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Princeton University Athletics
Princeton University
Notre Dame
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Tuesday in Buffalo: Game Notes, Prep for the Irish
March 14, 2017 | Men's Basketball
Two days stand between the 12th-seeded Princeton men's basketball team and their NCAA Tournament first-round matchup against fifth-seeded Notre Dame at the KeyBank Center in Buffalo, N.Y.
There are many, many ways to follow the game, so let's get to it:
Thursday, 12:15 p.m. Eastern
TV: CBS. Verne Lundquist has the call with Jim Spanarkel as the analyst and Allie LaForce as the sideline reporter.
Watch online: The NCAA March Madness Live app will have the game, as well the NCAA's website here.
Radio: Derek Jones and Noah Savage will be on WPRB 103.3 FM in Princeton. Unlike the regular season, Derek and Noah won't be streamed online, so if you want to listen via the web or you're out of the area, there are still options.
Westwood One will carry the game. For a list of stations, click here, or to listen to Scott Graham and Donny Marshall with the call online here. You can also listen on the TuneIn app by searching for Westwood One.
If you're a SiriusXM subscriber, you can tune into channel 134 (Sirius), 201 (XM) or 961 (internet)
Twitter: As always, we'll have updates throughout the game on @Princeton_Hoops and some on @PUTIGERS.
Princeton's postseason guide, which includes the game notes, is available here.
• The Tigers are in the NCAA Tournament for the 25th time in program history and the first time since 2011. Princeton last won an NCAA Tournament game in 1998, and that stood as the Ivy's last NCAA Tournament win until 2010, when Cornell won twice to make the Sweet 16. Since then. Harvard won a game each in 2013 and 2014, and Yale won a game last year.
• The Tigers got to the NCAA Tournament after earning the top seed in the inaugural Ivy League Tournament, held last weekend at The Palestra in Philadelphia, and defeating fourth-seeded Penn on the Quakers' home floor and third-seeded Yale in last Sunday's final.
• Princeton's 23 wins are the sixth-most in program history and most since Princeton went 25-7 in 2010-11, the last time it made the NCAA Tournament.
• Princeton has Indiana ties with 2017 honorable mention All-Ivy Devin Cannady from Mishawaka, Ind., right next to South Bend, and head coach Mitch Henderson, from Vincennes and an alumnus of Culver Military Academy in Culver, Ind., about 40 miles south of South Bend.
• Notre Dame was ranked 22nd in the Mar. 6 AP poll and 16th in the Mar. 6 coaches poll. Princeton last faced a team ranked that high on Dec. 29, 2015 in losing 76-64 at AP No. 13/coaches No. 15 Miami (Fla.). Princeton last beat a team ranked that high on Nov. 11, 1997 in East Rutherford, N.J., defeating AP No. 22 Texas 62-56.
• With Cornell's, Harvard's and Yale's wins since 2010, it's the most successful stretch for the Ivy League since 1978-84, when Penn and Princeton combined to win nine NCAA Tournament games. The Ivy's only NCAA Tournament wins from 1985-2009 came from Penn in 1994 and Princeton in 1996 and 1998.
• How have 14-0 Ivy League teams done in the NCAA Tournament? Three of the previous 13 14-0 teams won NCAA Tournament games, including Penn's wins over Duquesne and South Carolina in 1971, Penn's win over Nebraska in 1994, and Princeton's first-round win over UNLV in 1998.
• How have 14-0 Ivy League teams been seeded in the NCAA Tournament? Nine previous 14-0 seasons have occurred since seeding began in 1979. In order: 8 for Princeton in 1991, 14 for Penn in 1993, 11 for Penn in 1994, 12 for Penn in 1995, 12 for Princeton in 1997, 5 for Princeton in 1998, 13 for Penn in 2000, 11 for Penn in 2003 and 14 for Cornell in 2008.
• The last two Ivy League teams to be seeded 12th won their first-round games. Yale beat Baylor 79-75 as a No. 12 seed last year, and Harvard beat Cincinnati 61-57 as a 12 in 2014. In between, Harvard was seeded 13th in 2015 and lost just 67-65 to North Carolina in 2015.
