Syracuse 73 Princeton 53.

November 21, 2012 at 9:30 pm
Filed under 12-13, Audio, Basketball, Princeton

Box Score : HD Box Score

It was an admirable yet error-filled performance for Princeton in front of 17,881 at the Carrier Dome in Syracuse on Tuesday night.

Facing a formidable foe and a daunting zone, the Tigers fell behind 10-2 in the first four minutes as the sixth-ranked Orangemen grabbed five offensive boards. While the visitors from New Jersey trailed from pillar to post there were actually a good number of positives to take away from the lone regular season contest versus a Top 10 foe this season.

Once the ship was steadied, Princeton hung within hailing range of Syracuse, despite 14 first frame turnovers.

Down 36-25 at intermission and minus 14 with 16:45 to go, the Tigers countered with an 8-0 run to close within 45-39 on a Clay Wilson three pointer. Wilson was the perfect antidote to the SU zone, knocking in five threes on the game.

However, Syracuse quickly responded with a dunk, two layups and a put-back in the two minutes that followed to extend their lead back up to two touchdowns.

Princeton would not see a single digit deficit again and a game-closing 12-3 run over the last 5:45 generated the final score. Wilson's fifth three dropped before this spurt and was the Tigers' ultimate field goal.

In addition to Wilson, Brendan Connolly had 11 and Ian Hummer 10 for the orange and black who committed 24 turnovers. Eight of those were charged to Hummer.

“I thought at times we were OK, but there were just so many turnovers,” said Tiger head coach Mitch Henderson. “They got 19 more shots than we did. We have to be able to take better care of the ball.”

James Southerland's 22 off the bench led five Orange men with double digits. Southerland connected four times from behind the arc.

42 of Syracuse's points came in the paint and 25 of their 73 were generated via turnovers.

Postgame audio can be found after the jump.

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Wednesday News:

November 21, 2012 at 9:08 am
Filed under Basketball, Denver, Fairfield, Georgetown, MCCC, Northwestern, Princeton, Recruiting, Richmond, Today's News

Today's Game: Princeton (1-2 / 0-0) vs. Syracuse (2-0 / 0-0)
Location: Carrier Dome - Syracuse, NY
Time: 7:00 pm ET
Radio: 103.3 fm WPRB
TV: Time Warner (SNY rebroadcast on 11/22 at 2:00 pm ET)
Internet: goprincetontigers.com
Series History: Syracuse leads 24-9.
Last meeting: Syracuse 56 Princeton 45 - 11/12/04.

Colorado State vs. Denver - 9:00 pm ET - Root Sports

Bryant vs. Brown - 7:00 pm ET
Yale vs. Vermont - 7:00 pm ET

There's an open thread for the Syracuse game in the forum if you want to discuss this contest before/during/after.

Junior guard T.J. Bray is trying to shoot himself out of a slump.

Ian Hummer is not your average Ivy Leaguer.

The Full-Court Press talked to Mitch Henderson.

The Trentonian, the Post-Standard, the Daily Princetonian and CBS Sports preview tonight's matchup.

Here's more on Amir Bell committing to Princeton.

Georgetown (2-1) took top-ranked Indiana into overtime where the Hoosiers prevailed, 82-72.

A late three pointer by Desmond Wade gave Fairfield (3-2) the 74-71 win over Fordham.

The Mercer (3-1) season is off to a decent start. Last night the Vikings beat Lackawanna 82-67 as Mustafa El-Amin totalled 25.

Richmond (4-1) tamed Wofford by six.

Drew Crawford had 18 for Northwestern (4-0) in a 69-50 decision versus Delaware State.

Briefly a member of the Tiger coaching staff before heading to play overseas, Craig Moore is the Wildcats' new Volunteer Special Assistant.

Denver hosts Colorado State tonight.

