Early struggles have men's basketball looking for wins

All the kinks are worked out, the freshmen have learned by fire, and all the top-10 teams are gone from the schedule. Now it's time for the men's basketball team to finally start winning some games.

Princeton (2-6) has looked bad at times — witness a 49-44 loss to Florida International Nov. 24. The Tigers have been mediocre, as they were in a 78-62 loss to No.4 Kansas Wednesday night, and they have been brilliant, leading No. 2 Maryland at the half Dec. 2.

But Princeton has been bad or mediocre more often than good, as its disappointing record indicates.

"We've got to learn how to win," sophomore guard Ed Persia said. "We have to do the little things — getting back on defense, boxing out, getting loose balls."

The Tigers will get a chance to put together a winning streak heading into the Ivy League season. Princeton plays three games between Dec. 21 and Reading Period. The Tigers take on Lafayette at Jadwin Gym next Friday, then travel up Route 1 to face Rutgers Dec. 29. In the new year, Princeton returns home for a Jan. 5 matchup with Holy Cross.

The Tigers' conference slate begins the next week with trips to Harvard and Dartmouth, so Princeton needs to be at its best by Reading Period.

Each of the three teams the Tigers play over break is eminently beatable. There are no Kansases or Marylands, or even St. Joe's. Besides, Princeton feels it can compete with the nation's best.

"As a team, we know we can play with everyone," freshman guard Will Venable said.

Lafayette, Princeton's next opponent, is nowhere near the nation's best. But the Tigers cannot afford to overlook the Leopards (4-4), who nearly tripped up Columbia on the road.

Princeton has over a week between games and being rusty might be a concern early in the game. In fact, the Tigers have been lethargic coming out of the gates all season long.

"That's been a problem with our team — we start the first and second half slow," Persia said.

Princeton needs to get its offense going early against the Leopards. Lafayette has averaged 77.5 points in its four victories, while the Tigers haven't scored more than 76 this season.

Get the best of the ‘Prince’ delivered straight to your inbox. Subscribe now »

Princeton's defense will key on six-foot-five guard Brian Burke, who leads the Leopards with 14.4 ppg and 4.9 apg. Burke has been in double figures in scoring every game this year.

After playing Lafayette, Princeton renews its rivalry with Rutgers (7-2) in Piscataway. The Scarlet Knights snatched victory away from the Tigers last season at Jadwin Gym. Princeton dominated the entire game and did not trail until late in the second half, when Rutgers took advantage of Tiger mistakes and triumphed by a 46-44 margin.

This year, the Scarlet Knights are red hot. Rutgers has won six in a row behind the play of power forward Rashod Kent. The big man averages 11.9 ppg and his 12.5 rpg leads the Big East and is fourth nationally.

The Tigers' final game over break is against Holy Cross (4-3). The Crusaders are coming off a solid 76-63 victory over Ivy power Brown. Holy Cross, however, was soundly beaten earlier in the season by Ivy doormat Dartmouth, 58-47.