Men's Basketball To Face Rutgers In Never Forget Tribute Classic

Game 13: Princeton (8-4) vs Rutgers (7-4) – 12/21, 12 p.m.
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PRINCETON, N.J. – The Princeton University men's basketball team is set to face Big Ten opponent Rutgers in the Never Forget Tribute Classic inside Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, on Dec. 21.

Last Time Out
In a game that saw 25 lead changes, the Tigers outlasted Monmouth, 71-67, inside Jadwin Gymnasium on Dec. 10. Xaivian Lee led Princeton with 23 points, six assists and six rebounds while Blake Peters added 14 points on 5-for-9 shooting from the field and 4-for-8 from three. Dalen Davis was the Tigers' third double figure scorer, finishing with 11 points and four rebounds.

All-Time Series
With the first game between the two programs being played in 1917, Princeton leads the all-time series against the Scarlet Knights, 76-45. At neutral sites, the series is tied 2-2.

All-Time Series Under Mitch Henderson
Princeton is 3-1 against Rutgers with Mitch Henderson as head coach.

Last Time They Met
The Tigers overcame the Scarlet Knights, 68-61, on Nov. 6, 2023, in the 2023 Deborah Heart and Lung Center Jersey Jam inside CURE Insurance Arena in Trenton, New Jersey. Matt Allocco '23 earned Most Outstanding Player honors after finishing with 21 points on 9-for-13 shooting and nine rebounds. Lee added 16 points and five assists while current Scarlet Knight Zach Martini '23 had 10 points on 4-for-6 shooting. Caden Pierce compiled 15 rebounds and eight points for the Tigers.

A Familiar Face
A familiar face, Zach Martini '23, is playing for Rutgers as a graduate student due to an Ivy League rule prohibiting graduate students from playing. Martini missed his freshman season at Princeton due to COVID-19. He was a key part of the Tigers' Sweet Sixteen run in 2023 and the program's three-straight Ivy titles from 2021-2023. Martini's 60 three-pointers in the 2023-24 season rank No. 32 all-time in school history for most threes in a season and he was a two-time National Basketball Coaches Association (NABC) Honors Court honoree along with being an Academic All-Ivy selection in 2024.

Almost The Second-Winningest Coach In School History
With 240 career victories, Mitch Henderson ranks No. 3 all-time at Princeton for wins. With 10 more wins he would tie Franklin C. "Cappy" Cappon, who has 250 wins, for No. 2 all-time and with 11 would earn the No. 2 spot behind Pete Carril.

Weekly Award Winner
Xaivian Lee was named Ivy League Player of the Week on Dec. 10 and Metropolitan Basketball Writers Association (MBWA) Player of the Week on Dec. 10. He earned the awards after averaging 17.0 points, 10.0 rebounds and 7.5 assists.

Testing The Waters
Lee declared for the 2024 NBA draft but elected to return to Princeton for his junior year. He was one of 45 players selected to attend the NBA G League Elite Camp in May.

Historic Triple Double
Lee became the first Tiger in program history to record a triple double since assists were first recorded in 1974-95 in Princeton's win at Saint Joe's on Dec. 3. Lee tied the team-high in scoring with 18 points on 7-for-14 shooting, had a game and career-high 13 rebounds along with a game and career-high 10 assists.

One Of Five
Lee is one of seven players to record a triple double in 2024-25. The others are Kam Jones (Marquette), Jaland Lowe (Pittsburgh), Sean Smith (Western Illinois), Blake Harper (Howard), Tyson Dunn (Buffalo) and Ketron Shaw (UMES).

First Ivy Player To Do It In Years
The last Ivy League player to record a triple double was Yale's Jordan Bruner against Cornell in a double overtime game on Feb. 21, 2020. The most recent Ivy player to record a triple double in a regulation game was the University of Pennsylvania's AJ Brodeur on Nov. 29, 2019, against Arizona.

First Tiger With Double Figure Assists Since 2016
The last Princeton player to have at least 10 assists in a game was Spencer Weisz '17, who had 13 at Liberty on Dec. 10, 2016.

Already Doubling His 2023-24 Assist Total
Through 12 games, Lee has 63 assists. In 29 games in 2024, Lee finished with 108 assists, which ranked No. 18 all-time at Princeton for most assists in a season.

Floor General
Lee became the first Princeton player to record seven or more assists in consecutive games since Tosan Evbuomwan '23 had seven against Bucknell (Dec. 7, 2021) and eight at Lafayette (Dec. 11, 2021). Lee had nine assists against Duquense (Nov. 8) then eight at Northeastern (Nov. 10).

Assist Rate Leader
Lee ranks 15th in the nation in assist rate (38.5), a stat that measures assists divided by the field goals made by the player's teammates while he is on the court.

Offensive X-Plosion
Lee has scored 30 points or more three times in his career, including against Texas State (30) on Nov. 22, 2024, Harvard (33) on Jan. 6, 2023, and Northeastern (30) on Nov. 25, 2023.

