New Year's Eve News:

December 31, 2012 at 10:28 am
Filed under Basketball, Denver, Oregon State, Princeton, Today's News, Video

Denver vs. Texas-Arlington - 3:00 pm ET
Texas-Pan American vs. Oregon State - 5:00 pm ET - Pac-12 Network

Dartmouth vs. Boston College - 2:00 pm ET - ESPN3
Brown vs. Albany - 4:00 pm ET
Harvard vs. St. Mary's - 8:00 pm ET - ESPN2

In addition to our recap, read about Princeton's tight loss at Akron on goprincetontigers.com in the Plain Dealer, in the Beacon Journal on MAC Report and on gozips.com.

Today Denver visits UT-Arlington and Oregon State hosts UT-Pan American in the Beavers' final non-conference tilt of 2012.

Around the Ivy League: Cornell (6-8) held off Binghamton by two. Yale (4-9) fell 78-62 at St. Mary's.

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Akron 62 Princeton 58.

December 30, 2012 at 9:05 pm
Filed under 12-13, Audio, Basketball, Princeton, Video

Box Score : HD Box Score

7'0" center Zeke Marshall was a perfect seven-for-seven from the floor including a 16' jump hook from outside his comfort zone to beat the shot clock buzzer with 1:35 left in regulation that inched his team up three as Akron closed on a 7-2 run to trip Princeton and stay unblemished at the James A. Rhodes Arena.

In a second half that saw the Zips lead by as many as six and Princeton fight back to take a 56-55 edge on a Hans Brase step-in jumper with 3:33 showing, the Tigers could not get the singular play that might have altered the result.

“The story of the night really was we could not stop them inside, which was disappointing because I think that’s going to be a strength of ours,” said head coach Mitch Henderson about a game where Akron got 48 of their points in the lane. “With a minute left we can’t do what we did tonight putting them on the line without giving ourselves an opportunity to win the game.”

An off-balance tying try from Clay Wilson behind an Ian Hummer screen caught part of the rim but did not come particularly close with three seconds remaining and a Marshall free throw provided the final margin.

Denton Koon was the recipient of myriad Hummer feeds on his way to 16 points. Hummer had 13 on 5-13 shooting, nine rebounds, seven dimes and six turnovers.

Hans Brase reached double digits in his third consecutive start, adding 10.

Marshall's 17 were complimented by 16 for the Zips' Nick Harney.

Postgame audio from Mitch Henderson and the rest of this recap can be found after the jump.

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Sunday News:

December 30, 2012 at 9:18 am
Filed under Basketball, Denver, Fairfield, Oregon State, Princeton, Recruiting, Richmond, Today's News

Today's Game: Princeton (5-6 / 0-0) vs. Akron (7-4 / 0-0)
Location: James A. Rhodes Arena - Akron, OH
Time: 7:00 pm ET
Radio: 103.3 fm WPRB
TV: N/A
Internet: goprincetontigers.com
Series History: This is the first meeting between the two schools.
Last meeting: This is the first meeting between the two schools.

Cornell vs. Binghamton - 2:00 pm ET - Time Warner Sports
Yale vs. St. Mary's - 5:30 pm ET

There was good conversation in the forum for the Rider game (21 comments) and great conversation for the Bucknell game (36 posts). I'll be providing live updates and commentary here for tonight's contest at Akron. You must be subscribed and logged in to participate. See you there!

You should be able to simultaneously stream video of tonight's tilt for free here.

A few things you should know about the Zips in advance of the opening tip:

1. They're an impressive 109-17 at home the previous nine seasons, including a perfect 5-0 mark this year.

2. In addition to a Top 100 defense, Akron also has the 26th most efficient offense. They shoot the ball very well inside the arc (53.4%) and grab 38.0% of all available offensive rebounds.

3. A lot of that has to do with two players - 7'0" senior center Zeke Marshall and junior forward Demetrius "Tree" Treadwell. Marshall - who averages 13.0 points, 6.6 rebounds and 4.0 blocks - is in the Top 10 nationally in three categories: Block Percentage (15.8 - 8th), Fouls Drawn (7.7 - 7th) and FT Rate (122.7 - 2nd). In Treadwell's last two games he had 15/8 in 23 minutes versus Cleveland State and 18/10 in 22 minutes versus Texas Southern.

4. Akron's best win is over #40 Middle Tennessee in OT at home. Three of their four losses are against Top 100 teams - #96 Detroit, #15 Creighton and to #17 Oklahoma State in OT, a game they let get away at the end of regulation.

5. This game poses a significantly more difficult challenge than Princeton's visits to fellow MAC East foes Buffalo (#166) and Kent State (#137).

I don't believe I've run this piece on Princeton recruit Henry Caruso before.

Future Tiger Steven Cook had another double-double at the Proviso West Holiday Tournament.

A jumper by Towson's Marcus Damas with less than a second remaining in overtime gave the Tigers a one point victory at Oregon State (9-3). The Beavers' apparent game-winning layup at the buzzer was waved off due to an offensive foul.

Down 23 at halftime, Richmond (9-5) rallied to even their game with Davidson but were outscored 9-3 in the contest's final two minutes.

Trailing by 10 with eight minutes left, Fairfield (9-5) closed on a 15-4 run to win their fifth straight. The final was 55-54 Stags at Old Dominion.

Denver (4-7) lost 68-60 in the WAC opener at Louisiana Tech.

Around the Ivy League: Columbia (6-5) made 12 threes in a 69-58 win over Manhattan. Penn (2-9) dropped a 68-63 overtime decision at Wagner. Harvard (7-4) pulled off a 67-62 victory at Cal behind 19 points from Laurent Rivard.

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Saturday News:

December 29, 2012 at 10:08 am
Filed under Basketball, Denver, Fairfield, Oregon State, Princeton, Recruiting, Today's News

Towson vs. Oregon State - 4:00 pm ET - Pac-12 Network
Davidson vs. Richmond - 6:00 pm ET
Fairfield vs. Old Dominion - 7:00 pm ET
Denver vs. Louisiana Tech - 8:00 pm ET - Altitude

Manhattan vs. Columbia - 4:00 pm ET
Penn vs. Wagner - 4:00 pm ET
Harvard vs. Cal - 8:00 pm ET - Pac-12 Network

Princeton recruit Steven Cook had 26 for New Trier at the Proviso West Holiday Tournament. Watch Cook with a backdoor dunk here.

It appears Pitt sophomore center Malcolm Gilbert will be joining his brother Marcus at Fairfield.

Today Oregon State hosts Towson, Richmond welcomes Davidson, Fairfield visits ODU and Denver opens conference play at Louisiana Tech.

Now we know why five Penn players were suspended for the Quakers' prior contest.

Around the Ivy League: Brown (4-6) beat Providence at the Pizzitola Sports Center by one. Trailing 67-60 with :55 to go, the Bears hit three straight three pointers, including a shot from Tucker Halpern with just over seven ticks remaining to give his team the lead to stay. Cornell (5-8) discarded winless St. Francis (Pa.), 79-67. Yale (4-8) lost 85-75 at Nevada.

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Coach Mitch Henderson - 12/28/12.

December 28, 2012 at 2:08 pm
Filed under Basketball, Coach Henderson Interview, Princeton

With a constant flow of players streaming into Jadwin Gym for an afternoon practice in the background, Princeton head coach Mitch Henderson and princetonbasketball.com editor Jon Solomon recorded their final interview of 2012.

Henderson and Solomon reviewed Princeton's two good back-to-back performances against Rider and Bucknell in detail before previewing the Tigers' difficult trip to Akron.

It is one of the better conversations between the pair this season.

This exclusive Q&A available after the jump is 13:00+ in length. You can catch up on all of this season's discussions here.

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Friday News:

December 28, 2012 at 9:28 am
Filed under Basketball, Princeton, Recruiting, Today's News

Providence vs. Brown - 7:00 pm ET - NBCSN
Cornell vs. St. Francis (Pa.) - 7:00 pm ET
Yale vs. Nevada - 7:00 pm ET

Kareem Maddox found his way onto his fourth BBL Team of the Week.

