Thanks to a weekend sweep of Penn, the Princeton men’s and women’s basketball programs both won Ivy League titles this weekend, meaning that two more banners will soon be added to the crowded rafters at Jadwin Gym. Here are four takeaways from Princeton’s historic basketball weekend:
1. Back-to-back titles
Princeton’s double-banner weekend means that both the men’s and women’s programs have now won back-to-back regular-season championships over the same two-year span for the first time in the history of the university.
How historic is Princeton basketball’s current run? The women’s program’s shared title with Columbia continues a streak of titles for an astounding sixth straight season, the longest such streak in program history. The men’s shared title with Yale gives the program their first back-to-back league titles since the late 1990s.
We are truly experiencing a golden age of Princeton basketball. And all of this is taking place during a time of unparalleled parity among league programs on both the women’s and men’s sides.
2. The Tigers own Penn
With the dual weekend wins over Penn, the Princeton basketball program as a whole has now won a combined 18 straight games over their rivals from West Philadelphia (10 straight wins for the women’s program and eight straight for the men’s). Penn will have a chance to break both streaks this weekend in the first round of Ivy Madness as Princeton and Penn will meet each other in the semifinal round in both the men’s and women’s brackets. Will either Penn squad succeed in breaking the Princeton curse when it invades Jadwin next weekend? Don’t bet on it.
3. Comeback kids
Both the men’s and women’s teams trailed at half this weekend and both needed second-half rallies to overcome the determined Red & Blue. The men’s comeback was one for the ages as the Tigers rallied from a 19-point deficit to overcome Penn in overtime on Senior Day at Jadwin Gym. The title-clinching win flipped the script from Princeton’s epic collapse at home to Yale on February 18, which also went to overtime and also involved a 19-point second-half comeback. The grit and determination required to prevail under such challenging circumstances shows that both Princeton programs are nothing if not resilient.
4. Vindication and revenge
In different ways, the dual titles provide a measure of vindication for Princeton basketball. For the women, the title run shows the world that the era of Princeton’s domination in the league is not over.
Many were willing to write off the Princeton women after they dropped their first two contests of the conference season to Harvard and Columbia. Suddenly, pundits began to talk about a new order in the Ivy League with Columbia ascending and Princeton fading.
But the Tigers were having none of that. They have now won 13 straight games, including revenge wins over Harvard and at Columbia. They will be gunning for more revenge when the curtain rises on Ivy Madness on Friday at Jadwin Gym. The prospect of a tournament championship game for the ages looms as Columbia and Princeton seem destined to clash in a rubber match for Ivy League supremacy. The urge to prove that the reports of their demise have been exaggerated will provide extra motivation as the Tigers look to defend their stranglehold on Ivy hoops this coming weekend.
For the men, the yearning for vindication burns even deeper. The Tigers believe they spoiled a glorious regular season title run last season by failing to nail down the NCAA bid when they lost to Yale in the Ivy League Tournament championship game a year ago.
The Tigers have been stewing on that disappointment for the past 12 months, yet they may have a chance to turn the tables on the No. 1-seeded Bulldogs when March Madness reconvenes next weekend on Princeton’s home court. Assuming both Princeton and Yale survive their semifinal bouts (they will), hoops fans will be treated to an intense nationally televised championship rematch. And revenge will be very much on the minds of everyone associated with Princeton basketball.
A golden age of Princeton men’s basketball with only one Big Dance appearance in twelve years? Sounds like someone’s resigned to being Yale’s doormat.