Heading into the final Ivy League weekend of the year, the men's basketball team (8-3 Ivy League, 10-14 overall) is agonizingly close to capturing the league title, as the Tigers sit just two games behind Penn (10-1, 18-7). Princeton is the only team capable of stealing the title from the Quakers, but the outcome of the 14-game Ivy League tournament will be decided not only by whether the team wins this weekend, but also by the play of Penn. Regardless of the Quakers' performance, a single win will guarantee the Tigers at least a share of second place and eliminate the possibility of duplicating last year's losing record.
Both Princeton and Penn will travel to Brown (5-7, 9-16) and Yale (15-12, 7-5) this weekend, with the Tigers tipping off against the Bears on Friday at 7 p.m. and the Bulldogs on Saturday at the same time. If Princeton sweeps the weekend and Penn loses just one game, the Tigers will have the opportunity to tie the Quakers when the two teams meet next Tuesday at Jadwin Gym. Two losses by Penn would give the Tigers a chance at the title outright, while a tie would result in a one-game playoff to decide the champion.
But if Penn completes a successful sweep, they will lock up the championship and the accompanying NCAA bid for the second straight year. Though the Quakers looked invincible during their first set of league games, they have faltered as of late. Penn suffered its only league loss to Columbia, offering the Tigers an opportunity to gain on them, but the Lions quickly squashed the Tigers' hopes by defeating Princeton the following night on a Justin Armstrong game-winner in the final seconds.
Last weekend Penn needed overtime to squeak past Harvard, 73-71, while the Tigers demolished the Crimson, 75-48, with a spectacular shooting display that put Harvard out of the game before the first half was even over. Princeton hit 63 percent of its shots on the night, led by the accuracy of sophomore forward Kyle Koncz, who went five for six from behind the arc en route to a career-best 23 points.
When Yale and Brown traveled to Princeton in February, the Tigers rode what would end up being their final lineup change — which led to the debut of junior center Justin Conway and the reemergence of junior forward Luke Owings — to two resounding victories.
It was also the weekend that resurgent senior guard Scott Greenman began his current scoring spree, dropping 27 points on the Bulldogs. When the Bears and Bulldogs visited Jadwin, each received the full force of the Tigers' new confidence. After shooting over 50 percent from the field over the last four games, Princeton's poise has clearly reached a new high.
The Tigers also currently lead the league in scoring defense at 55.6 points per game. Since they have posted an average of 64.8 ppg over the last four games, a continuance of both trends should yield a pair of victories.
Since Princeton last met the Bears, Brown has tallied wins over Columbia and Cornell, the two teams that have defeated Princeton, so the game, like every game in the Ivy League, will not be a given.
Last weekend, Brown was led by Scott Friske, who was recently named the Ivy League Rookie of the Week for the third time this season. Against Cornell last Saturday he dropped 23 points on seven of nine shooting from the field.
Guard Damon Huffman, who scored a team-high 14 points in the last game against the Tigers, leads the team both offensively and defensively along with fellow guard Kennan Jeppesen. The two top the team's statistics in scoring, assists and steals.
Bulldogs hot at home
Yale will be especially motivated to knock off Princeton since it is the only team that can surpass the Tigers in the Ivy League standings. If Princeton were to lose its last three games, Yale could, at the very least, tie for second, and at best knock the Tigers to third with a win over Penn.
The Bulldogs are 8-1 at home this year, led by the inside dominance of Dominick Martin, who is averaging 18.8 points and 10.8 rebounds over the last five games. Also hot lately for the Bulldogs is guard Eric Flato, who scored a career high 22 points in the team's victory over Columbia last Saturday.
Though the Tigers will be focusing on their own games at Brown and Yale, it is likely they also will be listening closely for the results of Penn's weekend match-ups. They may even be rooting for the Bulldogs and the Bears a bit — on the nights that Princeton is not playing them, of course.
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