Princeton recruit Spencer Weisz crowded the stat sheet in a recent Seton Hall Prep victory.

Akron is the Tigers' next opponent and the Zips won their third straight, moving them into Ken Pomeroy's Top 50.

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Thursday News:

December 27, 2012 at 8:58 am
Filed under Basketball, Princeton, Recruiting, Today's News

Hans Brase was named Ivy League Rookie of the Week while Ian Hummer nabbed his third straight Ivy League Player of the Week honor, the second consecutive solo honor for the Tiger senior.

Good to see confirmation that Hashim Moore and Pete Miller were accepted to Princeton.

You can watch full games featuring future Tigers Henry Caruso and Serra or Steven Cook and New Trier. If you make it through either, please report back on what you saw!

I hope you had a merry Christmas and enjoyed a brief break!

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Christmas Eve News:

December 24, 2012 at 10:38 am
Filed under Basketball, Northwestern, Pete Carril, Princeton, Today's News, Video

Northwestern (9-4) hit 13 three pointers in a 63-43 victory over Brown (3-6).

Here's a fan's take of Princeton's triumph over Bucknell.

I assume the Pete Carril Jr. on the Lawrenceville School's coaching staff is some relation?

Site traffic will be slow the next few days with games and content resuming on Friday, but you can catch me on 103.3 fm WPRB from 6:00 pm ET tonight until 6:00 pm ET tomorrow for my 24th annual 24-Hour Holiday Radio Show.

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Sunday News:

December 23, 2012 at 10:18 am
Filed under Basketball, Fairfield, Georgetown, MCCC, Northwestern, Oregon State, Princeton, Recruiting, Richmond, Today's News

Brown vs. Northwestern - 1:30 pm ET - BTN.com

In addition to our recap, read about Princeton's second straight win on goprincetontigers.com, in the Trentonian, in the Trenton Times, in the Patriot-News and on bucknellbison.com.

Otto Porter had a double-double as Georgetown (10-1) beat American, 65-48.

A fourth consecutive Fairfield (8-5) victory was an impressive one. The Stags pulled off a 60-57 win at St. Joe's. Derek Needham hit a late three pointer to put Sydney Johnson's team in front to stay with :16 left.

Mercer (11-3) kept rolling with an 81-58 win over Bronx. Mustafa El-Amin scored 19 for the Vikings, who won their sixth straight.

Sherrod Wright hit a three pointer as time expired to give George Mason a 67-64 victory over Richmond (9-4). The Spiders held a lead until the game's final 1:33.

Oregon State (9-2) won their fifth straight, topping San Diego in Las Vegas by seven.

Before action pauses across the board for Christmas, Northwestern still has to host Brown.

Not even vomiting at halftime could slow Princeton recruit Steven Cook.

Future Tiger Amir Bell was named the GMC Hoops Player of the Week.

A junior from upstate New York says he has interest from the Tigers among other programs.

Around the Ivy League: Dartmouth (2-8) lost 79-66 at Bryant. A late 11-0 run got Boston University past Cornell (4-8). Harvard (6-4) defeated Holy Cross, 72-65. A late three pointer provided Elon a two point margin of victory at Columbia (5-5).

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Bucknell pictures.

December 23, 2012 at 12:33 am
Filed under Basketball, Brian Earl, Howie Levy, Kevin Mullin, Photos, Princeton, Stephen Goldsmith, Steve Mills

An assortment of super photos from today's game courtesy Stephen Goldsmith.

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Princeton 79 Bucknell 67.

December 22, 2012 at 9:30 pm
Filed under 12-13, Audio, Basketball, Princeton

Box Score : HD Box Score

Christmas came a few days early for Ian Hummer, who got what he wanted since the very start of the season - a full 40 minute performance for his team.

All five Princeton starters scored in double figures as the Tigers knocked off Bucknell at Jadwin Gym.

It took an effort from the top to the bottom of the rotation to best a squad who came in with an 11-1 record and were firmly in the Top 50 of all reputable rankings.

