From here on out, every game is a must-win for the men's basketball team. After losing two games last week to league-leading Penn and Brown, the Tigers find themselves in third place in the Ivy League, two games behind the Quakers and a game and a half behind the Bears.
Though Princeton will play both of those teams one more time this season, the squad cannot afford any more setbacks in the meantime if its goal of making the NCAA tournament is to be realized.
This weekend, the Tigers (11-9 overall, 5-2 Ivy League) travel into the teeth of New England to take on Dartmouth (6-15, 2-6) and Harvard (11-10, 3-5) for the second time this season.
Earlier in the year, the Tigers downed the Crimson 67-61 in a game that came down to the final two minutes. The squad also topped the Big Green 57-52 in another close matchup at Jadwin Gym.
Unfortunately for the visitors, they will play their two games this weekend without a full complement of players. In the second half of last weekend's game with Brown, junior swingman and leading scorer Spencer Gloger went down with an ankle injury. Concerns were raised as to whether Gloger would be able to come back and play at all this season. The answer, as it turns out, is no, though not because of his injury. The star forward was recently declared academically ineligible to play and will not return for the rest of the season.
Without Gloger's 15 points per game, his teammates will have to step up and handle more of the scoring load.
Junior guard Ed Persia, continuing his strong play, took a big step towards filling that gap last weekend, leading Princeton with 22 points on nine-for-13 shooting in the loss to Brown. Persia has now scored in double figures in four of the team's last five games and has solidified his spot in the starting rotation and as the floor general.
Junior forward Konrad Wysocki has also stepped up on the offensive end since coming back from his midwinter foot injury. Wysocki has reached double figures in three straight games coming off the bench, giving the team over 20 quality minutes every night as well as much-needed help on the glass. Senior forward Ray Robins has also gotten into the mix recently, upping his season scoring average to 9.9 points per game. Robins started against Yale last weekend in place of Gloger and will likely fill the fifth spot again this weekend.
Against Dartmouth, the Tigers will have to keep an eye on guard Steve Callahan, who led the Big Green in scoring with 15 points the first time the teams played. But Princeton will not be able to focus solely on Callahan. In the Feb. first matchup in Princeton, nine Dartmouth players scored, including six who had at least five points.
Saturday's contest with Harvard should be a stiffer challenge for the Tigers. The academic rivalry notwithstanding, the Crimson have the talent and emotion to give Princeton a run for its money. Harvard is led by guards Brady Merchant and Patrick Harvey. In an earlier game with Princeton, those two players scored 18 and 16 points, respectively.
Both are also three-point threats, which will force the Tiger defense to play tighter and more aggressively. Should on-the-ball defenders be forced off the dribble as a result of trying to cut off the jumpshot, weak side players will have to rotate appropriately to prevent easy buckets.
If Princeton can survive the weekend unblemished, the team will get a chance at revenge against Brown the following weekend. The squad first goes to New Haven next Friday, then on to Providence Saturday.
Still, even if the Tigers win out, they will need help in order to secure the regular season champion's automatic NCAA Tournament berth. Though the team ends the regular season by hosting Penn, the Quakers would have to lose another game to another team, as Princeton is two games back in the loss column.
The Tigers therefore find themselves in a tough position this weekend. Win, and their hopes stay alive at least another week. Lose, and they are all but mathematically eliminated from the race. There is no room for error anymore.
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