Saturday News:

December 29, 2012 at 10:08 am
Filed under Basketball, Denver, Fairfield, Oregon State, Princeton, Recruiting, Today's News

Towson vs. Oregon State - 4:00 pm ET - Pac-12 Network
Davidson vs. Richmond - 6:00 pm ET
Fairfield vs. Old Dominion - 7:00 pm ET
Denver vs. Louisiana Tech - 8:00 pm ET - Altitude

Manhattan vs. Columbia - 4:00 pm ET
Penn vs. Wagner - 4:00 pm ET
Harvard vs. Cal - 8:00 pm ET - Pac-12 Network

Princeton recruit Steven Cook had 26 for New Trier at the Proviso West Holiday Tournament. Watch Cook with a backdoor dunk here.

It appears Pitt sophomore center Malcolm Gilbert will be joining his brother Marcus at Fairfield.

Today Oregon State hosts Towson, Richmond welcomes Davidson, Fairfield visits ODU and Denver opens conference play at Louisiana Tech.

Now we know why five Penn players were suspended for the Quakers' prior contest.

Around the Ivy League: Brown (4-6) beat Providence at the Pizzitola Sports Center by one. Trailing 67-60 with :55 to go, the Bears hit three straight three pointers, including a shot from Tucker Halpern with just over seven ticks remaining to give his team the lead to stay. Cornell (5-8) discarded winless St. Francis (Pa.), 79-67. Yale (4-8) lost 85-75 at Nevada.

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Coach Mitch Henderson - 12/28/12.

December 28, 2012 at 2:08 pm
Filed under Basketball, Coach Henderson Interview, Princeton

With a constant flow of players streaming into Jadwin Gym for an afternoon practice in the background, Princeton head coach Mitch Henderson and princetonbasketball.com editor Jon Solomon recorded their final interview of 2012.

Henderson and Solomon reviewed Princeton's two good back-to-back performances against Rider and Bucknell in detail before previewing the Tigers' difficult trip to Akron.

It is one of the better conversations between the pair this season.

This exclusive Q&A available after the jump is 13:00+ in length. You can catch up on all of this season's discussions here.

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Friday News:

December 28, 2012 at 9:28 am
Filed under Basketball, Princeton, Recruiting, Today's News

Providence vs. Brown - 7:00 pm ET - NBCSN
Cornell vs. St. Francis (Pa.) - 7:00 pm ET
Yale vs. Nevada - 7:00 pm ET

Kareem Maddox found his way onto his fourth BBL Team of the Week.

Princeton recruit Spencer Weisz crowded the stat sheet in a recent Seton Hall Prep victory.

Akron is the Tigers' next opponent and the Zips won their third straight, moving them into Ken Pomeroy's Top 50.

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Thursday News:

December 27, 2012 at 8:58 am
Filed under Basketball, Princeton, Recruiting, Today's News

Hans Brase was named Ivy League Rookie of the Week while Ian Hummer nabbed his third straight Ivy League Player of the Week honor, the second consecutive solo honor for the Tiger senior.

Good to see confirmation that Hashim Moore and Pete Miller were accepted to Princeton.

You can watch full games featuring future Tigers Henry Caruso and Serra or Steven Cook and New Trier. If you make it through either, please report back on what you saw!

I hope you had a merry Christmas and enjoyed a brief break!

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Christmas Eve News:

December 24, 2012 at 10:38 am
Filed under Basketball, Northwestern, Pete Carril, Princeton, Today's News, Video

Northwestern (9-4) hit 13 three pointers in a 63-43 victory over Brown (3-6).

Here's a fan's take of Princeton's triumph over Bucknell.

I assume the Pete Carril Jr. on the Lawrenceville School's coaching staff is some relation?

Site traffic will be slow the next few days with games and content resuming on Friday, but you can catch me on 103.3 fm WPRB from 6:00 pm ET tonight until 6:00 pm ET tomorrow for my 24th annual 24-Hour Holiday Radio Show.

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Sunday News:

December 23, 2012 at 10:18 am
Filed under Basketball, Fairfield, Georgetown, MCCC, Northwestern, Oregon State, Princeton, Recruiting, Richmond, Today's News

Brown vs. Northwestern - 1:30 pm ET - BTN.com

In addition to our recap, read about Princeton's second straight win on goprincetontigers.com, in the Trentonian, in the Trenton Times, in the Patriot-News and on bucknellbison.com.

Otto Porter had a double-double as Georgetown (10-1) beat American, 65-48.

