Princeton men’s basketball’s Twitter hashtag reads “#MakeShots”.
So far, the 2021-22 Tigers men’s basketball team has done just that.
Home of the Roundball Poets
Carla Berube needed but one word to describe the on-court presence of the Texas Longhorns Wednesday afternoon at Jadwin Gym.
Relentless.
The Princeton men closed out their 2021 schedule against Division III Kean College Tuesday night, taking care of business in a 100-59 win. The Tigers’ out-of-conference record concludes at 10-3.
Princeton continued its recent hot streak Monday night, winning its fourth straight and ninth of 12 overall by dispatching the Retrievers of UMBC at Jadwin Gym, 89-77.
Although Princeton (9-3) was in charge, UMBC (5-5) was very much in it until the final six minutes.
Prior to the start of this afternoon’s game at Lafayette, Princeton coach Mitch Henderson was asked to assess his team’s 7-3 start to this season.
“If you told me we would win seven of the first 10, I would have been pleased, to say the least,” Henderson replied.
His team would reach 8-3 after dispatching Fran O’Hanlon’s Leopards, 81-63. Lafayette dropped to 2-8, including losses to Penn, Cornell, and the Tigers. Columbia’s woes are clearly shown by its loss at home to Lafayette, 73-50.
This game was valuable to the Tigers for several reasons, but none was more important than the fact that they would have to find a way to win without much offensive production from their go-to guy this season, Tosan Evbuomwan. When the opening tip was easily controlled by the Leopards’ Neal Quinn, a 7-foot junior from Allendale, N.J., Henderson realized that Evbuomwan might have his hands full with an opponent 4 feet taller and 40 pounds heavier.
Mitch Henderson’s Tigers squared off against the Bucknell Bison Tuesday night at Jadwin Gym. The Tigers entered the game as solid 12.5-point favorites. Bucknell came in at 2-7, a dreary start to the season. They lost at home to Penn by five points and on the road to Hofstra by 19.
The Tigers have been up and down of late, struggling somewhat on defense. But Henderson believes the stirring overtime win last week against Drexel may serve as a tonic for his club.
In hoping for something of breather, Henderson got his wish tonight as the Tigers cruised to an 82-69 win.
Princeton seized the momentum early and held it throughout the game. Princeton established a double-digit lead in the first five minutes, allowing Henderson to use an entire platoon of players. Before the proceedings ended, he would put 16 bodies on the floor. The first half ended with the Tigers firmly grasping a 13-point lead, 45-32.
Heading into Saturday afternoon’s matchup with the Drexel Dragons at Jadwin Gym, Princeton coach Mitch Henderson was perplexed.
His club’s most recent outings against Monmouth, Fairleigh Dickinson and Hofstra have raised a degree of concern after a surprisingly good start to the season. His team’s defense has been too generous, yielding 76 in a road loss at Monmouth, 79 in a close win at home against FDU and 81 in a loss at Hofstra. The Hofstra loss was particularly galling because the Tigers surrendered 50 in the first half.
The Princeton women made history Wednesday evening at Alico Arena, home of the Florida Gulf Coast Eagles. The Tigers shot down the high-flying No. 22 Eagles, 58-55. It was the first win for a Tiger team against a ranked opponent since 1978.
The Eagles entered the game with a record of 63-6 since the start of the 2019-20 season, coming in at 7-0 on the year:
If you follow Ivy Hoops Online’s coverage of the Tigers, you know that we concentrate on coach Carla Berube’s commitment to defense, particularly the single-digit quarters the defense yields.
HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. – A furious second-half comeback by Princeton, cutting a 16-point deficit to one with less than a minute to go in regulation, fell just short, as the Tigers lost to Hofstra, 81-77, at the David S. Mack Sports and Exhibition Complex Wednesday evening.