When the men's basketball team (13-12 overall, 4-7 Ivy League) visited Dartmouth and Harvard on the first weekend in February, it had been four years since it suffered a loss to either opponent.
Things have most certainly changed. When the Big Green (10-15, 7-5) and the Crimson (12-13, 7-5) come to Jadwin Gym this weekend, they will be looking to sweep their season series against the Tigers and to snap a Princeton streak that has long terrorized them both.
In order to avoid finishing their Ivy League season with a losing record for the first time in team history, the Tigers must win all three of their remaining contests, including games this Friday and Saturday night against Harvard and Dartmouth, respectively.
Meanwhile, as if the chance to make history was not enough, the Crimson and the Big Green will be even more eager for wins this weekend because the two teams are tied, along with Cornell, for second place in the league heading into the final two games of their seasons.
Princeton has won three of its four league games against Ivy bottom-feeders Brown and Columbia, and this weekend will provide an opportunity to pick up quality conference wins and confidence for next season.
It was during the two losses to Dartmouth and Harvard earlier in the season that the Tigers' confidence, especially in their ability to close out games, began to be shaken. Princeton followed a 50-42 Friday night loss to the Big Green, in which Dartmouth scored 18 of the game's final 19 points, with a 61-57 defeat on Saturday night at the hands of the Crimson, who pulled away in the final five minutes of the game.
Harvard's win was contingent on the strong second-half performance of team leader and center Brian Cusworth, who scored seven of his 10 points during a key 10-2 Crimson run late in the game. Cusworth averages 14 points, 8.9 rebounds and a league-leading 2.1 blocks per game, shooting 48.9 percent from the floor in the process. Cusworth and forward Matt Stehle, who averages 13.9 points and an Ivy-best nine rebounds per game, form the league's best front-court duo.
The Tigers' interior defense, which has been porous at times this season, will have to be at its best for Princeton to have a chance against a Harvard offense that is second only to Penn in scoring, at an average of 68 points per game.
Long-range threats
Against the Big Green, on the other hand, the Tigers can expect the game to be decided beyond the three-point arc and by the battle between the teams' perimeter players. Dartmouth's leading scorer, at 12 points per game, is Mike Lang, a guard who comes off the bench to provide instant offense, shooting 43 percent from behind the three-point line.
Along with starting guard Michael McLaren, who capitalizes on 44 percent of his shots from beyond the arc, Lang heads a Big Green squad that, at a 38.5 percent clip, leads the Ivy League in three-point percentage.
But Princeton, too, has a pair of players who are quickly developing into two of the league's most feared marksmen. In conference play, sophomore forward Luke Owings and junior guard Scott Greenman are the two hottest three-point shooters, connecting on 65.2 percent and 56.4 percent of their long-range shots, respectively.
With the contributions from Owings and Greenman, the Tigers not only lead the Ivy League in three-point percentage, at 42.2 percent, but also in overall field-goal percentage as well, at 47.5 percent. If the game turns into a shootout, Princeton has good reason to believe it can hold its own against Dartmouth.
At the same time, though, the Tigers had similar confidence at the beginning of the season about their ability to cruise to a second-straight league title. Princeton's rich basketball history played some part in those lofty expectations. A human reminder of that history will be present Saturday night when the 1965 Tiger team that made the Final Four will be honored in a halftime ceremony, 40 years after its remarkable achievement.
It is unlikely that the current Princeton players need any further evidence of the significance of the streak they will be playing this weekend to preserve.
Things have most certainly changed. When the Big Green (10-15, 7-5) and the Crimson (12-13, 7-5) come to Jadwin Gym this weekend, they will be looking to sweep their season series against the Tigers and to snap a Princeton streak that has long terrorized them both.
In order to avoid finishing their Ivy League season with a losing record for the first time in team history, the Tigers must win all three of their remaining contests, including games this Friday and Saturday night against Harvard and Dartmouth, respectively.
Meanwhile, as if the chance to make history was not enough, the Crimson and the Big Green will be even more eager for wins this weekend because the two teams are tied, along with Cornell, for second place in the league heading into the final two games of their seasons.
Princeton has won three of its four league games against Ivy bottom-feeders Brown and Columbia, and this weekend will provide an opportunity to pick up quality conference wins and confidence for next season.
It was during the two losses to Dartmouth and Harvard earlier in the season that the Tigers' confidence, especially in their ability to close out games, began to be shaken. Princeton followed a 50-42 Friday night loss to the Big Green, in which Dartmouth scored 18 of the game's final 19 points, with a 61-57 defeat on Saturday night at the hands of the Crimson, who pulled away in the final five minutes of the game.
Harvard's win was contingent on the strong second-half performance of team leader and center Brian Cusworth, who scored seven of his 10 points during a key 10-2 Crimson run late in the game. Cusworth averages 14 points, 8.9 rebounds and a league-leading 2.1 blocks per game, shooting 48.9 percent from the floor in the process. Cusworth and forward Matt Stehle, who averages 13.9 points and an Ivy-best nine rebounds per game, form the league's best front-court duo.
The Tigers' interior defense, which has been porous at times this season, will have to be at its best for Princeton to have a chance against a Harvard offense that is second only to Penn in scoring, at an average of 68 points per game.
Long-range threats
Against the Big Green, on the other hand, the Tigers can expect the game to be decided beyond the three-point arc and by the battle between the teams' perimeter players. Dartmouth's leading scorer, at 12 points per game, is Mike Lang, a guard who comes off the bench to provide instant offense, shooting 43 percent from behind the three-point line.
Along with starting guard Michael McLaren, who capitalizes on 44 percent of his shots from beyond the arc, Lang heads a Big Green squad that, at a 38.5 percent clip, leads the Ivy League in three-point percentage.
But Princeton, too, has a pair of players who are quickly developing into two of the league's most feared marksmen. In conference play, sophomore forward Luke Owings and junior guard Scott Greenman are the two hottest three-point shooters, connecting on 65.2 percent and 56.4 percent of their long-range shots, respectively.
With the contributions from Owings and Greenman, the Tigers not only lead the Ivy League in three-point percentage, at 42.2 percent, but also in overall field-goal percentage as well, at 47.5 percent. If the game turns into a shootout, Princeton has good reason to believe it can hold its own against Dartmouth.
At the same time, though, the Tigers had similar confidence at the beginning of the season about their ability to cruise to a second-straight league title. Princeton's rich basketball history played some part in those lofty expectations. A human reminder of that history will be present Saturday night when the 1965 Tiger team that made the Final Four will be honored in a halftime ceremony, 40 years after its remarkable achievement.
It is unlikely that the current Princeton players need any further evidence of the significance of the streak they will be playing this weekend to preserve.