Around the Ivy League: Columbia (3-1) raised eyebrows as they disposed of Villanova with relative ease, 73-57. The Lions converted 18 straight free throws over the final 2:39. Trailing by as many as 40 in the second half, Harvard (2-2) lost 75-56 at St. Joe's. Penn (1-5) dropped their fifth straight, 73-66 at Lehigh. Guilty of 23 turnovers, Cornell (1-4) lost 64-53 at Arizona State.

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Know! Your! Foe! - Syracuse.

November 20, 2012 at 9:08 pm
Filed under Basketball, Know Your Foe, Princeton

There's one order of business before I leave for upstate New York - the latest installment of Know! Your! Foe!. Joining me to discuss the sixth-ranked Orangemen is Sean Keeley (hopefully not pictured above, but one never knows...) of comprehensive Syracuse site Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician.

Keeley is also the author of How To Grow An Orange.

My questions and his answers follow after the jump. I know this is a busy week for all of us, so I really appreciate the quick turnaround and the detailed nature of Keely's responses.

If you cover any of the teams that Princeton will be facing in 2012-13, get in touch! Would love to interview you.

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New Recruit - Amir Bell.

November 20, 2012 at 5:08 pm
Filed under Basketball, Photos, Princeton, Recruiting, Video

College basketball recruiting is by no means an exact science. Sometimes those with extra stars shining next to their names don’t see their abilities convert beyond high school. At Princeton there’s a long list of the comparatively unhearlded who have developed from seeming afterthoughts to all-conference players.

With that history understood, it becomes even harder to look 23 months into the future.

Yet on November 20 of this year the Tiger coaching staff can wake up in the morning feeling comfortable about having filled their top priority for the 2014 recruiting class.

Amir Bell of East Brunswick High School may not be a name that has attracted a lot of attention from the top recruiting sites yet but the key word in this sentence is “yet.” Getting Bell committed to the enrollment process at Princeton before he attracted additional attention from bold-faced basketball powerhouses was paramount.

It can not be coincidence that three different members of Mitch Henderson’s staff posted words to the effect of “it is a great day to be a Tiger” on Twitter last night with Bell’s commitment then entering public knowledge less than an hour later.

I had a chance to speak with the 6’4” 170 lb junior point guard’s high school coach Bo Henning on the phone a few hours ago. Quotes from our conversation plus links and videos featuring Bell can all be found after the jump.

All photos courtesy Ethan Reiss. Used with permission.

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Tuesday News:

November 20, 2012 at 9:28 am
Filed under Basketball, Fairfield, Georgetown, Northwestern, Princeton, Recruiting, Richmond, Today's News, Will Venable

Fairfield vs. Fordham - Preseason NIT consolation round - 6:00 pm ET
Lackawanna vs. MCCC - 7:00 pm ET
Wofford vs. Richmond - 7:00 pm ET - Nation of Coaches Classic
Delaware St. vs. Northwestern - 8:00 pm ET - South Padre Island Invit. - BTN.com
Georgetown vs. Indiana - Legends Classic - 10:00 pm ET - ESPN2

Columbia vs. Villanova - 7:00 pm ET - ESPN3
Harvard vs. St. Joe's - 8:00 pm ET - NBCSN
Penn vs. Lehigh - Preseason NIT consolation round - 8:30 pm ET
Cornell vs. Arizona State - Las Vegas Invitational - 9:30 pm ET - Pac-12 Network

Otto Porter returned and a 12-0 run to open the second half propelled Georgetown (3-0) to the victory over #11 UCLA. The Hoyas face top-ranked Indiana in the Legends Classic championship game late tonight.

The sensational senior guard C.J. McCollum scored 35 for Lehigh, victors versus Fairfield (2-2) by an 82-67 final. The Stags stay in Bethlehem to meet Fordham this evening on the last day of the preseason NIT consolation round.

Here's more on Amir Bell committing to Princeton. Some interesting quotes. I expect to speak with Bell's high school coach later this morning.

Tiger recruit Steven Cook is the player you want taking a last second shot for New Trier this year.

