.png&width=24&type=webp)
Princeton University Athletics
Players Mentioned
F
/ Men's Basketball
Men's Hoops: Five Things to Look For in the Cornell-Columbia Weekend
February 09, 2016 | Men's Basketball
The Princeton men's basketball team will finish the first half of the Ivy League schedule this weekend at Cornell and Columbia. Here are five things to look for as the Tigers make the New York swing:
Friday, 6 p.m. at Cornell (ASN/ILDN) | Saturday, 7 p.m. at Columbia (ILDN/ESPN3)
1. Will the Tigers make it out of Ithaca with a win? It's been a tough place to play for Princeton in recent seasons, going 2-2 over the last four years. Last year, Princeton was 4-1 heading to Ithaca and lost 68-60 after shooting 32.7 percent from the field and getting outrebounded 36-29. A couple of important notes for the Tigers are that the trip to Cornell is first this year, not second after Columbia, and that the top scorers this year probably will look very different than last year's visit. Cornell returns only 23 of its 68 points and none of its top three scorers (Pat Smith, who had 10 points in last year's game, is Cornell's top returning scorer from that contest), and Princeton brings back 30 of its 60. Henry Caruso, who is averaging 16.7 points a game to lead the Tigers and stand fourth in the Ivy, had just a point in nine minutes of play in last year's game, and Cornell's Robert Hatter, who averages an Ivy-best 18.7 points per game, had just five points in 28 minutes off the bench.
2. Will Princeton's good fortune at Columbia continue? Princeton's Class of '09 went winless at Levien Gym. Since, Princeton has won six in a row in Morningside Heights and has shot a combined .513 from the field and .475 from 3-point range over those six games. Last year, the Tigers shot .542 from the field (26-48) and .600 (9-15) from 3 in their visit to Columbia. This season, the Lions are allowing opponents a .433 clip from the field and .343 from distance. Of Princeton's 74 points from last year's game at Levien, 38 are back, but Caruso accounted for only two of those. For Columbia's part, the Lions have 60 of their 62 points back with leading scorer Maodo Lo (15.7 ppg this year) turning in a game-high 21 points in the Tigers' 12-point win.
3. At the turn: A sweep would put Princeton in its best position at the halfway mark since the Ivy title season of 2011, when Princeton was 7-0 at the turn. Princeton's best standing seven games into the Ivy season since then was in 2013, when the Tigers, at 5-2, went on to lead the Ivy race entering the final weekend. Unlike 2013, however, if the Tigers can get through this road weekend unscathed, it would leave Princeton at 6-1 with five of its final seven games at home. That year, Princeton built its 4-1 Ivy start before enduring seven of the last nine games on the road.
4. Matching up vs. the Big Red: Friday's game will match the Ivy's top scoring offense (Princeton at 78.9 ppg overall) against the Ivy's No. 8 scoring defense (Cornell, 77.5 ppg allowed). When the Tigers faced Brown, which is currently seventh at 77.4 ppg allowed, Princeton left Providence with an 83-59 win. Cornell ranks No. 1 in the Ivy in steals per game at 8.0, but the Tigers have fared well in ball security, leading the league with a +2.21 turnover margin that is well ahead of Cornell's second-best +1.5 turnover margin. The Big Red's top two scorers, who are also the top two scorers in the Ivy, have a nine-point-per-game gap over anyone else on the team. Junior 6-2 guard Robert Hatter (18.7 ppg) hasn't scored more than five points in any of his three games against Princeton (one DNP as a freshman) and freshman 6-3 guard Matt Morgan (18.6 ppg) will be playing against the Tigers for the first time.
5. Matching up vs. the Lions: If the season-long stats are an indication, look for both teams to fire from the perimeter. Columbia is averaging an Ivy-best 10 3-pointers made per game while Princeton is just about there at a second-best 9.7 made 3s per game. The Tigers boast the best 3-point shooter in the Ivy by field goal percentage in Henry Caruso (.519, 28-54), while Columbia's Maodo Lo has made the most 3s in the Ivy this season, making 65 (of 170 tries, a .382 clip). The teams are also right next to each other in 3-point field goal percentage, with Columbia third in the league at .375 and Princeton fourth at .371. Columbia's fourth in the Ivy at defending the 3 (.343) and Princeton is eighth at .368. That said, the Tigers haven't made more than nine 3s in any of the six consecutive wins at Columbia, nor have they tried more than 17. Princeton has made at least 10 3s 11 times in 19 games this season, including in each of the last three games, and the team is averaging 26 3s attempted.
