Ivy Hoops Online correspondent George “Toothless Tiger” Clark recaps a 79-75 loss for Princeton men’s basketball to Temple at the Terry’s Chocolate ESPN Events Invitational Tuesday night in Kissimmee, Fla.:
Jackson Hicke
How Princeton men’s basketball got pummeled at Iona
Ivy Hoops Online contributor George “Toothless Tiger” Clark reflects on an 89-69 loss for Princeton men’s basketball (2-3) at Iona (4-0) Tuesday night:
Orange & Black Report: Previewing the Princeton men’s and women’s basketball teams
In less than a week, the Princeton men’s and women’s basketball teams will tip off their new seasons, and for the first time since 2016, neither program will enter the campaign as the defending Ivy League champion.
What are the prospects for the Orange and Black returning to the top of the Ivy League standings in 2025-26? Let’s investigate the probabilities for both programs, starting with the women:
Caden Pierce to sit out his senior year at Princeton, the latest jolt to Tigers men’s basketball
Caden Pierce announced on Tuesday that he will step away from basketball during his senior year at Princeton. The two-time All-Ivy League forward told ESPN that he plans to graduate next May from Princeton and enter the transfer portal to play his final year of NCAA eligibility as a graduate student.
Pierce’s withdrawal from the Princeton men’s basketball team is the latest and perhaps heaviest blow to hit Mitch Henderson’s squad since the 2024-25 season ended with a heartbreaking loss to Yale in the semifinals of the 2025 Ivy League Tournament.
The offseason started ominously for Princeton with the news breaking in late March that two key assistant coaches, Brett MacConnell and Lawrence Rowley, would not return to Mitch Henderson’s coaching staff for the 2025-26 season.
There was no obvious explanation for the coaching staff shakeup, other than Princeton’s leadership perhaps deciding that something needed to change after the Tigers underperformed expectations during the 2024-25 season.
A wave of player defections then descended on Old Nassau.
LISTEN: Princeton men’s basketball claws past Columbia, 73-68
Ivy Hoops Online correspondent George “Toothless Tiger” Clark recaps a 73-68 win for Princeton (18-9, 7-5 Ivy) at Columbia (12-13, 1-11) Friday:
LISTEN: Dartmouth men’s basketball downs Princeton, 76-61
Ivy Hoops Online correspondent George “Toothless Tiger” Clark recaps a 76-61 defeat for Princeton (17-9, 6-5 Ivy) versus Dartmouth (13-11, 7-4) at Jadwin Gym Saturday:
LISTEN: Princeton men’s basketball tops Harvard, 76-71
Ivy Hoops Online correspondent George “Toothless Tiger” Clark recaps a 76-71 win Friday for Princeton (17-8, 6-4 Ivy) over Harvard (9-14, 4-6) at Jadwin Gym:
LISTEN: Princeton men’s basketball postgame press conference and recap after 61-59 win at Penn
Ivy Hoops Online correspondent George “Toothless Tiger” Clark brings us the audio of the postgame press conference for Princeton after its dramatic 61-59 win at Penn Friday evening:
Clark recaps the action between Princeton (16-6, 5-2 Ivy) and Penn (6-14, 2-5) at the Palestra:
Quakeaways from Penn men’s basketball’s 61-59 loss to Princeton
There have been plenty of excruciating losses in Penn’s 12-game losing streak to arch-rival Princeton, but none have inflicted a pain quite like Friday’s 61-59 loss to the Tigers at the Palestra.
With less than a minute to go, there was Penn (6-14, 2-5 Ivy) in the lead despite being forced to play without star wing Ethan Roberts, who sat out the contest with an undisclosed injury. As has happened in so many of these losses to Princeton (16-6, 5-2), every break possible went the wrong way for the Quakers when it mattered most.
After sophomore guard Sam Brown missed the back-end of a one-and-one which would have extended the Penn lead to 59-56, junior forward Johnnie Walter had the offensive rebound in his hands for a split-second but couldn’t quite corral the ball. The Tigers secured possession and then saw sophomore guard Dalen Davis break free to drain a wide-open three-pointer from the left wing, giving the Tigers a 59-58 advantage with just over 30 seconds remaining.
On the next possession, senior big man Nick Spinoso drew heavy contact as he went up for a layup, hit his first free throw to tie the game, but missed the freebie which would have given Penn the lead. Walter then fouled Princeton’s Jackson Hicke as he put up a midrange jumper with six-tenths of a second to play.
There was zero doubt Hicke would miss. The 6-foot-5 sophomore hit both shots at the line to kick Penn fans back into a familiar pit of misery.
What could Penn fans take away from yet another disheartening loss?
LISTEN: Reflecting on Princeton men’s basketball’s wild road so far
Princeton correspondent George “Toothless Tiger” Clark reflects on what has been a wild road for the Tigers (15-6, 4-2 Ivy) this season as they near the midway point of Ivy League play: