With three members of his team getting up extra shots on the main court, Tigers head coach Mitch Henderson and princetonbasketball.com editor Jon Solomon sat in the stands at Jadwin Gym this afternoon to record a conversation.
Henderson and Solomon reviewed a pair of very close games, one that ended in a win at Rutgers and one that ended in a loss at Drexel. After discussing the difference between those two results, they also previewed this week's contests at Rider and Northeastern and assessed Princeton through 10 games.
This exclusive Q&A is 10:00+ in length.
If you have questions for future interviews, please feel free to send them here.
I had such a good time putting together Rutgers: Past, Present, Future last week that I decided to dig into the archives once more and pull up what I wrote the prior two times Princeton played Rider. This home and home series took place in 2001 and 2002. Full recaps of both contests can be found after the jump.
Next up on Princeton's seemingly endless road trip is the shortest distance they could travel to face another Division I opponent. The Tigers make their initial visit to the Broncs' Zoo on Wednesday. In advance of the first meeting between these two schools since 2002, I exchanged emails with college basketball writer Kyle Franko from the Trentonian for the newest edition of Know! Your! Foe!.
If you cover a team the Tigers will face down the line, let us know. It would be great to talk with you.
The Princeton athletic department was prescient enough to read my mind and send plus/minus numbers on each of the Tigers through Saturday's game at Drexel.
This chart shows the number of minutes played across the first 10 games this season and the difference in points scored by Princeton while each player was on the floor versus points allowed by the Tigers during the same span.
I've also broken down +/- per 40 minutes for all players who have seen at least 100 minutes of action and added Net/40 numbers ("Roland Rate") with inspiration from Hoya Prospectus.
Something to watch on Wednesday: Rider big man Junior Fortunat has been cleared by the NCAA to play. He scored two points in his collegiate debut at Florida on Friday.
The John Thompson III foundation is hosting a book drive at the Verizon Center on Saturday when Georgetown hosts American. Bring a children's book to help the Septima Clark Public Charter School build a library.
No games today. Look for a +/- analysis of the Tigers through 10 games on the site later this afternoon.
Around the Ivy League: Sean McGonagill scored 27 as Brown (5-7) beat Central Connecticut State, 90-80. Columbia (7-4) heads into their exam break winners of seven straight. The Lions defeated LIU by 10. Harvard (9-1) responded from their only loss this season with a 76-52 win at Boston University. Penn (5-6) fell 77-73 at UCLA. Notre Dame scored 36 points in the paint as they bested Dartmouth (2-6) by 18.
The line between winning and losing is on some occasions a tightrope walk.
On Wednesday night at the RAC, Princeton was able to keep their balance in the final two minutes after Rutgers had taken a one point lead.
Three days later at the DAC in Philadelphia, the Tigers slipped during the same stretch and it was Drexel who emerged victorious.
The Dragons went 10-10 from the free throw line in the final :33 after Princeton had rallied to go up one and Drexel held on for a 64-60 victory, ending the Tigers’ winning streak at three.
“I knew it was going to come down to the wire and it would hinge on a couple possessions and it did,” acknowledged Princeton head coach Mitch Henderson.