Ian Hummer made the Ivy League's honor roll for this week.

A preview of tomorrow's matchup is posted on the Juice Online.

The Daily Princetonian reports on the Tigers' loss to Rutgers.

One writer's "cult favorite" on the San Diego Padres is Will Venable.

Richmond hosts Wofford and Northwestern welcomes Delaware State tonight.

Around the Ivy League: Penn (1-4) dropped their fourth straight, losing a late lead versus Fordham.

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Amir Bell commits to Princeton.

November 19, 2012 at 9:54 pm
Filed under Basketball, Princeton, Recruiting, Video

So much for a quiet evening! According to Northstar Basketball, 6'3" junior guard Amir Bell from East Brunswick High School just up the road has committed to Princeton over offers from Iona, Northeastern and Fairfield.

Here is additional detail on schools Bell visited and was contacted by.

Bell is the first member of the Tigers' 2014 recruiting class.

As I work to gather information on this breaking news, videos and images of Bell in both high school and AAU action can be found after the jump.

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Monday News:

November 19, 2012 at 9:58 am
Filed under Basketball, Denver, Fairfield, Georgetown, Northwestern, Oregon State, Princeton, Richmond, Today's News

Georgetown vs. UCLA - Legends Classic - 8:00 pm ET - ESPN2
Fairfield vs. Lehigh - Preseason NIT consolation round - 8:30 pm ET

Fordham vs. Penn - Preseason NIT consolation round - 6:00 pm ET

With the caveat that it is exceptionally early in the season, Ian Hummer leads all of college basketball in Assist Rate.

Rutgers' guards carried the scoring load against Princeton.

Northwestern (3-0) had no issues with FDU, building a 27 point halftime lead and coasting from there.

A seven point advantage with 10 minutes remaining could not hold and Richmond (3-1) fell 72-57 at Minnesota.

Georgetown plays #13 UCLA in Brooklyn tonight. It is the second semifinal of the Legends Classic. The Hoyas expect to have Otto Porter back for this game.

Lehigh hosts Fairfield in a preseason NIT consolation pool.

It is confirmed that Oregon State center Angus Brandt is lost for the season due to a knee injury.

Around the Ivy League: Two teams were in action and neither could reach 50 points. Yale (1-3) lost 59-47 to Western Illinois on the final day of the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic and Wisconsin demolished Cornell (1-3) by 33.

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Sunday News:

November 18, 2012 at 9:08 am
Filed under Basketball, Craig Robinson, Northwestern, Princeton, Richmond, Today's News

FDU vs. Northwestern - 2:00 pm ET - South Padre Island Invitational - BTN.com
Richmond vs. Minnesota - 7:00 pm ET - Big Ten Network

Yale vs. Western Illinois - 3:00 pm ET - Coaches vs. Cancer Classic
Cornell vs. Wisconsin - 6:00 pm ET - Las Vegas Invitational - ESPN3.com

The view from the stands differs from the press row perspective at Jadwin Gym.

There are some additional Rutgers/Princeton notes care of the Tip In.

Gerry Matthews passed Pete Carril to become New Jersey's winningest college coach.

Did Craig Robinson come close to attending Purdue?

Today Northwestern hosts Farleigh Dickinson and Richmond visits Minnesota.

Around the Ivy League: Penn (1-3) was tipped by Drexel, 61-59. Yale (1-3) became the second conference team to beat Buffalo, defeating the Bulls 63-59 at the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic subregional in Evansville, IN. Marist handed Columbia (2-1) their first loss of the season. Brown (2-1) won 70-68 at Maine.