• No Ivy League team has lost a first-round game by double digits since Cornell's 78-59 loss to Missouri in 2009. Cornell beat Temple 78-65 in 2010, Princeton lost to Kentucky 59-57 in 2011, Harvard lost to Vanderbilt 79-70 in 2012, Harvard beat New Mexico 68-62 in 2013, Harvard beat Cincinnati 61-57 in 2014, Harvard lost to New Mexico 67-65 in 2015, and Yale beat Baylor 79-75 in 2016.
• Princeton has only faced Notre Dame three times, a 35-22 road loss in 1927, an 80-66 road loss in 1974, and a 76-62 home win in 1977 in which Notre Dame was ranked second in the nation in the AP. Princeton was unranked then but was ranked sixth when it fell 72-58 to Kentucky in the first round of the NCAAs.
• Princeton's last win over an ACC team was on Dec. 30, 2011, a 75-73, triple-overtime win at Florida State. Since then, Princeton fell at Pittsburgh 82-61 in the 2012 CBI, at Syracuse in a Nov. 21, 2012 game 73-53, at Wake Forest 80-66 on Dec. 31, 2014, and at Virginia Tech 86-81 in OT in last year's NIT opener.
• Princeton's 19-game winning streak is tied for the second-longest in program history. The Tigers won 19 in a row from Dec. 29, 1924-Mar. 10, 1925 and a program-record 20 in a row from Dec. 19, 1997 through Mar. 12, 1998.
• Mitch Henderson, at 119 wins, has passed three coaches on Princeton's all-time wins list since the start of the season to become Princeton's third-winningest coach, but the '98 Princeton grad has reached such status that it'll take him a while to pass anyone else. Franklin "Cappy" Cappon (250, 1938-43 & 46-61), for whom the men's basketball head coaching position is named, and Pete Carril (514, 1967-96), for whom Henderson played his first two seasons at Princeton, are in first and second place.
• Princeton and Vermont finished the regular season as only league-unbeaten teams in Division I, and both won their conference tournaments. Princeton's 19-game winning streak is second only to Vermont's 21-game streak entering the tournament.
• Devin Cannady's 79 3-pointers are the fifth-most in program history, with the record at 95 (Sean Jackson '92, 1990-91) and 84, 83 and 82 as the standards in between Cannady and the top. Cannady's .938 free throw percentage would put him in line for the best clip in program history among those with at least 40 attempts, with Joe Heiser '68 at .900 (117-130) in 1967-68.
• Through Selection Sunday, Princeton stood 10th in the nation at 10 3s made per game. Only three teams have made at least 10 3s against Notre Dame this season, with Iowa, Pitt and Northwestern all making 12 3s. Notre Dame won all three of those games.
• Princeton averages 26 3s attempted per game. Only six teams have tried at least 26 3s against the Irish this season, and Notre Dame won all six of those games. The correlation between 3s and beating Notre Dame seems to be quality over quantity. Teams making at least 41 percent of their 3s are 4-1 against Notre Dame this season, and the one loss was when Northwestern went 12 of 22 and lost by four, 70-66. Princeton averages 38.3 percent from 3 this season.
• Princeton's opponents average 13 turnovers per game. Notre Dame has turned the ball over 13 times in five games this season and is 4-1 in those games. Princeton averages 10 turnovers per game, fifth-best in Division I through Selection Sunday, and Notre Dame opponents have turned it over at least 10 times in 25 of the team's 34 games this season.
• Notre Dame is 14-0 when scoring at least 81 points. Princeton's opponents have averaged 61.5 points per game this season, and the Irish have scored that few points only twice, losing to Georgia Tech (62-60, Jan. 28) and Virginia (71-54, Jan. 24). The Irish are 15-1 when holding teams to 70 points or fewer, and Princeton averages 72.1.
