BOSTON – Uneasy is the head that wears the crown.
Angry, however, is the head that had their crown taken from them in an unexpected March upset.
The Princeton men’s basketball team knows it’s a long way to March. The Tigers are well aware that being the unanimous pick to repeat as Ivy League regular season champs (Brown technically got one vote, but Princeton could not vote for itself) guarantees nothing.
So what to do? Well, finding teams that want to take on a dangerous mid-major in nonconference play is always fun (talk to James Jones), but the first objective for Princeton is to find good opportunities to grow.
Mission accomplished thus far. Princeton had to come from behind in the final minute for the second time in three games, holding off Northeastern 79-76 to move to 3-0 Sunday afternoon at Matthews Arena.
“I think the way last year ended is helping us,” Princeton coach Mitch Henderson said. “I want to be tested every night like this. It doesn’t do us any good to not be tested. Losing sometimes helps you think about how to win better, but we’re learning really good lessons.”
Xaivian Lee and Caden Pierce are arguably the two best players in the league right now (there were a few NBA scouts in attendance to see Lee Sunday), but neither had their best stuff. Pierce managed a double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds but was a non-factor for much of the day, while Lee had eight assists but was just 4-for-17 from the field (12 points), and his outside shots were not close.
“Both Lee and Pierce are such tremendous players,” Northeastern coach Bill Coen said. ”We’ve had the pleasure of competing against them for the last three years, so we knew what we were in for. We just tried to limit the quality of their looks.”
But enter sophomore Dalen Davis, who entered the Ivy League scene with a career-high 21 last March in that fateful Ivy League Tournament semifinal loss to Brown. Davis now has a new career high, carrying the Tigers Sunday with 25 points. Enter senior Blake Peters – who has not been in the starting lineup this season – drilling six of eight three-pointers, including a huge one with 24 seconds left to give Princeton a 75-74 lead.
And enter freshman Malik Abdullahi, who once played his high school ball with the Boozer twins in Miami. Henderson obviously trusted him down the stretch in a tight game. A goaltending call against Abdullahi with 11 seconds left put the Huskies (1-1) back up 76-75, but just moments later, Lee drove into the lane and found Abdullahi, who scored from 12 feet out and was fouled with five seconds left. Abdullahi missed the ensuing free throw, but it took Northeastern three seconds to call time, and their desperation lob was stolen at the rim, sealing Princeton’s third straight win to open the campaign.
“X was maybe a little under the weather, but they did a great job on him,” Henderson said. “It’s going to happen, but Dalen was terrific, Blake picked us up, we have some nice pieces. I’m so proud of Malik, he’s going to be a big part of what we’re doing here. Last year, I played like seven guys, this year I think I can play 10 or 11.”
Not everything was rosy for the Tigers Sunday, they led 35-30 at the break (the first time they’ve led at halftime this season), but the Huskies dominated the next 10 minutes. Princeton had no answer inside for Harold Woods, who finished with 27 points and 11 rebounds, or Swedish sharpshooter William Kermoury who scored 20 points on five three-pointers (both recorded career highs).
Like Iona on Monday, it looked like the Huskies had the game won (82% per KenPom), leading 65-58 with 6:20 left. It was back-to-back threes from Peters that started the comeback, with Davis scoring five straight points to set up the dramatic conclusion.
There are plenty of questions to be answered in the next couple of months for Princeton, many of them on the defensive end, which is what let them down on that fateful day against Brown last March. Northeastern recorded a solid 1.07 points per possession Sunday, and that may be why Abdullahi and sophomore Jacob Huggins see more time going forward.
Will Princeton go 24-3 in the regular season again? Maybe not, but that’s fine with Henderson right now. The Tigers worked hard to get a nonconference schedule that will test them. Of their remaining games, only Wright State is below No. 200 in KenPom, and just this week, Princeton will host Atlantic 10 squad Loyola Chicago Friday and go to upstart Merrimack, who blew out Vermont, on Sunday.
It’s still a long way to the Ivy season, and even longer to possible redemption in Providence in March for Princeton. But it’s never too early to prepare for the future.
“I’m still processing this game a little, but this is so good for us,” Henderson said. “Northeastern is very good, very well-coached. We’ve been very imperfect, missing free throws, sloppy, but figuring out ways to win, which is a good sign. We’re still figuring out a little bit of the lineup combinations for our groups. I know we’re really tough to guard and we have toughness, but not for 40 minutes yet, and that’s what we’re here to learn.”