2025-26 To Open For Men's Basketball At Akron

Saturday, November 8

Akron, Ohio

12:00 PM

Princeton University

Akron

Tickets

November 05, 2025 | Men's Basketball

Game One: Princeton (0-0) at Akron (0-0) – 11/8, 1 p.m.
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PRINCETON, N.J. – The Princeton University men's basketball team will open the 2025-26 season inside James A. Rhodes Arena on Nov. 8 against Akron. The Tigers officially begin their pursuit of a 31st Ivy League title and a 28th NCAA Tournament appearance.

The Road Back To The Ivy Championship
2025-26 will see the Tigers aim to win a fourth Ivy title in the past five seasons.

All-Time Series Against Akron
The Tigers, who lead the series 2-1, will face Akron for the fourth time. The series that began on Dec. 30, 2012, inside James. A Rhodes Arena in a contest that saw Akron prevail 64-62, then a game-winning shot by Myles Stephens '19 lifted Princeton to a 64-62 triumph at the Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic on Dec. 3, 2017.

Last Time They Met
A late three-pointer by Dalen Davis pushed the Tigers past the Zips, 76-75, inside Jadwin Gymnasium on Dec. 30. With 0:01 remaining and Princeton down 75-73, Davis caught the ball on the left wing then took one dribble to his left and elevated for the game-winning three-pointer. Davis recorded 18 points, six assists and five rebounds and Jackson Hicke added 10 points on 4-for-5 shooting, three blocked shots and three rebounds.

All-Time Series Against Akron Under Mitch Henderson
Henderson is 2-1 all-time against Akron as head coach.

The Second-Winningest Coach In School History
With 251 career victories, Mitch Henderson passed Franklin C. "Cappy" Cappon to become the second-winningest head coach all-time at Princeton for wins. Henderson trails only Naismith Hall of Fame member Pete Carril, who ended his career with 514 victories.

The Henderson Era
In addition to being the second-winningest coach in school history, Henderson led Princeton to the Sweet Sixteen in 2023, four Ivy League titles (2017, 2022, 2023, 2024) and two Ivy Tournament championships (2017, 2013). He's coached seven 20-win seasons, 12 wins over high major opponents, four Ivy League Players of the Year, 29 All-Ivy selections, two NBA players (Tosan Evbuomwan '23 and Devin Cannady '20) along with over 20 players to play at the professional level.

Davis Leading The Backcourt
Dalen Davis, a 2024 Ivy Madness All-Tournament Team selection and a one-time Ivy Player of the Week, is set to lead Princeton's backcourt in 2025-26. Last season he averaged 9.2 points-per-game, 2.0 rebounds along 1.6 assists, and scored in double figures 13 times. During non-conference play last season, he was the Tigers' second-leading scorer and averaged 11.7 points while shooting 38.7% from three. Davis' career-high of 25 points came in a win at Northeastern Nov. 10, 2024.

Closing In On 100 Made Three-Pointers
With 81 career made three-point field goals, Davis is 19 away from 100 makes.

The Development Of Jackson Hicke
Hicke started eight games in 2024-25 and averaged 5.5 points and shot 47.0% from the field. He scored in double-figures six times, including on Feb. 28 when he scored a career-high 14 points on 6-for-8 shooting at Columbia.

Hicke At The World University Games
Hicke represented the USA in 3x3 basketball over the summer at the World University Games, and helped the team win silver.

Year Two For Malik Abdullahi
Abdullahi, who started 18 games a freshman in 2024-25 and was named Ivy Rookie of the Week on Nov. 18, is primed for a breakout season. Last season he averaged 4.3 points on 57.0% shooting and 2.7 rebounds. On Nov. 10, Abdullahi made the game-winning basket in a victory at Northeastern.

Happy Ready To Step Up
CJ Happy started the final 10 games of the 2024-25 season and appeared in 25. On the season he averaged 5.0 points and 2.0 rebounds, and his career-high against a DI opponent came on Nov. 24 in the Tigers' win over Portland at the Myrtle Beach Invitational when he recorded 16 points on 7-for-9 shooting along with four rebounds.

Increased Role For Jacob Huggins
Jacob Huggins was a contributor in 2024-25, appearing in 22 games and starting three. Huggins' scored a career-high 12 points on 6-for-6 shooting and tallied two rebounds, one block and one steal in Princeton's season-opening victory over Iona on Nov. 4.

Stanton's Career Night
Jack Stanton provided a spark off the bench in 2024-25, appearing in 27 games. Stanton's season-high of 17 points came on 6-for-8 shooting from the field and 3-for-5 from three against Yale on Jan. 31.

The Newcomers
Princeton welcomes six newcomers for the 2025-26 season; Jacob Hammond, Landon Clark, Jake Sussberg, Sebastian Whitfield, Cash McSweeney and Ryan Mandes.

A Homecoming For Mike Brennan
Mike Brennan returned to the Tigers' staff as the Ted Athanassiades '61 Association Head Coach ahead of the 2025-26 season. An assistant coach at Cornell during 2024-25, Brennan served as head coach at American from 2013-23 and as an assistant at Princeton from 2000-07. As a player, Brennan was a four-year starter under Pete Carril and helped the Tigers earn NCAA Tournament appearances in 1991 and 1992.

A Different Type Of Homecoming For Mathew Johnson
A native of Columbus, New Jersey, Mathew Johnson returns to his home state as assistant coach of the Tigers for 2025-26. Johnson was on staff at UConn from 2019-2025 and won national championships in 2023 and 2024 with the Huskies.

Scouting The Zips
Akron was predicted to finish first in the Mid-American Conference Coaches' Poll and was ranked No. 7 in the College Insider Mid-Major Top-25 Preseason Poll. The Zips won the 2025 MAC Regular Season and Tournament titles, while earning a 28-7 overall record along with a 17-1 record in MAC play.

Last Time Out For Akron
The Zips took down James Madison, 85-71, in their season opener on Nov. 3 inside James A. Rhodes Arena.