• West Virginia has allowed 10 3s only five times this season and is 4-1 in those games. The Mountaineers are 9-6 when turning the ball over at least 13 times and 17-2 when they turn it over 12 or fewer times.
• Against Bucknell this season, Princeton won 72-70 on Dec. 22 in Lewisburg despite Bucknell going 14 of 27 from 3-point range. The Bison committed 12 turnovers to eight for Princeton and the Tigers won the rebounding battle 36-30. Second-chance points were in Princeton's favor 17-1 as the Tigers had eight offensive boards.
• Junior Amir Bell enjoyed quite a bounce-back in the Ivy League season. In non-conference play, he averaged 3.8 ppg while shooting .268 from the field and .120 from 3. In Ivy play, he averaged 8.7 ppg, shooting .581 from the field and .559 from 3. Bell had Princeton's highest shooting percentages overall (among players with >3 FGA) and from 3 in Ivy League play.
• Senior Steven Cook, who has fundraised for a Sudanese hospital and interned with an anti-poverty organization in his native Chicago, in addition to being a team tri-captain this season, a two-time All-Ivy Leaguer and an Academic All-Ivy League honoree, was named to the NABC Good Works Team and a CoSIDA Academic All-District honoree. The NABC honor makes him one of five Division I players selected, and Cook will travel to the Final Four to be recognized as part of the Good Works Team. On Mar. 2, he became the program's first CoSIDA Academic All-America winner, earning third-team honors, since Steve Goodrich '98 in 1998. Earlier, he was named the program's first CoSIDA Academic All-District honoree since Justin Conway '07 in 2007.
• With Steven Cook and Spencer Weisz both as active members of the 1,000-point club, it's the first time since the last month-plus of the 2011-12 season that Princeton had two 1,000-point scorers at the same time (Douglas Davis '12 & Ian Hummer '13). Cook is the fifth player to reach 1,000 points under Mitch Henderson (Davis, Hummer, T.J. Bray '14, Weisz), putting Henderson alongside only Pete Carril as Princeton coaches who have had as many as five players reach 1,000 during their tenures. Carril had 14 during his 29-season career.
• Under Mitch Henderson, the Tigers now have a 41-35 (.539) record in the pre-New Year portion of the schedule and a 78-24 (.765) record from Jan. 1 forward.
• Through Sunday's (3/12) games, Princeton has the most wins among New Jersey's eight Division I teams since Mitch Henderson took over at Princeton prior to the 2011-12 season. Princeton's 118 wins during that time are four better than Seton Hall's 114.
• Through Sunday's (3/12) games, Princeton ranked No. 1 in the nation in fewest turnovers (289) and No. 3 in fewest fouls (468). The Tigers were also top 10 percent nationally in turnover per game (fifth, 10.0), 3s per game (10th, 10.0), scoring defense (10th, 61.5 ppg allowed), turnover margin (15th, +3.4/game), assist-to-turnover ratio (16th, 1.44), winning percentage (22nd, .793), fouls per game (25th, 16.1) and scoring margin (26th, +10.6).
• Through Sunday's (3/12) games, Princeton ranked 47th in the RPI. That was 80 spots better than the next-highest Ivy team, Harvard, at 131. Princeton has faced one ranked higher than it in the RPI, VCU (22nd). Princeton got out to a 16-0 lead in that game before VCU clawed back and pulled away late, 81-70 on Nov. 29 in Richmond. Notre Dame is 23rd in the Selection Sunday RPI.
• Senior Spencer Weisz has been close to a triple-double this season, most recently getting nine points, eight assists and seven rebounds Feb. 17 at Yale. He netted 13 assists Dec. 10 at Liberty. He got 10 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists against Saint Joseph's on Dec. 14. He had nine points, eight rebounds and seven assists Dec. 31 against Cal Poly. Princeton has never had a recorded triple-double.
