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Princeton University Athletics
Players Mentioned
Tigers Host Lafayette In Final Game Before Exam Break
January 08, 2008 | Men's Basketball
After spending much of the last two months on the road, the Princeton men's basketball team begins a four-game home stand Wednesday night when the Tigers host Lafayette at 7:30 p.m. in their final game before an 18-day break for first-semester exams.
The game will be televised live by Comcast (formerly Patriot 8) in Mercer, Hunterdon and Somerset counties in New Jersey and by RCN-4 in the Lehigh Valley. Free live audio and live video from the TigerZone will be available at GoPrincetonTigers.com
Princeton and Lafayette are meeting for the 18th consecutive season, with the Tigers holding a 12-5 advantage in the previous 17 games and a 43-16 advantage in the all-time series. The visiting team has won each of the last five games in the series.
The Tigers (2-11) lost at Lehigh 68-49 Sunday afternoon. Freshman forward Kareem Maddox, who had eight points and three rebounds in 16 second-half minutes, was named the Ivy League Rookie of the Week on Monday.
The Leopards (8-6) have lost three straight, though the last two of those losses came at No. 13 Pitt and against Mississippi State of the SEC. Lafayette ranks third in NCAA Division I in three-point field goals per game, averaging just less than 11 "threes" per contest.
After exams, Princeton will host Division II Dominican College Jan. 27 before beginning Ivy League play Feb. 1 at Jadwin Gym against Dartmouth.
TODAY'S TIP-IN...
Home Cookin' Princeton plays its next four games at home beginning today. After playing their first two games at home this season, the Tigers played nine of their next 11 games either on the road or at a neutral site.
LAYUPS...
More Home Cookin' Princeton has won 32 of 38 games it has played against Lafayette in Princeton.
Taking The Trip The visiting team has won the Princeton-Lafayette game in each of the last five seasons.
Turning 18 Princeton and Lafayette are meeting for the 18th consecutive season. Nine of the games have been in Easton; nine have been in Princeton.
Caging The Leopards The Tigers have won 12 of the 17 Princeton-Lafayette games since the series between the teams resumed in 1990-91.
Test Pattern The Tigers do not play again after today until Jan. 27. First-semester exams begin next week at Princeton.
Numbers Game Freshman forward Kareem Maddox was named the Ivy League Rookie of the Week on Monday. Maddox had eight points and three rebounds for Princeton against Lehigh this past Sunday.
Conference Call Princeton's Ivy League season begins Feb. 1 with a home game against Dartmouth. Harvard defeated Dartmouth in the first Ivy League game of the season last Saturday.
THE MID-RANGE GAME...
590 & 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 590 straight games.
Up The Charts Both Kyle Koncz and Noah Savage now have 127 career three-point shots. They are tied for 10th all-time at Princeton in that category.
Chart Toppers Three of Princeton's four coaches also rank in the top 10 in career three-point shots for the Tigers. Brian Earl is the Ivy League's all-time leader with 281, while Sydney Johnson ranks fourth with 162. Scott Greenman is tied for ninth with C.J. Chapman '01 with 139 “threes.”
Deep Thoughts Combined, Princeton and Lafayette average 18 made three-pointers per game.
Something In Common Princeton and Lafayette have played two common opponents. The Tigers and Leopards have both defeated Central Connecticut at home and lost at Rutgers.
Passing Through Lincoln Gunn has at least three assists in nine of Princeton's 13 games this season. He has a team-high 37 assists and ranks eighth in the Ivy League with 2.9 assists per game.
FROM WAY DOWNTOWN...
Remembering VBK The Tigers are wearing a “VBK” patch on their uniforms in 2007-08 in honor of former coach Butch van Breda Kolff, who passed away in August. van Breda Kolff, who led the Tigers to the 1965 Final Four, also coached two stints at Lafayette (1951-55, 1984-88).
On Schedule Reading period for first-semester exams at Princeton began Monday. First-semester exams begin Jan. 16. The second semester begins Mon., Feb. 4, after the school's “intersession” the previous week.
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 16 times in 39 games in the past two seasons.
More Bombs Away Kyle Koncz made a team-high 51 three-point shots last year and has a team-high 26 three-point shots this season.
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 72 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 75% career shooter from the free-throw line.
It's About Experience Noah Savage has played in 94 of 95 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.
Shooting Star Lincoln Gunn ranks seventh in the Ivy League in three-point field-goal percentage (39.7%).
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.
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.
Helping Out Kevin Steuerer is second on the team with 23 assists despite averaging just 16 minutes per game 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.
Land O'Lake Sophomore Nick Lake scored a career-high eight points in a career-high 24 minutes off the bench at Lehigh Sunday.
On Guard Matt Sargeant has made seven three-point shots in 15 attempts this season and 17 of 33 shots overall (52%) in 13 games.
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.