If you liked reading last Thursday's Yale and Brown updates in our ongoing Know! Your! Foe! series, you're in luck! We're back one final time during the Ivy schedule with a Q&A about the Penn Quakers.
If you also want to read his original take in advance of late January's game at The Palestra, please check it out here.
Thanks to all of this season's interview subjects, especially those who made it possible to "run the table" with 14 consecutive previews, one for each conference contest.
Additionally, if you cover a team the Tigers will face down the line, let us know. It would be great to talk with you.
Mondays have become a good time on this site to look into the past, and the previous three weeks that has meant scanning photographs from the archives of David Zeft.
This is the last stack that Mr. Zeft loaned to me and includes shots from between 1981 and (roughly) 1993. Click on any scan to enlarge.
Above, Kit Mueller with a righty hook during Princeton's December 1990 victory in the championship game of Iona's on-campus Manufacturers Hanover Classic.
Eight more images after the jump. I'll need help identifying a number of players in some of the team celebrations. That's where you come in!
Monday, March 5th
Fairfield (4) vs. Loyola Md. (2) - 7:00 pm ET - MAAC Tournament - ESPN2
Western Kentucky (7) vs. Denver (3) - 9:30 pm ET - Sun Belt Tournament - ESPN3
Tuesday, March 6th
Richmond (10) vs. La Salle (7) - Atlantic 10 Tournament - 7:00 pm ET
Penn vs. Princeton - 7:30 pm ET - ESPN3
Wednesday, March 7th
Pitt (13) / St John's (12) vs. Georgetown (5) - 2:00 pm ET - Big East Tournament - ESPN
Washington State (9) vs. Oregon State (8) - 3:00 pm ET - Pac-12 Tournament - FSN
Thursday, March 8th
Minnesota (10) vs. Northwestern (7) - 5:30 pm ET - Big 10 Tournament - ESPN2
Well well well. After an 85-75 upset of top seed Iona, Sydney Johnson and Fairfield (19-13) are now 40 minutes from the NCAA Tournament. An impressive 16-1 run when trailing by six in the second half turned the game around. The MAAC final is tonight in Springfield, MA against Loyola of Maryland.
The Sun Belt Tournament bracket is in shambles with the exception of Denver (22-8). All the other top seeds fell in the quarterfinals while the Pioneers were taking care of South Alabama, 61-50. Western Kentucky awaits in the semifinals tonight.
Usually Monday belongs to the student papers around these parts, but only the Daily Princetonian (with an exceptional photograph) recounts the weekend's action.
Here's comprehensive information on where Northwestern stands in their quest for the NCAA Tournament.
Georgetown's Jason Clark was named first team all-Big East, with Henry Sims and Hollis Thompson also earning recognition from their conference.
Big Apple Buckets has updated their projected NIT bracket. Princeton is among their last seven teams out.
While it may drive me nuts when Princeton players call me "Mr. Solomon," I accept that am an adult.
Yet on Saturday afternoon at the conclusion of the Northwestern/Iowa game from which you can watch highlights above, I found myself lying face down on my living room floor at the base of my television like a petulant child throwing a tantrum, fists pounding on the ground unable to take the emotional torture that the Wildcats have pulled me through this season anymore.
...and this was after they won.
From what my inbox tells me, I'm not alone in my suffering. Here’s the latest collection of videos from various corners of the Princeton basketball family.
Sunday, March 4th
Fairfield (4) vs. Iona (1) - 2:00 pm ET - MAAC Tournament - ESPN3
South Alabama (6) vs. Denver (3) - 9:45 pm ET - Sun Belt Tournament
Tuesday, March 6th
Richmond (10) vs. La Salle (7) - Atlantic 10 Tournament - 7:00 pm ET
Penn vs. Princeton - 7:30 pm ET - ESPN3
Wednesday, March 7th
Pitt (13) / St John's (12) vs. Georgetown (5) - 2:00 pm ET - Big East Tournament - ESPN
Washington State (9) vs. Oregon State (8) - 3:00 pm ET - Pac-12 Tournament - FSN
Thursday, March 8th
Minnesota (10) vs. Northwestern (7) - 5:30 pm ET - Big 10 Tournament - ESPN2
Tuesday night's game with Penn has been picked up by ESPN3.
Still alive! By the skin of their teeth (as if they know any other way now) Northwestern (18-12) pulled off a 70-66 win at Iowa. The Hawkeyes missed an open three pointer for the lead with six seconds to go.
Denver faces South Alabama in the Sun Belt Tournament.