All-Around Game
Through 12 games, Lee is averaging 15.8 points-per-game, 6.0 rebounds and 5.6 assists with a 2.2 assist/turnover ratio while shooting 40.0% from three. His 67 assists lead the Ivy League while his assist average ranks second, his assist/turnover ratio second and his scoring average sixth.

Xaivian Milestone Watch
With 837 career points, Lee needs 163 to reach 1,000. He is also 15 made three-pointers away from 100, having made 85 in his career.

Early-Season Watch Lists
Caden Pierce was named to the Lute Olson National Player of the Year Award Early-Season Watch List along with the Lou Henson Mid Major National Player of the Year Award Early-Season Watch List. He was joined by Xaivian Lee on the Lou Henson Mid Major National Player of the Year Award Early-Season Watch List.

Karl Malone Power Forward Of The Year Top-20 Preseason Watch List
Pierce was one of 20 players named to the Naismith Starting 5 - Karl Malone Power Forward Of The Year Top-20 Preseason Watch List. This prestigious award honors the best power forwards in men's college basketball and is presented by the Basketball Hall of Fame, highlighting the elite talent in the sport.

The 2024 Ivy League Player of the Year
Pierce is averaging 11.3 points on 53.1% shooting from the field, 6.7 rebounds and 2.8 assists through 12 games. His rebound average ranks fifth in the Ivy League and his assist/turnover ratio ranks sixth and his field goal percentage seventh.

An Active Career Leader
His 23 double-doubles rank No. 19 among active players in NCAA DI men's basketball and his 7.9 career rebound average No. 21.

Jersey Jam Most Outstanding Player
Pierce was named Most Outstanding Player at the Jersey Jam after finishing with 17 points on 6-for-11 shooting and five rebounds.

Pierce Milestone Watch
With 879 career points, Pierce needs to score 121 more to reach 1,000. He is also sitting on 74 makes from three, requiring 26 more makes to get to 100.

Generational Rebounder
With 580 career rebounds, Pierce ranks No. 9 all-time at Princeton for most rebounds. To move up to No. 8, he needs to pass Spencer Weisz '17, who ended his career with 605.

Phil-ing It Up
Philip Byriel had a career night on Dec. 3 in Princeton's victory at Saint Joe's, recording career-highs in points (18), made three-pointers (six) and minutes (30).

Byriel Making An Impact
Byriel ranks eighth in the Ivy League in three-point percentage (40.0%). He's started the Tigers' past six games and is averaging 5.8 points-per-game and 2.1 rebounds in 16.5 minutes.

Ivy League Rookie of the Week
Malik Abdullahi was honored as the Ivy League Rookie of the Week on Nov. 18. In 19.9 minutes-per-game, he averaged 9.5 points on 64.3% shooting and 3.5 rebounds in games against Loyola Chicago on Nov. 15 and Merrimack on Nov. 17.

Making An Impact As A Freshman
Abdullahi, who has started five games, is averaging 6.0 points on 57.1% shooting from the field. Abdullahi's six blocked shots lead the Tigers.

Picking Up Where He Left Off – And Then Some
After averaging double figures over the final 10 games of his freshman season, Dalen Davis is averaging 11.8 points-per-game and shooting 39.7% from three and 88.2% from the free
throw line.

Elite Three-Point Shooting
Davis' three-point percentage ranks ninth in the Ivy League. His 2.4 three-point field goals-per-game rank sixth.

Davis' Career Day
Davis scored a career-high 25 points against Northeastern Nov. 10, exceeding his previous career-high of 21, set on in the Ivy League Tournament semifinal against Brown on Mar. 16, 2024. Davis' nine made field goals were a career-high, while his four made three-pointer tied his career-best.

Blake P3ters
Blake Peters is averaging 9.5 points-per-game and ranks sixth in the conference in three-point field goals-per-game (2.4).

Moving Up The All-Time Three-Pointers Made List
With 152 career three-pointers, Peters ranks No. 14 all-time on Princeton's all-time list. He needs one to tie, and two to pass Ryan Langborg '23 who ranks No. 13 with 153 threes. When he reaches 156 threes, he would enter the program's all-time top-10, tying Kyle Koncz '08 and Steven Cook '17.

Happy Steps Up
In the Tigers' games against Portland (Nov. 24) and Nazareth (Nov. 27), CJ Happy averaged 17.0 points-per-game on 59.1% shooting from the field and 50.0% shooting from three along with 4.4 rebounds. Happy went 2-for-4 from three against Portland and 4-for-8 against Nazareth.

Seeing More From Seals
Peyton Seals averaged 11.5 points-per-game on 47.1% shooting and 40.0% from three along with 4.0 assists, 3.5 rebounds and 2.0 steals in games against Portland (Nov. 24) and Nazareth (Nov. 27).

Defensive Presence
Jack Stanton's five steals against Portland were the most by a Princeton player since Ryan Langborg '23 recorded five against Northeastern at the London Basketball Classic on Nov. 26, 2022.

On The Hunt For A Four-Peat
The 2024-25 season will see Princeton aim to win its fourth-straight Ivy League title, its fifth in the past nine seasons and its 31st overall.

Impressive Home Record
Since the start of the 2021-22 season, Princeton has gone 40-6 for an 87.0 winning percentage.

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