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Princeton University Athletics
Players Mentioned
Men's Basketball to Close 2008 at Lafayette
December 26, 2008 | Men's Basketball
Princeton (2-7, 0-0 Ivy) at Lafayette (3-8, 0-0 Patriot)
Tuesday, Dec. 30, 7 p.m. at Lafayette's Kirby Sports Center
Princeton Head Coach: Sydney Johnson (Second season, 8-30 at Princeton/Overall)
Radio: WPRB 103.3 (John Sadak, Play-by-Play; Jerry Price, Color); TV: Lafayette Sports Network
All-Time Series: Princeton leads 43-17 overall, 11-10 at Lafayette/Kirby Sports Center
Familiar foes: At 60 meetings, Lafayette is Princeton's second-most played non-Ivy opponent behind Rutgers, which the Tigers played for the 115th time earlier this month. Princeton leads 43-17, and the teams have alternated wins and losses in their last six meetings. Lafayette won last season, 76-71 in overtime at Jadwin Gym.
Princeton vs. the Patriot League: Since the Patriot League began play in basketball for the 1990-91 season, the Tigers hold a 26-9 record against those schools. Princeton has faced six of the eight Patriot schools in that span, the exceptions being the southernmost pair of Navy and American.
The Ivy-Patriot Challenge: It's not an official event, but it might as well be. All eight Ivy schools are playing at least one Patriot school, with the reverse true as well. Heading into Princeton-Lafayette, the Ivy has a 7-4 lead with eight games remaining.
Tough loss: Princeton will be looking to expunge the sour taste of last season's 76-71 OT loss to Lafayette, in which the Tigers were ahead by 17 points at halftime. Lafayette went on an 11-0 run to start the half as part of a 23-7 run to close the deficit to one with 11 minutes left. Later in the half, Lafayette held Princeton scoreless for nearly six minutes to take its first lead, and the Tigers needed a three-pointer by Kyle Koncz '08 with four seconds left just to send it to OT.
Who's back: Princeton returns just 33 of its 71 points from last year's game, with a high of 12 by Zach Finley leading those who are back. Lafayette lost more, returning 31 of 76 points, with returners led by Andrew Brown's 11.
One snapped streak deserves another?: Lafayette snapped its eight-game losing streak Dec. 28 with a 70-63 home win over Towson. The Tigers will try to end a losing skid of their own, which stands at five games.
Sydney Johnson vs. Lafayette: Sydney Johnson is 4-1 against Lafayette, sweeping the Leopards as a player in the 1990s and losing the last meeting in his debut season as head coach.
Sydney Johnson vs. the Patriot League: Sydney Johnson has a 9-3 record against Patriot League schools between his time as a Princeton player, Georgetown assistant coach and Princeton coach. In addition to being 4-1 against Lafayette (4-0 as a player, 0-1 as Princeton coach), Johnson is 3-1 against Lehigh (3-0 as a player, 0-1 as Princeton coach), 0-1 against Bucknell as a player, 1-0 against Army as Princeton coach and 1-0 against Colgate as a Georgetown assistant.
Common opponents: Princeton and Lafayette share five common opponents, including Central Connecticut State, Penn, Fordham, Army and Lehigh. Both lost to CCSU, Lafayette by a score of 82-78 and Princeton 67-56. Princeton beat Fordham 73-61 while Lafayette lost to the Rams 79-58. Princeton beat Army, 55-43, while Lafayette will face the Black Knights in league play. Both have yet to face Lehigh and Penn.
Rivals: Princeton freshman guard Doug Davis and Lafayette freshman guard Rob Delaney went to rival schools both located on Route 206 near Princeton, Davis at the Hun School and Delaney at Lawrenceville Prep.
Rookie of the Week: Doug Davis has earned the Ivy League Rookie of the Week honor twice this season, most recently after his 27-point performance at Manhattan Dec. 14. He also earned it after scoring 25 points Nov. 14 against Central Michigan.
VBK: Butch van Breda Kolff, who coached Bill Bradley '65 and the Tigers to the 1965 Final Four, also coached Lafayette in two stints from 1951-55 and 1984-88.
Tube cubed: The Lafayette game is Princeton's third straight televised contest. Just as the Central Connecticut State game, the Lafayette game will be televised in the opponent's local area. Princeton's next game, Jan. 3 vs. UNC Greensboro, will be seen live nationally on ESPNU.
Lafayette vs. the Ivies: Princeton is Lafayette's most-played Ivy opponent, ahead of in-state rival Penn. The Leopards have faced all eight Ivy schools at least five times.
Won vs. lost: In the two games Princeton has won this year, the Tigers are shooting .500 from the field. In the seven games lost, .394. From three-point range, Princeton his hitting 47.1% in its wins and 32.4% in its losses. Free-throw percentage between the two sets of games is also notably different, with Princeton making 77.4% of attempts in wins and 69.5% in losses.
Famous alums: Lafayette College counts Princeton's Hall of Fame former coach Pete Carril (1951) as an alumnus. Another famous sports alumnus is Joe Maddon (1976), the manager of the reigning American League champion Tampa Bay Rays.
From way downtown: Princeton attempted 31 three-pointers at Central Connecticut State Dec. 20, the most the Tigers have put up since letting 38 fly in a double-overtime win over Harvard on Feb. 9, 2007. Princeton shot 32 of those in regulation time.
More three: Princeton took 54.4% of its field-goal attempts from beyond the arc Dec. 20 at Central Connecticut State, marking the first time Princeton has taken more than half of its field goals from long distance since Mar. 1, 2008, when the Tigers launched 26 of 44 (59.1%) from three-point range.
10+ x 3: Princeton had three players in double figures Dec. 20 at Central Connecticut State, including Doug Davis, Nick Lake and Dan Mavraides. It was the second time this season that three Tigers have scored 10 or more, with Lake, Davis and Pawel Buczak reaching the mark Nov. 26, 2008 at Fordham.
A trend to end: Princeton's opponents have outshot the Tigers from the field in each of the last five games, all Tiger defeats.
Out-threed: Princeton has not had fewer three-point attempts than its opponents in a game since Feb. 23, 2007 when Dartmouth shot 10 to Princeton's six.
Same starters: Through the first nine games of the season, Princeton has used the same starting five. No other Ivy League team has used the same starting five every game this deep into the season.
Make those threes: Princeton's 22.6% accuracy rate from beyond the arc at Central Connecticut State was Princeton's lowest of the season. The previous low was 30% against Maine Nov. 19.
Tigers at the line: Princeton made a season-low three free throws Dec. 20 at Central Connecticut State on six attempts. The previous low for made free throws was Dec. 10 against Rutgers, when the Tigers were 4 for 4 from the stripe.
Get to the line: Princeton's opponents have taken more free throws than the Tigers in every game this season. The disparity was at its widest Dec. 20 at Central Connecticut State, when the Blue Devils shot 20 more from the line than the Tigers, matching the gap against Rutgers Dec. 10.
Rebounding battle: Princeton eked out a win in the rebounding column Dec. 20 at Central Connecticut State, grabbing 30 to CCSU's 29. Princeton hasn't won a game without also winning on the glass, going 2-3 when winning the rebounding battle this season.
Some help over here?: Princeton's opponents had more assists than the Tigers in the Manhattan and Central Connecticut State games, marking the first time Princeton has been out-assisted in back-to-back games this season.