Time for midseason awards

In the midst of the finals-induced mid-season break in Princeton winter sports, The Daily Princetonian takes a step back to evaluate the men's basketball team (9-6 overall, 0-2 Ivy League) season so far.

Compared to their success at this point last season — a fairly low standard — the Tigers appear to be doing well. Who can really complain when the team matched last season's non-conference win total — two — in just the first weekend of play back in November?

After the powers-that-be got smart and wiped those small schools off the schedule, the team has not lost to any Division III foes nor set any Division I records for scoring futility. The first weekend of Ivy League play was decidedly dismal, however, seeing the Tigers fall to 0-2 and taking sole possession of last place in the league. It marks the first time since 1983-84 that Princeton has lost its first two games in Ivy competition.

Cornell — which made Princeton look foolish with an 18-0 first half run in a 55-35 blowout victory on Jan. 13 — has already lost to Penn this season by a similar margin. That does not always mean much in the Ivy League, where games tend to go every which way, but it certainly does not bode well for the Tigers' Feb. 13 matchup at the Palestra.

Last season, Princeton used a strong push after its opening weekend to put some pressure on the Quakers for the league's coveted automatic NCAA tournament berth.

After finals, the Tigers will visit Seton Hall to get a taste of Big East play and then visit Yale and Brown as they attempt to get their Ivy League standing back in order. With a week until play recommences, the 'Prince' has decided to dole out some mid-season awards.

Junior forward Kyle Koncz, hands down. He has handled the bulk of the scoring burden this season, leading the team with his soft touch from downtown. He's 44 percent from behind the arc, and the team sorely missed him when he was limited to just five minutes against Cornell with a nagging foot injury. If Koncz is not back and ready to play, the Tigers will need to find someone to replace his scoring. There's likely no way, however, that Princeton could replace his tenacity and length as a perimeter defender.

Coach Scott has given a lot of freshmen playing time, but there is no one as crucial to the team's success as point guard Marcus Schroeder. The kid simply doesn't play like a freshman. He has started every game and barely spent any time on the bench, averaging 38.7 minutes per game, which ranks among the Division I leaders nationally. He averages a solid 5.3 points per game, but to truly understand what makes him great you have to watch him play. He has racked up the assists, is the team's second-leading rebounder and rarely makes a bad pass. He has also been lights-out from the free-throw line, knocking down nearly 90 percent of his shots from the stripe, including the game-winner with the clock expired against Lehigh.

As good as he's been, Schroeder is not the freshman with the most flawless statline. Guard Chis Petrie is perfect from the field for the season. He's played just two minutes and made just one three-pointer, but that is beside the point. Great things have happened to players who have played just two minutes in their careers and been perfect from the field. In fact, in recent years a player with just that history has earned a starting spot and even been named captain. That would be senior center and former walk-on Justin Conway.

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Sophomore forward Mike Strittmatter is currently the best three-point shooter in the Ivy League, making goal on 48.5 percent of his shots from distance this season. He has provided a spark off the bench for the Tigers and averages 5.4 points per game off the bench.

Senior captain Justin Conway is a runaway for this one, despite pulling down just a modest 3.8 rebounds per game. No one else is even close.

Junior forward Noah Savage has had three dunks this season in a reserve role, including slams against Lehigh and Rice that you can watch footage of at goprincetontigers.com.

Head coach Joe Scott '87 has lately been tagged in press releases as "the Franklin C. Cappon-Edward G. Green '40 Head Coach of Men's Basketball at Princeton." That's a mouthful.