Around the Ivy League: Harvard (26-4 / 12-2) earned at least a share of the conference crown with a 67-63 win at Cornell (12-16 / 7-7). Penn (19-11 / 11-2) stayed a half game back by rolling Yale (19-9 / 9-5) at The Palestra, 67-48. After so many close conference losses, Columbia (15-15 / 4-10) came out on top by six over Dartmouth (5-25 / 1-13) to end the season.
Postgame audio - Coach Mitch Henderson, Douglas Davis & Brendan Connolly:
There was more drama as to if Saturday night’s game would actually take place than in regards to what the result would be.
Delayed 34 minutes by a malfunctioning backboard stanchion and non-synching shot clocks, Princeton took the lead for good with under eight minutes to go in the first half on a Patrick Saunders three pointer and methodically pulled away to go up 10 on Douglas Davis’ righty drive prior to the horn.
When play resumed the Tigers ran off nine straight and cruised to the finish, shooting 64.5% from the floor in the second half. The Bears did not score over the final 5:23.
With no answer by shorthanded Brown for 6’11″ Brendan Connolly inside, the junior center was in control throughout scoring 14 points and handing out six assists along with seven rebounds in 22 minutes of play. Davis added 12 in his penultimate Ivy game and fellow co-captain Patrick Saunders did the same.
“Because he’s running and establishing early position in the post, I think the guys are really looking for him,” head coach Mitch Henderson said of Connolly’s play. “It is such an advantage for us when we can throw the ball in to a center.”
Saunders is shooting 9-12 from three point range the past four contests.
Defined as "In a state of wonder or amazement, as with the mouth wide open," these five letters evoke memories of Princeton players such as Kit Mueller and Steve Goodrich who were never photographed during their playing days with their trap closed.
It is harder to see in real time, but these last few weeks junior guard Jimmy Sherburne is (in addition to super play at both ends) turning in the best reaction shots of any current Princeton player.
Armed with a new camera that possesses better burst speed, an animated tribute like the above is now possible.
Today's Game:Brown (8-22 / 2-11) vs. Princeton (17-11 / 8-4) Location: Jadwin Gym - Princeton, NJ Time: 7:30 pm ET Radio: 103.3 fm WPRB TV: N/A Internet: goprincetontigers.com Series History: Princeton leads 95-25. Last meeting:Princeton 77 Brown 64 - 2/3/12
Brown
Princeton
6-9
Home Record
8-2
1-11
Away Record
8-8
1-2
Neutral Record
1-1
312
RPI
89
307
Sagarin
118
303
Pomeroy
102
62.0
Points / Game
65.8
69.1
Points Allowed / Game
61.9
.408
FG%
.452
.634
FT%
.667
.366
3PT FG%
.370
32.1
Rebounds / Game
33.0
8.8
Off. Rebounds / Game
8.6
-5.3
Rebounding Margin
-0.1
13.6
Assists / Game
14.2
12.3
Turnovers / Game
12.4
2.6
Blocks / Game
3.9
McGonagill: 13.7
Points
Hummer: 16.3
McCarthy: 7.6
Rebounds
Hummer: 7.2
McGonagill: 5.5
Assists
Bray: 3.7
McGonagill: 1.2
Steals
Bray: 1.6
McCarthy: 1.5
Blocks
Hummer: 1.1
Ponticelli: .533
FG% (Min: 10 FGM)
Koon: .550
Harris: .917
FT% (Min: 10 FTM)
Saunders: .826
Sullivan: .390
3PT FG% (Min: 10 3PTM)
Bray: .434
Georgetown vs. Marquette - 2:00 pm ET - ESPN3
Northwestern vs. Iowa - 2:30 pm ET - Big Ten Network
Rider (5) vs. Fairfield (4) - 2:30 pm ET - MAAC Tournament - ESPN3
Colorado vs. Oregon State - 4:00 pm ET - FSN
Yale vs. Penn - 7:00 pm ET
Harvard vs. Cornell - 7:00 pm ET - ESPN3
Dartmouth vs. Columbia - 7:00 pm ET
A report says that Mitch Henderson's team will play at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn next season for the first ever Brooklyn Hoops Winter Hoops Festival.
Princeton recruit Steven Cook had 11 points in New Trier's regional title win versus Foreman.
Future Tiger Mike Washington, Jr. was named first-team all-Western Conference and was also selected to the Washington vs. Oregon All-Star Game.
Georgetown visits Marquette today. With a win the Hoyas secure the second seed in the Big East Tournament. Lose and they'll end up anywhere from double bye down to sixth.
Awful news for Denver as starting guard Chase Hallam is lost for the season due to a fractured disc in his back.
Around the Ivy League: Penn (18-11 / 10-2) was eventually able to pull away from Brown (8-22 / 2-11) at The Palestra, 54-43. It took overtime for Harvard (25-4 / 11-2) to stave off Columbia (14-15 / 3-10). Chris Wroblewski set the school record for assists as Cornell (12-16 / 7-6) recorded a 70-57 triumph over Dartmouth (5-24 / 1-12).