Princeton scored on seven straight second half possessions - including four three pointers - to turn a four point edge into a 62-47 advantage with 5:57 remaining.

To close out the game the Tigers made 13 straight at the line before Brendan Connolly's miss was accidentally tipped in by Hans Brase and a battling Bucknell defender.

Hummer had 17 points, Denton Koon matched him with a career high, Brase followed up a sensational first start with 14 despite serious foul trouble, T.J. Bray added 11 plus eight assists versus zero turnovers and Mack Darrow starting in place of the injured Will Barrett totaled 10.

Mike Muscala's 17 points and 11 rebounds paced the Bison in defeat but his touches were severely limited.

A full recap plus postgame audio from Mitch Henderson, Denton Koon & Ian Hummer can be found after the jump.

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Saturday News:

December 22, 2012 at 9:28 am
Filed under Basketball, Denver, Fairfield, Georgetown, Northwestern, Oregon State, Princeton, Richmond, Today's News

Today's Game: Bucknell (11-1 / 0-0) vs. Princeton (4-6 / 0-0)
Location: Jadwin Gym - Princeton, NJ
Time: 7:00 pm ET
Radio: 103.3 fm WPRB
TV: N/A
Internet: goprincetontigers.com
Series History: Princeton leads 10-4.
Last meeting: Bucknell 62 Princeton 56 - 11/25/11.

American vs. Georgetown - 12:00 pm ET - ESPN+
Fairfield vs. St. Joe's - 2:00 pm ET
MCCC vs. Bronx - 3:00 pm ET
George Mason vs. Richmond - 3:00 pm ET - Governor's Holiday Hoops Classic
San Diego vs. Oregon State - 9:00 pm ET - Pac-12 Network

Dartmouth vs. Bryant - 1:00 pm ET
Cornell vs. Boston University - 1:00 pm ET
Holy Cross vs. Harvard - 2:00 pm ET
Elon vs. Columbia - 4:00 pm ET

There was some great conversation in the forum for the Rider game. Keep it going tonight when the Tigers face Bucknell!

Four notes on the Bison in lieu of a proper preview:

1. 6'11" senior center Mike Muscala is a special player who shoots the ball well both inside and out, plus draws 6.8 fouls/40 minutes. He's going to be a difficult assignment for all three (four?) Princeton big men who might check him defensively.

2. Bucknell may be the worst team in the nation in forcing turnovers and second-worst in creating steals but teams are shooting a very poor 41.5% from the floor against them. The Bison also protect the offensive glass exceptionally well. Their opponents' possessions usually end with a miss more than any other outcome.

3. As a team, Bucknell rarely turns the ball over and is very good at the line (76.6%). Too much attention to Muscala then opens the floor for a squad shooting 37.0% from deep. There's a reason the Bison are 11-1.

4. Notable victories include triumphs over #65 Purdue on the road, #91 George Mason at home, #103 New Mexico State on a neutral floor and #66 La Salle at home. I still don't understand how Bucknell lost to #192 Penn State in State College after the Nittany Lions lost guard Tim Frazier for the season.

The Hans Brase gamble paid off for Princeton in the Tigers' last contest.

There's a piece on the Rider game on the Mid-Majority.

Rush The Court checks in on the Ivy League.

Stanford edged Northwestern (8-4) by two in Evanston. After falling down 18 the Wildcats rallied on more than one occasion but both times they pulled even in the second half the Cardinal hit a three. A potentially tying runner and tip follow in the waning seconds did not drop for Bill Carmody's team.

Denver (4-6) easily handled Southern Utah, 72-47.

Games throughout the day begin with Georgetown hosting American, Fairfield visiting St. Joe's, Richmond and George Mason meeting at the Richmond Coliseum and finally Oregon State testing out the new home of the Pac-12 Tournament in Las Vegas by playing San Diego.

Around the Ivy League: Playing without three starters and five players total who were all suspended for a violation of team rules, Penn (2-8) lost for a second time this season to Delaware. On this occasion the final was 83-60.

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