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Saturday News:

November 17, 2012 at 9:48 am
Filed under Basketball, Denver, Georgetown, Oregon State, Princeton, Today's News

Drexel vs. Penn - 4:00 pm ET
Yale vs. Buffalo - 6:00 pm ET - Coaches vs. Cancer Classic
Brown vs. Maine - 7:00 pm ET
Marist vs. Columbia - 7:00 pm ET

In addition to our recap, read about Princeton's loss to Rutgers on goprincetontigers.com, in the Trentonian, in the Star Ledger, courtesy the Associated Press, on NJ Hoops Haven, on SNY Rutgers and on scarletknights.com.

Ian Hummer is re-defining the way the Tiger coaches look at players.

Behind 27 points and 14 rebounds from Devon Collier, Oregon State (3-1) took third place in the 2K Sports Classic. Unfortunately, Beavers starting center Angus Brandt could be lost for a substantial period of time due to a knee injury.

Cal won 72-61 at Denver (1-2).

Georgetown will play in the 2013 Puerto Rico Tip-Off.

Around the Ivy League: Harvard (2-1) dusted Manhattan, 79-45. St. Peter's trumped Cornell (1-2) by four and despite no Colt Ryan, Evansville had enough weapons to keep Yale (0-3) winless.

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Rutgers pictures.

November 16, 2012 at 11:35 pm
Filed under Basketball, Photos, Princeton, Stephen Goldsmith

Photos from today’s game courtesy Stephen Goldsmith.

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Rutgers 58 Princeton 52.

November 16, 2012 at 9:42 pm
Filed under 12-13, Audio, Basketball, Princeton

Box Score : HD Box Score

Despite being out-worked on the glass and frequently out-efforted for 50/50 balls, Princeton still stood within a four point shadow of Rutgers in the final six minutes of a true grind-it-out basketball game at Jadwin Gym.

On three straight possessions the Tiger defense rose to the occasion and recorded stops but the offense was unable to capitalize on the corresponding trio of trips down the floor.

“Our defense down the stretch, I was very proud of the guys and I thought we were playing hard but we just couldn’t buy a hoop,” said head coach Mitch Henderson. “We missed a couple easy shots that would have really helped.”

Just over two minutes of scoreless activity came to the close on a pair of free throws by the Scarlet Knights' Austin Johnson and in a fitting verdict-sealer Johnson won away an offensive rebound inside of a wild three point miss by Jerome Seagears and started a three point play with a layup follow.

It was shocking how dominant Rutgers stood on the glass, out-rebounding Princeton by a palindromic 42-24 margin while grabbing 11 second chances.

“It is concerning, because that’s what we want to hang our hat on this year,” Henderson acknowledged. “It is disappointing.”

Eli Carter led the way with 22 points and was the catalyst off the bench for the victors, canning four straight first half three pointers once he entered to see his squad down 10-2 early. Myles Mack added 16, also on 6-9 shooting.

For Princeton Will Barrett had 13 and Ian Hummer 10 along with six assists, four rebounds and zero turnovers. Hummer scored one point in the second half against the Rutgers zone but the Tigers had no outside support to aid Hummer's cause.

While T.J. Bray finally hit from behind the arc he remains 1-19 from deep on the season. Princeton guards combined to shoot 4-20 from the floor as a unit.

Postgame audio can be found after the jump.

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Coach Mitch Henderson - 11/16/12.

November 16, 2012 at 1:10 pm
Filed under Basketball, Coach Henderson Interview, Princeton

In a rare day-of-game interview, Princeton head coach Mitch Henderson and princetonbasketball.com editor Jon Solomon met at Jadwin Gym after the Tigers' shootaround to squeeze in this week's Q&A.

Henderson and Solomon discussed myriad topics including a detailed breakdown of Princeton's first two results of the season versus Buffalo and Northeastern, how the Tigers have performed opposing zone defense, the contributions of Hans Brase, T.J. Bray's early shooting struggles, the missed opportunities late against the Huskies and what Northeastern did to contain Ian Hummer in the second half before concluding with a preview of tonight's intrastate foe and touching briefly on the contests at Syracuse and Lafayette.

This exclusive Q&A available after the jump is 13:00+ in length.

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