Postgame audio - Coach Mitch Henderson, Mack Darrow, Ian Hummer & Jimmy Sherburne:
The pressure was on.
For the first time since 4-4, Princeton looked up at a tie score with 11:34 left in the second half. Yale had pulled even from down by as many as 15 on a Greg Mangano drive at and over Mack Darrow.
Reeling, it was Darrow who would smash the cover that seemingly was placed over the rim the prior six+ minutes by connecting from the top of the arc and the Tigers converted on four consecutive subsequent possessions to reinstate a 49-40 advantage.
“Our defense was good enough but, man, we were very fortunate to play like that and be in a situation where if you make a few plays you reestablish control of the game, said Princeton head coach Mitch Henderson. “We were sweating it. Yale can do that to you.”
The homestanding Tigers fought off every last push from the Bulldogs, including Patrick Saunders somehow blowing up a four-on-one break with Yale down two in the final four minutes.
“Pat does that,” Henderson said with pride of the senior co-captain who is closing his final season with some of his strongest minutes. “He’s got a good sense for things. That was a great play – just a basketball play.”
Before the present weekend fully gets underway, I wanted to share with you another two dollar eBay steal that arrived in the mail last night. I've noticed more and more newspapers are selling off photographs from their archives and one such image is the above shot of Bill Bradley, Butch van Breda Kolff and Bob Haarlow '66.
Might frame it now that it is scanned. More information after the jump.
princetonbasketball.com was founded on April 28th, 1998 in an attempt to provide fans of the Princeton Tigers and Ivy League basketball with the best on-line source for up-to-date news and information. We have since expanded to launch a companion site, Georgetown Basketball News.
As these sites have continued to grow we have increased our coverage to include additional teams with Princeton connections - the Richmond Spiders, Denver Pioneers, Oregon State Beavers, Fairfield Stags and Mercer County Community College Vikings - plus former Tigers playing professional baseball and basketball all over the world. This site is not directly affiliated with the Friends of Princeton Basketball, Princeton University or the Princeton athletic department.
Sun. 11/10 vs. Florida A&M
Sat. 11/16 at Butler
Wed. 11/20 vs. Lafayette
Sat. 11/23 at Rice
Tue. 11/26 vs. George Mason
Sat. 11/30 at Bucknell
Sat. 12/7 vs. FDU
Wed. 12/11 at Rutgers
Sat. 12/14 at Penn State
Fri. 12/20 vs. Portland*
Sat. 12/21 vs. Pacific*
Tue. 12/31 vs. Kent State
Sat. 1/4 at Liberty
Sat. 1/11 at Penn
Sun. 1/26 vs. Kean
Fri. 1/31 at Harvard
Sat. 2/1 at Dartmouth
Fri. 2/7 vs. Columbia
Sat. 2/8 vs. Cornell
Fri. 2/14 at Brown
Sat. 2/15 at Yale
Fri. 2/21 vs. Dartmouth
Sat. 2/22 vs. Harvard
Fri. 2/28 vs. Yale
Sat. 3/1 vs. Brown
Fri. 3/7 at Cornell
Sat. 3/8 at Columbia
Tue. 3/11 vs. Penn
2,503 - B. Bradley, 1962-65
1,625 - I. Hummer, 2009-13
1,550 - D. Davis, 2008-12
1,546 - K. Mueller, 1987-91
1,451 - P. Campbell, 1959-62
1,441 - C. Robinson, 1979-83
1,428 - B. Earl, 1995-99
1,365 - B. Scrabis, 1985-89
1,321 - G. Petrie, 1967-70
1,292 - H. Haabestad, 1952-55
1,277 - G. Lewullis, 1995-99
1,239 - B. Taylor, 1970-72
1,207 - S. Goodrich 1994-98
1,133 - F. Sowinski, 1975-78
1,130 - R. Hielscher, 1991-95
1,122 - C. Thomforde, 1966-69
1,099 - T. Manakas, 1970-73
1,090 - J. Wallace, 2001-05
1,088 - C. Belz, 1956-59
1,079 - B. Hauptfuhrer, 1973-76
1,076 - B. Roma, 1976-79
1,071 - C. Mooney, 1990-94
1,064 - A. Hyland, Jr., 1960-63
1,062 - L. Brangan, 1957-60
1,057 - A. Hill, 1973-76
1,054 - D. Mavraides, 2007-11
1,044 - S. Johnson, 1993-1997
1,031 - J. Hummer, 1967-70
1,010 - W. Venable, 2001-05