• At Bucknell on Dec. 22, Weisz surpassed the 300-assist and 500-rebound mark, becoming the third player in program history to have 1,000 points along with 500 boards and 300 helpers. He's the only player in program history with 1,000 points, 500 boards, 300 helpers and 200 3-pointers. Weisz stands at 1,219 points, 596 rebounds, 371 assists and 205 3s. The other two players with 1,000/500/300 are Kit Mueller '91 (1,546 pts., 560 reb., 381 ast.) and Ian Hummer '13 (1,625 pts., 725 reb., 308 ast.).
• Princeton led the Ivy in scoring defense (61.6 ppg allowed), scoring margin (+10.6), 3FG percentage (.381), turnover margin (+3.54), assist-to-turnover ratio (+1.4), defensive rebounding percentage (.762) and 3s per game (10.0). Devin Cannady leads the Ivy in free throw percentage (.934) and Steven Cook leads in steals per game at 1.6.
• In Ivy League games only, Princeton led the league in scoring defense (56.4 ppg allowed), scoring margin (+13.5), field goal percentage defense (.417), rebounding defense (31.1/game), turnover margin (+5.00), assist-to-turnove ratio (+1.4), defensive rebounding percentage (.760), and 3s per game (9.6). Devin Cannady was the leading free throw shooter at .941 and leader in 3s per game at 3.1, Spencer Weisz led in steals at 2.0 and minutes at 35.4/game, and Amir Bell led in 3FG percentage at .559.
• The Tigers have been bitten by the injury bug in a big way this season, losing a pair of starting senior forwards. Hans Brase was injured (knee) during the Nov. 29 game at VCU and was declared out for the season Dec. 11, and Henry Caruso played in the Dec. 10 win at Liberty and was declared out for the season Dec. 14 (toe). Brase, who missed last season due to another right knee injury, was Princeton's leading rebounder in 2014-15 (7.5 rpg) and Caruso was Princeton's leading scorer (15.0 ppg) and a first-team All-Ivy League pick a year ago.
• Princeton traveled nearly 15,000 (approx. 14,801) miles before hosting its first Division I opponent in Saint Joseph's on Dec. 14, going to BYU, Lehigh, Lafayette, VCU, Hawaii for Cal and Hawai'i, and Liberty.
• Princeton was in the top 10 percent of the nation (top 34) in five statistical categories at the end of last season: third in fewest fouls (503), sixth in fewest turnovers (331), 14th in 3s per game (9.7), 21st in scoring margin (+10.5 ppg) and 31st in 3FG percentage (.383).
• Princeton led the Ivy League at the end of last season in scoring offense (79.1 ppg, 39th nationally) in fewest turnovers, fewest fouls, defensive rebounds per game (26.93), fewest personal fouls per game (17.3) and 3s per game.Princeton's 79.1 ppg last season was the third-highest in program history and highest since the 1971-72 season, a program-record 79.69 points per game. The 1964-65 Final Four team averaged 79.69 ppg.
• Princeton is coming off its quadrennial foreign trip. The Tigers went to Italy in late August, spending two nights each in Rome, Florence, Bologna with a side trip to Venice, Vicenza and Cernobbio on Lake Como. Princeton played three games, starting by closing a 21-point fourth-quarter deficit to defeat Fortitudo Kontatto in Bologna, a second-division Italian team, 93-87 in overtime. Khyan Rayner hit a halfcourt buzzer-beater to send the game to OT. Next, Princeton faced ASD Pallacanestro Vicenza, winning that game 67-58 against a third-division Italian team. The Tigers closed the trip with an 84-80 OT loss to Junior Casale, another second-division Italian team. Princ eton had 15 players on the trip, not including the freshmen, and 13 (except Elias Berbari and Hans Brase) saw playing time. Among the Tigers on the Italy trip was Devin Cannady, who had also studied in Tanzania earlier in the summer.
• The Pete Carril coaching tree is going strong in the 2016-17 season. Seven current Division I head coaches played for and/or coached under Carril, including Mitch Henderson '98, Mike Brennan '94 (American), John Thompson III '88 (Georgetown), Chris Mooney '94 (Richmond), Sydney Johnson '97 (Fairfield), Brian Earl '99 (Cornell) and Bill Carmody (Holy Cross).