Princeton University Athletics
Thursday TigerBlog - Broadcast News
December 11, 2025 | Tiger Blog
TigerBlog brings you greetings from Florida.
It's warm here, certainly warmer than it was in Princeton when he left. If you're looking for specifics, it was 14 degrees at departure and 70 on arrival.
You know the two things that bother TB about renting a car?
First, the first few times he goes back to a parking lot, he's looking for his car, not the one he rented. Second, every car he rents is nicer than his. In this case, that would be a KIA Soul. You know your own car is fairly beaten up and old when you're envious of a KIA Soul.
TigerBlog is here for an NCAA men's lacrosse rules committee this morning, in conjunction with the men's lacrosse coaches' convention. This is TB's fourth and final year on the committee, an experience that he has loved, as you might have guessed.
So what do you do when you're in Florida? You go for a long walk, your first after your foot surgery by the way, and then you watch both ends of the Princeton Basketball doubleheader on ESPN+, obviously.
If you're a Princeton fan, you should not take for granted just what great productions these games are. The camera work is great. The replays are great. The work that comes out of the Levine Broadcast Center on E Level of Jadwin is top notch.
And then there are the announcers. Would you rather listen to them or the ones who scream and shout on the main national TV broadcasts.
The first game was between the men and Merrimack, with Derek Jones and Ice Young on the call. Derek's usual partner, Noah Savage, wasn't there, but you did see him at halftime with his interview of associate head coach Mike Brennan as part of the "Hard Cuts" series.
The nightcap was the women's game against Rutgers, with Jon Mozes and Maren Walseth behind the mics.
They're all so easy to listen to, especially compared to the cliche-driven, long-worn-out yelling that passes for broadcasting these days. Maybe TB is just an old guy — he doesn't think so — but he definitely appreciates what you can see from Princeton's productions.
As for the games, the men fell 59-56 to the Warriors. Princeton has played a series of close games against the kinds of opponents it will see come Ivy League season, when the record will flip back to 0-0.
Keep in mind, Princeton is also without 16 point per game scorer Dalen Davis, out with an injury. For all that, the team is getting valuable minutes and invaluable experience in playing games that come down to the wire, a bounce here or there.
Jackson Hicke led Princeton with 21, giving him four 20-plus point scoring nights in the last six games after having none before that. He is averaging 18 per game for those last six while shooting 55 percent from the field and has now been in double figures in 10 of his last 13 games.
Meanwhile, on the women's side, the Tigers took down Rutgers 81-63, never trailing or being tied after being down 14-12 in the first quarter.
You're seeing a lot of really good signs as the Ivy season approaches. Fadima Tall, a second-team All-Ivy League selection last year, has clearly elevated her game. She's now been in double figures in 10 of 11 games, including a career-high 28 last night, which is great, but she also had five steals and three assists while drawing a pair of charges and having only one foul and one turnover in 36 minutes, which is greater.
Mozes mentioned that he has been covering the women for 12 years and that Tall's performance last night was one of the best he's ever seen by a Tiger women's player. That's quite a statement.
Tall was 33 for 105 from three-point range in her first two seasons, for a .314 percentage. This year? She's now 19 for 42, which is .452.
Olivia Hutcherson now has five double figures scoring games this season after having only two in her first two seasons (both of which were 10 point outings).
And then there's Ashley Chea. Remember last week when she had the No. 3 SportsCenter Play of the Day with a no-look pass for a Hutcherson layup? Well, she's quickly developing into someone that you have to watch at all times, because she sees teammates who are open before they know they're open and there is no pass she's afraid to make.
Yes, she turns it over a bit sometimes, but as Walseth point out after one of them — "you don't want to stifle the creativity." No, you don't.
Both Princeton Basketball teams now have a break, with two games each remaining in 2025. For the men, that means hosting Temple (the 22nd, 7 pm) and Vermont (the 30th, 1 pm) in rematches against two of those quality teams that the Tigers have played to close losses to date.
The women will play at George Mason on the 20th and then will also play Temple at home on the 22nd (tip at 11:30).
