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Princeton University Athletics
Players Mentioned
Ivy Season Starts This Weekend for Men's Basketball at Dartmouth, Harvard
January 28, 2009 | Men's Basketball
Princeton (5-8, 0-0 Ivy) at Dartmouth (3-13, 1-1)
Friday, Jan. 30, 7 p.m. at Dartmouth's Leede Arena
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Princeton at Harvard (9-7, 1-1)
Saturday, Jan. 31, 7 p.m. at Harvard's Lavietes Pavilion
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One more for four: Princeton will head to Dartmouth Friday looking for its first four-game winning streak since Nov. 11-28, 2006. A win Friday would put the Tigers in position to seek their first five-game winning streak since the 2004 Ivy League season.
Leede us to victory?: Dartmouth's Leede Arena has been a cold place for the Tigers the last few years. Princeton has lost two straight and three of four at the home of the Big Green.
Not lovin' Lavietes: Princeton has also lost two straight and three of the last four in Harvard's gym, a place in which it has a 51-27 all-time record.
Last ups: Princeton and Penn will be the final two affiliated teams in Division I to play a conference game when both get underway this weekend. That setup is a result of Princeton's finals schedule, which would have prohibited competition the last two Fridays and Saturdays.
Tough trip: Princeton's longest Ivy League trip has also been its most difficult in recent seasons, as the Tigers have been swept at Dartmouth and Harvard the last two tries. Three seasons ago, Princeton won both games.
A 64+ community: Princeton has scored at least 64 points in each of the last three games. It is the first 64+ three-game stretch for the Tigers since Feb. 2004.
Seven times three: Princeton's love for the three-point shot is no secret, and the Tigers put that on display last time out against Concordia. Seven Tigers hit three-pointers, the most since Dec. 16, 2007 against Manhattan, when seven Princeton shooters also hit threes.
Running our offense: The Tigers have had 30 assists in the last two games, including a season-high 16 against Lehigh and 14 against Concordia. Princeton's previous high for a two-game stretch this season was 26, achieved twice in November and December.
Fasten your seatbelts: Princeton's entire 14-game Ivy League schedule will take place over a 40-day span. The entire 13-game non-league schedule was played over 73 days.
Speaking of seatbelts: At just more than 700 miles, the Harvard-Dartmouth trip is Princeton's longest of the season, start-to-finish. Counting both directions, it edges out Princeton's Dec. 6 visit to St. Bonaventure by just a few miles.
Sydney Johnson vs. Dartmouth: During his playing days, Sydney Johnson helped Princeton win 7 of 8 games against Dartmouth with the one loss coming on the road his sophomore season. Johnson split the meetings with Dartmouth last season in his rookie campaign as a head coach.
Sydney Johnson vs. Harvard: Sydney Johnson was a perfect 8-0 against Harvard as a player before splitting last season's meetings in his first season as head coach.
Johnson vs. Amaker: When Sydney Johnson and Harvard head coach Tommy Amaker have met on the basketball court, Johnson's teams hold a 2-1 advantage. The teams split their meetings last season with both in their current positions. On Dec. 30, 2006 in Ann Arbor, Georgetown beat Michigan with Johnson as a Hoya assistant and Amaker as Michigan's head coach. Princeton and Duke did not meet while Johnson was a player and Amaker a Duke assistant.
Johnson vs. Dunn: Princeton's two-game split last season with Dartmouth was the only time Sydney Johnson and Terry Dunn have gone head-to-head during Johnson's playing or coaching career.
Granite Staters: Patrick Saunders will be playing in his home state this weekend, and Max Huc will be playing in the state where he spent a year at Brewster Academy. Saunders' hometown of Gilford, N.H. is about 70 miles east of Dartmouth and Brewster, in Wolfeboro, is in the same part of the state.
Last time at Dartmouth: The Big Green used 54.3% shooting to beat Princeton 71-52 on Feb. 23, 2008. It was the first career start for Dan Mavraides and only one for the current sophomore before this season. Marcus Schroeder and Zach Finley co-led Princeton with 10 points while DeVon Mosley led Dartmouth with 18 and Alex Barnett had 16 and nine rebounds. Princeton returns 42 of its 52 points from a year ago, while Dartmouth returns 41 of its 71 with Mosley's 18 among those gone.
Last time at Harvard: Princeton led by three at the break before being tied at the end of regulation and getting outscored 13-6 in overtime of a 74-67 loss. Harvard had four players in double figures, led by Jeremy Lin's 20 points. Noah Savage '08 had a game-high 22, while classmate Kyle Koncz added 14. Princeton returns just 23 of the 67 points from last season, while Harvard returns 54 of 74 with Brad Unger's 16 making up most of those gone.
Keep that ball: Princeton committed a season-low seven turnovers against Concordia. The Tigers haven't had more than 14 turnovers in any of the last eight games. In the season's first five games, the Tigers never had fewer than 15.
Get that outta here: Princeton's 12 blocks in the last three games are its most in a three-game span since 12 from Nov. 26-Dec. 6.
Up for No. 1: Max Huc had a pair of field goals against Concordia for four points, his most since Nov. 19 against Maine (nine). Huc has also had rebounds in back-to-back games for the first time this season.
Welcome: Senior Mike Strittmatter returned from a leg injury to enter the game late against Concordia. Freshman Zane Ma, recovering from a knee injury, is the only Tiger not to have played this season.
The Lake show: Nick Lake scored seven points against Concordia, his most since scoring 10 on Dec. 20 at Central Connecticut State.
Getting more Comfort-able: Freshman John Comfort played a season-high 18 minutes against Concordia and took a season-high seven shots. He scored five points, his second-most of the season after six against UNC Greensboro.
Still double-digit Douglas: Douglas Davis scored 11 points against Concordia, the 10th time in 13 games this season he has scored 11 or more points. He also has at least one rebound in every game this season.
More for Marcus: Marcus Schroeder has scored 19 of his season's 40 points in the last two games, with 10 against Lehigh and nine versus Concordia. He also has 16 of his 27 rebounds in the same span with eight in each game. Schroeder has had 10 of his 16 assists on the season in the last three games.
Points for Patrick: Patrick Saunders scored seven points against Concordia, his most since eight at St. Bonaventure Dec. 6. His four rebounds were his most also since that game, and Saunders has had multiple rebounds in all 11 games he has played this season (DNP vs. Lafayette and UNC Greensboro).
Finley finding the glass: Zach Finley has had eight, six and six rebounds in the last three games for a total of 20, his highest three-game total of the season. Prior to the eight rebounds against UNC Greensboro, Finley had not had more than five rebounds in any game since Nov. 19 vs. Maine.
Ups and downs: Dan Mavraides had upped his career-best scoring total in back-to-back games with 17 versus UNC Greensboro and 21 against Lehigh before scoring three against Concordia. Mavraides has still led or co-led the Tigers in scoring in five of the last nine games.