Today's Game:Princeton (4-5 / 0-0) vs. Drexel (2-4 / 0-1) Location: The DAC - Philadelphia, PA Time: 4:00 pm ET Radio: 103.3 fm WPRB TV:DUTV Internet: goprincetontigers.com Series History: Princeton leads 8-1. Last meeting:Drexel 54 Princeton 41 - 11/14/05
Princeton
Drexel
2-2
Home Record
0-0
1-2
Away Record
1-2
1-1
Neutral Record
1-2
191
RPI
197
197
Sagarin
172
145
Pomeroy
104
59.7
Points / Game
58.0
58.3
Points Allowed / Game
58.3
.401
FG%
.382
.613
FT%
.670
.317
3PT FG%
.295
34.0
Rebounds / Game
36.8
10.6
Off. Rebounds / Game
12.0
-0.2
Rebounding Margin
+3.0
13.9
Assists / Game
10.3
14.1
Turnovers / Game
12.7
3.6
Blocks / Game
2.3
Hummer: 17.4
Points
Massenat: 14.7
Hummer: 8.2
Rebounds
Givens: 6.8
Bray: 3.6
Assists
Massenat: 3.3
Hummer, Bray: 1.4
Steals
Thomas: 1.0
Hummer: 0.9
Blocks
Givens: 0.7
Koon: .621
FG% (Min: 10 FGM)
Givens: .460
Davis: .846
FT% (Min: 10 FTM)
Givens .667
Davis: .407
3PT FG% (Min: 10 3PTM)
Massenat: .435
Georgetown vs. Howard - 12:00 pm ET - MASN
MCCC vs. Burlington - 2:00 pm ET
Central Connecticut State vs. Brown - 2:00 pm ET
Long Island vs. Columbia - 2:00 pm ET
Harvard vs. Boston University - 4:00 pm ET - NESN
Penn vs. UCLA - 7:00 pm ET - Fox Sports West
Dartmouth vs. Notre Dame - 7:30 pm ET - ESPN3
The relationship between Ian Hummer and his father Ed is the subject of this lengthy profile. I love how the senior Hummer's wish for his son is that he "sort of be considered Butch's last player."
Despite going without a field goal for the game's final 12 minutes, Fairfield (6-4) held off Old Dominion, 59-51.
It was a three point game midway through the second half, but VCU finished on a 25-6 run to easily vanquish Richmond (6-3).
Oregon State (6-2) saw their home vandalized by Idaho, 74-60.
Returning to action after a week off, Georgetown hosts Howard.
Richmond vs. VCU - 8:00 pm ET - ESPN2
Fairfield vs. Old Dominion - 9:00 pm ET - Basketball Hall Of Fame - SNY
Idaho vs. Oregon State - 10:00 pm ET - Root Sports
Princeton sits in 10th place in the latest Big Apple Buckets power poll. I had the Tigers slotted eighth on my ballot, ahead of Rutgers and behind St. John's.
A few super photos from the Tigers' win over Lafayette for you to review.
Mercer (1-10) dropped a 72-60 decision at Essex.
Three branches of the Carril Cradle are in action tonight, and all their games are on TV. Be prepared to flip channels frequently.
Richmond plays their annual Black & Blue Classic game at VCU. Chris Mooney passed on multiple opportunities to stay with the Spiders.
As part of a Hall of Fame Holiday Showcase quadrupleheader, Fairfield meets ODU.
Around the Ivy League: Zack Rosen scored 29 as Penn (5-5) held off Delaware. Yale (7-2) won their fifth straight, 76-59 over Bryant. New Hampshire topped Brown (4-7) by 13.
The start to Princeton’s 31 day road trip was in serious jeopardy of running off the pavement before they even crossed state lines. Their 17 point lead gone, Rutgers in front for the first time all night with 1:38 left in the second half and a frequently silent crowd now up on their feet, the Tigers regained control of the wheel - scoring on their final three possessions and escaping the RAC with a two point victory.
That final pair came on Ian Hummer’s left-handed floater in the lane with :02.7 to go. Hummer was able to post at the tail end of a play that did not flow exactly as scripted and snake under Austin Johnson to push up the game-winner.
“We wanted to get the ball to Ian on the block and give him a little bit of room to operate,” Princeton head coach Mitch Henderson said. “We’ve had some success for that play. They didn’t double and it turned out nicely for us.”
Jerome Seagears’ attempt from mid-court did not make it to the rim as time expired.
Hummer finished with 21 points on 7-15 shooting from the floor and a season-best 7-9 performance at the free throw line. He added eight rebounds, five assists and a pair of blocks.
Douglas Davis hit five times from three point range and was 3-4 behind the arc in the second half.
Denton Koon provided 10 points off the bench, making all five of his field goals.
The Tigers led 51-35 with 6:47 to go but four minutes later the scoreboard was even.
Eli Carter’s 17 paced the Scarlet Knights in defeat.
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