A fourth consecutive Fairfield (8-5) victory was an impressive one. The Stags pulled off a 60-57 win at St. Joe's. Derek Needham hit a late three pointer to put Sydney Johnson's team in front to stay with :16 left.

Mercer (11-3) kept rolling with an 81-58 win over Bronx. Mustafa El-Amin scored 19 for the Vikings, who won their sixth straight.

Sherrod Wright hit a three pointer as time expired to give George Mason a 67-64 victory over Richmond (9-4). The Spiders held a lead until the game's final 1:33.

Oregon State (9-2) won their fifth straight, topping San Diego in Las Vegas by seven.

Before action pauses across the board for Christmas, Northwestern still has to host Brown.

Not even vomiting at halftime could slow Princeton recruit Steven Cook.

Future Tiger Amir Bell was named the GMC Hoops Player of the Week.

A junior from upstate New York says he has interest from the Tigers among other programs.

Around the Ivy League: Dartmouth (2-8) lost 79-66 at Bryant. A late 11-0 run got Boston University past Cornell (4-8). Harvard (6-4) defeated Holy Cross, 72-65. A late three pointer provided Elon a two point margin of victory at Columbia (5-5).

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Bucknell pictures.

December 23, 2012 at 12:33 am
Filed under Basketball, Brian Earl, Howie Levy, Kevin Mullin, Photos, Princeton, Stephen Goldsmith, Steve Mills

An assortment of super photos from today's game courtesy Stephen Goldsmith.

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Princeton 79 Bucknell 67.

December 22, 2012 at 9:30 pm
Filed under 12-13, Audio, Basketball, Princeton

Box Score : HD Box Score

Christmas came a few days early for Ian Hummer, who got what he wanted since the very start of the season - a full 40 minute performance for his team.

All five Princeton starters scored in double figures as the Tigers knocked off Bucknell at Jadwin Gym.

It took an effort from the top to the bottom of the rotation to best a squad who came in with an 11-1 record and were firmly in the Top 50 of all reputable rankings.

Princeton scored on seven straight second half possessions - including four three pointers - to turn a four point edge into a 62-47 advantage with 5:57 remaining.

To close out the game the Tigers made 13 straight at the line before Brendan Connolly's miss was accidentally tipped in by Hans Brase and a battling Bucknell defender.

Hummer had 17 points, Denton Koon matched him with a career high, Brase followed up a sensational first start with 14 despite serious foul trouble, T.J. Bray added 11 plus eight assists versus zero turnovers and Mack Darrow starting in place of the injured Will Barrett totaled 10.

Mike Muscala's 17 points and 11 rebounds paced the Bison in defeat but his touches were severely limited.

A full recap plus postgame audio from Mitch Henderson, Denton Koon & Ian Hummer can be found after the jump.

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Saturday News:

December 22, 2012 at 9:28 am
Filed under Basketball, Denver, Fairfield, Georgetown, Northwestern, Oregon State, Princeton, Richmond, Today's News

Today's Game: Bucknell (11-1 / 0-0) vs. Princeton (4-6 / 0-0)
Location: Jadwin Gym - Princeton, NJ
Time: 7:00 pm ET
Radio: 103.3 fm WPRB
TV: N/A
Internet: goprincetontigers.com
Series History: Princeton leads 10-4.
Last meeting: Bucknell 62 Princeton 56 - 11/25/11.

American vs. Georgetown - 12:00 pm ET - ESPN+
Fairfield vs. St. Joe's - 2:00 pm ET
MCCC vs. Bronx - 3:00 pm ET
George Mason vs. Richmond - 3:00 pm ET - Governor's Holiday Hoops Classic
San Diego vs. Oregon State - 9:00 pm ET - Pac-12 Network

Dartmouth vs. Bryant - 1:00 pm ET
Cornell vs. Boston University - 1:00 pm ET
Holy Cross vs. Harvard - 2:00 pm ET
Elon vs. Columbia - 4:00 pm ET

There was some great conversation in the forum for the Rider game. Keep it going tonight when the Tigers face Bucknell!

Four notes on the Bison in lieu of a proper preview:

1. 6'11" senior center Mike Muscala is a special player who shoots the ball well both inside and out, plus draws 6.8 fouls/40 minutes. He's going to be a difficult assignment for all three (four?) Princeton big men who might check him defensively.

2. Bucknell may be the worst team in the nation in forcing turnovers and second-worst in creating steals but teams are shooting a very poor 41.5% from the floor against them. The Bison also protect the offensive glass exceptionally well. Their opponents' possessions usually end with a miss more than any other outcome.

