The men's basketball team tips off a new season in Syracuse, N.Y., nearly seven months after their season came to an abrupt end in Denver. The Tigers face Bucknell in the first round of the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic at the Carrier Dome.
The Bisons, the preseason Patriot League favorite, will provide a tough first test. They return two All-Patriot League Second Team honorees, junior co-captains Charles Lee and Kevin Bettencourt. The team finished 14-15 overall a year ago.
But perhaps the greatest challenge for Princeton will be to resist the urge to look past their matchup with Bucknell. A victory over the Bisons would set up a second-round contest against the host Syracuse Orangemen, No. 6 in the country in the preseason Associated Press poll. The Tigers don't deny the importance of earning the chance at an upset.
"[The Bucknell game] is the biggest game of the year for us," head coach Joe Scott '87 said. "There are greater claims at stake, for us to have an opportunity on the second night that we all want to have."
Princeton won't get that chance without a solid performance on the first night, though. Bettencourt, who averaged 14.5 points per game last year, is a dangerous outside shooter, while Lee is an athletic swingman. The Bisons also returned talented 6-foot, 11-inch sophomore center Chris McNaughton, who averaged better than 10 points and five rebounds a game last season.
Beyond McNaughton, however, Bucknell is undersized, especially in the backcourt. Look for Princeton senior guard Will Venable to exploit his size and strength advantage; Scott hopes that Venable will score more in the post this year than he has in the past.
The game should also feature the debut of three Tiger freshmen, forwards Noah Savage and Kyle Koncz and guard Matt Sargeant. Savage is expected to start at forward, with senior power forward Andre Logan sidelined by his recurring left knee injury.
On paper, at least, Princeton should be able to handle Bucknell. But they will have to avoid playing down to their opponents' level, which plagued them against comparable teams in recent seasons. Scott has repeatedly made it clear that the trend must end this year.
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