Men's hoops sits atop league at midway point

At the halfway mark of its league season, the men's basketball team stands alone as the team to beat in the Ivy League.

Princeton (13-7 overall, 6-1 Ivy League), with only one loss on its Ivy record, has earned sole possession of the No. 1 spot in the conference. The rest of the league will be out for blood from now on, though, and the Tigers need to keep bringing their "A" game every night to prevent another upset like the Penn contest. Of course, with the exception of the game against the Quakers, Princeton's defense has effectively shut down some of the league's leading scorers.

The good . . .

Head coach John Thompson '88 counts the Tigers' tight defense as its top strength.

Also, with the exception of the Penn game, the Tigers have been able to make their way back into a contest even when they fall behind early, proving that Princeton's experienced roster can execute under pressure.

"Taking [Harvard and Columbia] into overtime definitely gives us confidence in knowing that we can win the close games," sophomore guard Scott Greenman said.

Again on the positive note for the Tigers, junior center Judson Wallace appeared this weekend to break out of his scoring slump, racking up 45 points on the weekend against Cornell and Columbia — 21 in the second half of the Lions game alone.

"In the past few games, [Judson] wasn't scoring as much," Thompson said. "We need him to score, and we were able just to go to him this weekend."

Princeton needs this trend to continue for it to be most successful with its center-based offense. And where Wallace leaves off, junior center Mike Stephens and freshman forward Harrison Schaen can each pick up. The return of junior forward Andre Logan has also added depth to the Tigers' game, and outstanding performances from junior guard Will Venable continue to offer Princeton an offensive spark when the team needs it the most.

In all of these areas, the Tigers simply need to keep it up.

. . . the bad . . .

But in other areas, the Tigers need to find a way to improve if they want to stay on track for the league title. For one, slow starts have plagued Princeton lately.

"We have squeaked by in a lot of Ivy games because we didn't start playing hard and precise until the second half," senior guard Ed Persia said.

Against Columbia, the Tigers struggled from the opening tip with uncharacteristic misses and careless turnovers. They went into the lockerroom down eight points to the Lions.

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

As well as slow starts, spotty offensive play has been a concern. During a 12-minute stretch in the second half against Harvard, Princeton did not hit a single field goal. Only the Tiger defense prevented the Crimson from running away with the game. Five missed layups against Columbia almost contributed to a Lion upset.

Strong starts and a more consistent offense would prevent . . .

. . . the ugly

Dismal just doesn't seem to be a strong enough word for Princeton's performance against Penn. While allowing the Quakers to shoot 63 percent from the field, the Tigers couldn't find their own offensive rhythm.

Because of that loss, it is even more essential for Princeton to take the Palestra by storm when it faces the Quakers in March to close the regular season.

Still, that contest represents the only stain on Princeton's league record.

Two tough contests loom for the Tigers this weekend: the league's No. 2, Brown, and its No. 4, Yale, which Princeton defeated by a narrow two points early in the Ivy season. If the Tigers can avoid an early deficit and play off their strengths, they will emerge from the weekend just five games away from their goal of taking the Ivy title back from Penn.