Great shooters against fantastic defense:

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Great shooters against fantastic defense: IUPUI vs. Princeton preview


Two stats to know before Monday's CBI quarterfinal clash in the Jungle:

1. Princeton is ranked No. 1 in the nation in scoring defense at 52.3 points per game.

2. Through March 14, IUPUI shot 51.1 percent, second-best in the nation.

There are of course other things to consider when sizing up Monday's game (rebounding, free throw shooting, crowd noise) but there's a good chance that the key to the game is what happens when IUPUI's good shooters try to get good looks against the Tigers stingy (and good) defense.

I almost hate to use this as an example because I'm a Kansas fan, but guess who is ranked second in the country in scoring defense... yep, Northern Iowa.

The good news for Jaguars fans is no one really has held IUPUI down offensively. The Jags have not scored fewer than 57 points all season. Princeton has held its opponent below 57 points 21 times this season.

The Tigers do have flaws. They went 21-8 this season, but let's take a closer look at that. Princeton went 11-3 in the Ivy League to finish second behind Cornell. Princeton lost both matchups to Cornell (who plays Wisconsin today in the NCAA tournament) by three points each time. The Tigers other Ivy loss was to an awful Brown team. They beat a decent Harvard team twice.

The only NCAA tournament team on Princeton's nonconference schedule was California. The Bears won that game at home by 21. Princeton did go 4-4 in nonconference road games, with the wins at St. Joseph, Central Michigan, UNC-Greensboro and Marist. The bottom line is Princeton doesn't have a win over a team that has as good as resume as IUPUI. Harvard is comparable, but not better.

While Princeton has been to 29 postseason tournaments compared to 2 for IUPUI, this group of Tigers doesn't have any postseason experience beyond last week's 65-51 win over Duquesne.

While the Tigers have never played IUPUI, they have had some luck in Indy. This was where they beat UCLA in the 1996 NCAA Tournament.

The winner of Monday's 7 p.m. game plays either Boston University or Morehead State in the CBI semifinals Wednesday.

 

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A slice of March Madness is coming to Indianapolis and it has nothing to do with the Final 4.

Seniors Robert Glenn, Jon Avery and Billy Pettiford will make at least one more appearance in their home gymnasium when IUPUI hosts Princeton at 7 p.m. Monday in the Jungle.

The Jags opened the CBI tournament with a 74-60 win at Hofstra Wednesday evening. A tad to the east Princeton took care of Duquesne 65-51. That set up the first ever meeting between IUPUI (25-10) and the Ivy League Tigers (21-8).

After a crowd of 665 showed up at Princeton's game (only 952 were at Hofstra last night), the CBI officials probably thought they could do a little better with the game in Indy. Fans are encouraged to wear black and well, show up.

"I hope our students come out in full force and have this place rocking," said IUPUI coach Ron Hunter.

Students can get in free with a Jaguar ID, and all other tickets are $10. Season ticket holders can have their regular seats if they order by Noon Monday. Do note if you buy tickets at the Jungle Monday night, you must pay with cash.

In post-game comments, Hunter seemed fairly pleased by his team's efforts Wednesday. Let's take a look-see:

"I'm happy for my guys. We came out and threw the first punch and that's what you've got to do to get road wins. This was big for us and big for our campus."

"I don't think we fully understand how big this is. We're still playing right now and a lot of teams are at home watching. I want my guys to enjoy this win tonight and then we go back to work and start preparing to win on Monday."

"I liked that we were able to get to the free throw line and capitalize on those opportunities. Especially Rob, they had no answer for him on the inside."

Glenn made 14 of 17 free throws and the team was 28 for 35. From the field, the Jags shot 42 percent compared to 36 for Hofstra. They also won the steal war, 11 to 5.

From his comments, it appears at least the coaches are embracing the importance of the postseason, even if it's not the NCAA or NIT. We'll see Monday if fans are getting into it as well.