The Princeton men’s basketball team is having one of their best seasons in recent memory. The Tigers have compiled a 16-7 record while going 7-2 in Ivy League play. With 5 games left in the season, Princeton has a chance to win 20 games for the first time since the 2003-2004 season, which happens to be the last time the Tigers won the Ivy League title and went to the NCAA tournament. Currently the Tigers sit in 2nd place in the Ivy League, 1 ½ games behind league leader Cornell, who are 9-1 in the Ivy League and 23-4 overall.
With the Tigers vying for their first Ivy League title in six years, Princeton travels to Ithaca, N.Y. this Friday to take on the Cornell Big Red, in a game that could decide the Ivy League title. A win for the Tigers would pull them within a ½ game behind Cornell in the Ivy League standings, though Cornell has played one more game than the Tigers so far. If Cornell were to win on Friday, the Big Red would hold a commanding lead over the Tigers and the 3rd place Harvard Crimson (7-3 in Ivy League). Cornell would be in great position to win their third Ivy League title in a row. If Princeton wants to go dancing in March, the Tigers will most likely need to win at Cornell on Friday, and to win their remaining games as well. Even if the Tigers do all that, the Tigers and Big Red would likely play a one-game playoff to decide the Ivy League champion. Considering all of this, Princeton certainly has a daunting task ahead of them if they plan on making the NCAA tournament. It all starts with the matchup at Cornell this Friday night.
The Tigers lost a heart-breaker against Cornell two weeks ago, losing 48-45 in Jadwin Gymnasium. The game was tightly-contested down to the last possessions, though Cornell led nearly the entire game. Princeton clawed back from a six point deficit at halftime to lead briefly with the score at 30-28. It was the only time the Tigers held a lead during the game. With the game tied at 34-34, Cornell scored five straight points with 4 minutes left and never relinquished the lead. The Tigers, led by sophomore Douglas Davis’ 20 points, fought back and pulled within one point with 24 seconds left. However, Cornell’s Ryan Whitman and Louis Dale hit four clutch free throws in the final minute to secure the victory as Doug Davis missed a last second three-point attempt.
Since that game, Cornell has continued their winning ways, beating Harvard 79-70 in Cambridge last Friday and defeating Dartmouth 88-70. Meanwhile, the Tigers bounced back with strong performances against Penn, winning 58-51 in Philadelphia on Tuesday, then coming back home to crush Yale 82-58 on Friday. However, a disappointing performance against Brown on Saturday led to a surprising defeat, with the Bears topping the Tigers by the score of 57-54.
This time around the Princeton Tigers need more contribution from their big men. The interior offense was nonexistent in the first Cornell game with their primary post players scoring 6 points combined. Senior Zach Finley scored 4 points, and freshman Ian Hummer added 2, but senior center Pawel Buczak was held scoreless. If the Tigers want to compete with the Cornell Big Red and their seven-foot center Jeff Foote, the Princeton post players need to be aggressive and score in the paint. The Tigers cannot rely on 3-point shooting and perimeter offense alone. This was made clear by the team’s dismal perimeter shooting in Saturday’s loss to Brown. The Tigers made 6 out of 25 3-point attempts, just 24%. Consistent and efficient scoring from interior players must be the focus of Princeton’s offensive gameplan this weekend.
On defense, the Tigers need to keep up their exceptional performance this season, ranking first in the nation in scoring defense at 52.7 points per game. Also, the Tigers lead the Ivy League with 8.0 steals per game. In order to win in Ithaca, the Tigers are going to need to be aggressive and disciplined on the defensive end. The Tigers had only 4 steals in the first matchup with Cornell, and only forced 10 turnovers. This time around, Princeton needs to show defensive intensity and use pressure and traps to force Cornell into mistakes. Coach Sydney Johnson, Princeton class of ’97, needs to vary his defensive schemes, integrating zone defenses and half-court traps to slow down this high-powered Cornell offense, which averages nearly 76 points per game. Look for junior Kareem Maddox to make contributions on the defensive end, as he has the length and athleticism at 6’7” to bother the Cornell perimeter scorers.
The Princeton Tigers have a great chance to pull the upset this Friday. Hopefully, Princeton plays up to their potential and competes with a talented Cornell team. Balanced offense, with interior and perimeter scoring, and aggressive yet disciplined defense will lead the Tigers to victory in Ithaca. With another road game at Columbia on Saturday, a weekend sweep for the Tigers will make for an exciting end to the Ivy League season. If Princeton can win these two crucial games, they finish with three home games and an excellent chance to challenge Cornell for an Ivy League title and NCAA tournament bid.
You can listen to Princeton play Cornell on WPRB 103.3 FM or online at wprb.com. Gametime is scheduled for 7:00 PM Friday with pre-game coverage starting at 6:40 PM. Also, tune in on Saturday when the Princeton Tigers take on the Columbia Lions at 7:00 PM. That game will be on WPRB 103.3 FM and wprb.com as well.