3. As a team, Bucknell rarely turns the ball over and is very good at the line (76.6%). Too much attention to Muscala then opens the floor for a squad shooting 37.0% from deep. There's a reason the Bison are 11-1.

4. Notable victories include triumphs over #65 Purdue on the road, #91 George Mason at home, #103 New Mexico State on a neutral floor and #66 La Salle at home. I still don't understand how Bucknell lost to #192 Penn State in State College after the Nittany Lions lost guard Tim Frazier for the season.

The Hans Brase gamble paid off for Princeton in the Tigers' last contest.

There's a piece on the Rider game on the Mid-Majority.

Rush The Court checks in on the Ivy League.

Stanford edged Northwestern (8-4) by two in Evanston. After falling down 18 the Wildcats rallied on more than one occasion but both times they pulled even in the second half the Cardinal hit a three. A potentially tying runner and tip follow in the waning seconds did not drop for Bill Carmody's team.

Denver (4-6) easily handled Southern Utah, 72-47.

Games throughout the day begin with Georgetown hosting American, Fairfield visiting St. Joe's, Richmond and George Mason meeting at the Richmond Coliseum and finally Oregon State testing out the new home of the Pac-12 Tournament in Las Vegas by playing San Diego.

Around the Ivy League: Playing without three starters and five players total who were all suspended for a violation of team rules, Penn (2-8) lost for a second time this season to Delaware. On this occasion the final was 83-60.

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Friday News:

December 21, 2012 at 9:18 am
Filed under Basketball, Denver, MCCC, Northwestern, Princeton, Recruiting, Today's News

Southern Utah vs. Denver - 6:00 pm ET
Stanford vs. Northwestern - 9:00 pm ET - Big Ten Network

Penn vs. Delaware - 7:00 pm ET

In addition to our recap, read about Princeton's first home victory of the season on goprincetontigers.com, in the Trentonian, in a rare Trenton Times appearance and on gobroncs.com.

Mercer (10-3) defeated Manor 99-80. Larry Webster had 22 points to lead four Vikings in double figures. You should also read about MCCC's recent trip to Washington, DC.

Princeton recruit Steven Cook and New Trier beat Evanston.

Denver hosts Southern Utah and Northwestern welcomes Stanford tonight.

I'm gearing up for my annual 24-hour holiday radio show on WPRB and my favorite preview this year interviews my parents, wife and daughter about the marathon.

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Rider pictures.

December 21, 2012 at 12:18 am
Filed under Basketball, Brian Earl, Photos, Princeton, Stephen Goldsmith, Steve Mills

An assortment of super photos from today's game courtesy Stephen Goldsmith.

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Princeton 62 Rider 45.

December 20, 2012 at 9:20 pm
Filed under 12-13, Audio, Basketball, Princeton

Box Score : HD Box Score

Mitch Henderson couldn't remember if he had talked to freshman forward Hans Brase during the latter's recruitment about the possibility of playing center at Princeton.

After Brase's performance 10 games into his career replacing veteran big man Brendan Connolly in the lineup it is hard to imagine him anywhere else.

With a 3-6 record buoyed by a trio of dissipated second half leads, Princeton badly needed some sort of spark and they found one - at least for an evening - in the form of Brase.

Making his first collegiate start Brase had a career high 17 points on 7-9 shooting as the Tigers steadily pulled away from Rider for a 62-45 victory.

"He hasn't gotten many reps - I'll say that," Henderson remarked about his young center. "He's just a player and he's capable of doing a lot of things."

Consider Brase's open to the contest - two free throws, an assist on a Will Barrett three pointer, a charge taken, a second assist resulting in an Ian Hummer jumper and a curling layup - all before the first media time out.

Up 11 with nine minutes to go Princeton scored nine straight to lock down the victory as Brase added a pair of layups while taking a second charge in-between.

"I'm trying to do whatever the team needs," Brase said quietly after his efficient and exciting night was done. "If I need to play center, I'll play center."

While the Tigers committed 14 turnovers they far were more aggressive against the Broncs' pressure than they had been versus similar opponents in 2012-13, which helped create a number of layups and dunks. Princeton had almost as many points in the paint (44) as Rider totaled overall (45).

Not to be overlooked in Brase's breakout was 15 tallies for Hummer along with seven rebounds and five assists against one turnover and sophomore Denton Koon's career high 15.

Anthony Myles' 18 paced Rider in defeat. The Broncs led for just a single first half possession.

A complete recap plus postgame audio from Henderson, Brase & Koon can be found after the jump.

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