.com.
Both programs are led by first-year head coaches who were standout players at their respective schools. Evansville's Marty Simmons played for the Purple Aces in the 1980's and was a two-time first-team all-conference pick; Princeton's Sydney Johnson was a three-time captain for the Tigers and the 1997 Ivy League Player of the Year.
Princeton (2-5), which lost a close 54-50 decision at Rutgers on Saturday, is in the middle of a stretch that features six road games in a seven-game span. The Tigers will be at Penn State next week and at Marshall Dec. 22 before playing road games closer to home at Monmouth Dec. 30 and at Lehigh Jan. 6.
Sophomore guard Lincoln Gunn had a "double-double" at Rutgers with 13 points and a career-best 10 rebounds. Gunn is shooting better than 44% from three-point range this season.
Evansville (1-4) lost at Buffalo 81-60 on Saturday.Junior Shy Ely, who is averaging 12 points per game, had a team-high 22 points in that game.
TODAY'S TIP-IN
Doubling Up A Princeton player (Lincoln Gunn vs. Rutgers and Zach Finley vs. Seton Hall) has recorded a “double-double” in each of the team's last two games. Prior to last Wednesday, no Princeton player had recorded a “double-double” in the team's previous 75 games.
LAYUPS...
Unfamiliar Foes Princeton and Evansville are playing for the first time. The Tigers have played only four games all-time against current MVC members, the last coming against Southern Illinois in 1976.
Welcome Home Both Princeton coach Sydney Johnson and Evansville coach Marty Simmons are first-year head coaches as well as former first-team all-conference players at their respective schools.
Deep Thinking Princeton has made at least nine three-point shots in a game three times this season and 14 times in 35 games the last two seasons.
More Deep Thinking Princeton is shooting 40% from three-point range in four games away from home this season (36 for 91).
Showing Balance Five players (Gunn, Schroeder, Finley, Koncz, Savage) have led Princeton in scoring at least once in seven games this season.
Hot Start Princeton made 12 of its first 22 shots and led 30-22 at Rutgers in the first half Saturday.
Road Warriors The Tigers play five of their next six games on the road beginning today. Princeton will then play four straight home games after that stretch.
THE MID-RANGE GAME...
Hello Again Hoosiers Princeton last visited Indiana in 2000, when the Tigers won Ball State's First Merchants Classic with wins over Weber State and the host Cardinals.
On Schedule Princeton plays five of its first nine games this season against teams from the Atlantic Coast, Pacific 10, Big East and Big 10 Conferences.
No Sophomore Slump Zach Finley has 84 points in seven games; he had 84 points in 28 games last year; Lincoln Gunn averaged 6.3 points per game last year; he is scoring 11.4 points a game in 2007-08.
584 & 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 584 straight games.
The History Books Sydney Johnson is Princeton's all-time leader in steals (169) and ranks fifth all-time at Princeton in both three-pointers (162) and assists (280).
Tiger Pride Assistant coaches Brian Earl '99 and Scott Greenman '06 also played for Princeton. Earl was the 1999 Ivy League Player of the Year, while Greenman was a 2006 first-team All-Ivy selection.
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 124 career three-pointers. Kyle Koncz is now 12th all-time with 115 three-pointers. He needs six “threes” to pass Mike Bechtold '02 into 11th place.
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 118 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 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 13 times in 33 games in the past two seasons. He had three “threes” against Chaminade Nov. 20.
The Century Mark Kyle Koncz has made 115 three-point shots in 311 attempts (37%) in 61 games the last three seasons for Princeton.
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.
More Bombs Away Noah Savage has started 66 career games, most of any player on the current Princeton roster.
Playing The Percentages Noah Savage is a 38% career shooter from three-point range and a 78% career shooter from the free-throw line.
It's About Experience Noah Savage has played in 88 of 89 games in his career at Princeton.
Stat-Sheet Stuffer Zach Finley is leading Princeton in scoring (12.0 ppg) and rebounding (5.4 rpg) and is shooting 49% from the field.
More Stat-Sheet Stuffing Zach Finley made his first 10 shots in Princeton's season-opening win against Central Connecticut at Jadwin Gym Nov. 11.
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.
Gunning It Lincoln Gunn was named to the Ivy League Honor Roll on Monday. He had his first career “double-double” at Rutgers with 13 points and 10 rebounds.
Downtown Deliveries Lincoln Gunn is shooting 44% from three-point range this season (15 for 34).
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.
On Guard Matt Sargeant has made seven three-point shots in 14 attempts this season and 15 of 28 shots overall (54%) in seven games.
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.
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.
Family Affair Sophomore forward Chris Petrie is the nephew of former Tiger star Geoff Petrie '70 and the son of long-time Gettysburg College coach George Petrie.
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.