Friday, 6 p.m. at Cornell (ASN/ILDN) | Saturday, 7 p.m. at Columbia (ILDN/ESPN3)
1. Will the Tigers make it out of Ithaca with a win? It's been a tough place to play for Princeton in recent seasons, going 2-2 over the last four years. Last year, Princeton was 4-1 heading to Ithaca and lost 68-60 after shooting 32.7 percent from the field and getting outrebounded 36-29. A couple of important notes for the Tigers are that the trip to Cornell is first this year, not second after Columbia, and that the top scorers this year probably will look very different than last year's visit. Cornell returns only 23 of its 68 points and none of its top three scorers (Pat Smith, who had 10 points in last year's game, is Cornell's top returning scorer from that contest), and Princeton brings back 30 of its 60. Henry Caruso, who is averaging 16.7 points a game to lead the Tigers and stand fourth in the Ivy, had just a point in nine minutes of play in last year's game, and Cornell's Robert Hatter, who averages an Ivy-best 18.7 points per game, had just five points in 28 minutes off the bench.
2. Will Princeton's good fortune at Columbia continue? Princeton's Class of '09 went winless at Levien Gym. Since, Princeton has won six in a row in Morningside Heights and has shot a combined .513 from the field and .475 from 3-point range over those six games. Last year, the Tigers shot .542 from the field (26-48) and .600 (9-15) from 3 in their visit to Columbia. This season, the Lions are allowing opponents a .433 clip from the field and .343 from distance. Of Princeton's 74 points from last year's game at Levien, 38 are back, but Caruso accounted for only two of those. For Columbia's part, the Lions have 60 of their 62 points back with leading scorer Maodo Lo (15.7 ppg this year) turning in a game-high 21 points in the Tigers' 12-point win.
3. At the turn: A sweep would put Princeton in its best position at the halfway mark since the Ivy title season of 2011, when Princeton was 7-0 at the turn. Princeton's best standing seven games into the Ivy season since then was in 2013, when the Tigers, at 5-2, went on to lead the Ivy race entering the final weekend. Unlike 2013, however, if the Tigers can get through this road weekend unscathed, it would leave Princeton at 6-1 with five of its final seven games at home. That year, Princeton built its 4-1 Ivy start before enduring seven of the last nine games on the road.
4. Matching up vs. the Big Red: Friday's game will match the Ivy's top scoring offense (Princeton at 78.9 ppg overall) against the Ivy's No. 8 scoring defense (Cornell, 77.5 ppg allowed). When the Tigers faced Brown, which is currently seventh at 77.4 ppg allowed, Princeton left Providence with an 83-59 win. Cornell ranks No. 1 in the Ivy in steals per game at 8.0, but the Tigers have fared well in ball security, leading the league with a +2.21 turnover margin that is well ahead of Cornell's second-best +1.5 turnover margin. The Big Red's top two scorers, who are also the top two scorers in the Ivy, have a nine-point-per-game gap over anyone else on the team. Junior 6-2 guard Robert Hatter (18.7 ppg) hasn't scored more than five points in any of his three games against Princeton (one DNP as a freshman) and freshman 6-3 guard Matt Morgan (18.6 ppg) will be playing against the Tigers for the first time.
5. Matching up vs. the Lions: If the season-long stats are an indication, look for both teams to fire from the perimeter. Columbia is averaging an Ivy-best 10 3-pointers made per game while Princeton is just about there at a second-best 9.7 made 3s per game. The Tigers boast the best 3-point shooter in the Ivy by field goal percentage in Henry Caruso (.519, 28-54), while Columbia's Maodo Lo has made the most 3s in the Ivy this season, making 65 (of 170 tries, a .382 clip). The teams are also right next to each other in 3-point field goal percentage, with Columbia third in the league at .375 and Princeton fourth at .371. Columbia's fourth in the Ivy at defending the 3 (.343) and Princeton is eighth at .368. That said, the Tigers haven't made more than nine 3s in any of the six consecutive wins at Columbia, nor have they tried more than 17. Princeton has made at least 10 3s 11 times in 19 games this season, including in each of the last three games, and the team is averaging 26 3s attempted.
Friday, March 06
Friday, February 20
Wednesday, February 04
Tuesday, January 27