For the fourth season in a row, the Princeton Tigers men’s basketball team has raced out to a 3-0 start in the Ivy League. As a result, the Tigers currently stand alone atop the conference standings. Here are three observations about how the Tigers have managed to put themselves in the driver’s seat yet again in their quest to repeat as regular season champions:
1. The magic number remains 70.
As I noted in a previous column reflecting on each team’s performance during the pre-conference season, the magic number for Princeton’s defense is 70 points. In every one of their 16 games, the Tigers have won or lost depending on whether they were able to hold their opponents to 70 or fewer points. They’re 12-0 when they do and 0-4 and when they don’t.
The Tigers’ ability to defend that 70-point threshold was tested severely Saturday night in Ithaca as the Tigers were tasked with suppressing Cornell’s high-octane offense. Brian Earl’s team came into the contest averaging more than 83 points per game, best in the Ivy League and No. 12 in the nation. Nevertheless, the Tigers held Cornell to only 68 points and were rewarded with a huge 75-68 road win against their new rival.
In postgame comments, Earl credited Princeton’s tenacious defense with slowing down the Big Red juggernaut, but to my eyes, there was another factor at play. The Tigers simply knocked down shots, which reduced the opportunities for the Big Red to turn defensive rebounds into offensive run-outs, a Cornell specialty. Overall, Princeton shot 24-for-49 from the field (49%), its highest shooting percentage in a game since losing to Iona on December 13. And when Princeton did miss, a Tiger often corralled the rebound, as Princeton hauled in nine big offensive boards. Thus, Cornell’s not so stingy defense was every bit as responsible as was its offense for the Big Red’s inability to control the tempo of the game.
2. Princeton is winning the battle of the boards.
Princeton is usually thought of as an efficient offensive machine. Indeed, the Tigers have been excellent with the ball this year, averaging more than 75 points per game, second-best among Ivy teams. But the Tigers have been putting themselves in a position to win games by playing solid defense and protecting the defensive glass.
The Tigers lead all Ivy teams in rebounding (yes, that includes Yale) by averaging more than 40 boards per game, good enough for 20th-best in the nation. While no one is surprised to see Tosan Evbuomwan excelling in this category (he leads the team with 6.3 rebounds per game), the real revelation has been the play of rookie sensation Caden Pierce, who at 6-foot-6 has been every bit as dominant on the boards as Evbuomwan. Pierce is pulling down 6.1 rebounds per game, which ranks seventh in the Ivy League. In the big win against Cornell on Saturday night, Pierce grabbed 11 boards, more than all of Cornell’s starting lineup combined.
3. Mitch Henderson is pushing all the right buttons.
In his 12th year at Princeton’s helm, Mitch Henderson may be turning in his best year of coaching yet. Henderson has masterfully blended a talented cadre of freshmen with an experienced core of upperclassmen. The results were on full display on Saturday in Ithaca. Henderson gave freshman guard Deven Austin extended minutes and the move paid off. The rookie swingman exploded for 16 points off the bench, a career high, on 6-for-6 shooting, including two clutch three-pointers down the stretch.
Henderson also has managed his veterans with alacrity, using Evbuomwan, a generational talent, in a way that perfectly suits his abilities. Another coach might be tempted to post the 2021-22 Ivy Player of the Year down low more regularly. But Henderson often deploys the 6-foot-8 forward in the role of a point guard, where the Newcastle, England native can survey the defense and distribute the ball to other playmakers. Evbuomwan is flourishing as an all-purpose player, leading the team in scoring, assists and rebounding.
Many of us were surprised when Henderson didn’t win the Ivy League Coach of the Year award a season ago despite Princeton exceeding expectations in winning an outright regular season championship. Although it’s still anyone’s guess who might win the title this season, Henderson has made a compelling case for Coach of the Year so far.