Men's Basketball: Jadwin welcomes SEC foe

After sweeping last week’s road matches, Princeton (2-2 overall) looks to earn its first home win of the season and extend its two-game winning streak in tonight’s game against South Carolina (4-1), 7 p.m. in Jadwin Gymnasium. Last week’s back-to-back road game wins were Princeton’s first in more than two years, and the Tigers look to use that momentum on the court tonight. A win tonight would also make history as Princeton’s first home victory over an Southeastern Conference team. The only other time the Tigers have played an SEC member at home was in 1985, a 49-44 loss to Vanderbilt.

Princeton last faced off against the Gamecocks was in 2006, and the disappointing 54-48 loss should have the Tigers looking for revenge. Still, with South Carolina eager to redeem itself after a tight 82-80 away loss to the College of Charleston and with the Gamecocks accustomed to playing against conference rivals in the more difficult SEC, it will be anything but easy for Princeton to pull away with a win.

“It’s a big game for us,” junior center Zach Finley said. “It’s really going to be tough for our team playing someone that plays in the SEC, which is usually one of the top conferences, and is as athletic as they are.”

If Princeton hopes to earn a victory in tonight’s battle against the Gamecocks, it will have to shut down South Carolina’s indomitable offense. The Gamecocks feature five players who average double-digit points per game, and the team has averaged 83.0 points per game to just 68.8 from its opponents.

“They have had a good season so far and have proven that they are a good team,” Finley said. “They have guys who can shoot threes and a lot of quick players who can penetrate, so it will definitely be a test for our defense to see if we can stop them.”

A possible stumbling block in the Tigers’ way is South Carolina’s Devan Downey, who leads the team in scoring with 19.2 points per game while also holding down the defense, averaging 2.5 steals per contest. The key to a Tiger victory will be limiting the Gamecocks’ long-distance shooting and intercepting any action around the board.

Despite the difficulties presented by South Carolina’s offense, Princeton’s defense has improved throughout the season. The Tigers have driven down their opponents’ rebounding average and have forced opponents to shoot less than 20 percent from beyond the arc in the last two games, and if they can continue this trend in tonight’s matchup, they may halt the Gamecocks’ spirited scorers.

“We’ve been working on our defense a lot and working on handling the pressure. They like to pressure the ball a lot and force turnovers,” Finley said.

While Princeton’s defense has shown steady improvement, its most valuable player this season has been a dominating force on offense. Freshman guard Doug Davis boasts a four-game double-digit scoring streak and is the only Princeton freshman to start his college career on a streak that long. Also leading on the scoreboard is junior guard and captain Nick Lake, who scored 14 points against Fordham last weekend in his fourth career double-digit scoring game.

In addition to the impressive performances of a few star players, the Tigers have shown increasing success across the board in finding the bottom of the net. Princeton’s shooting percentage from the field has increased with each game, from 37.3 percent in the season opener against Central Michigan to 54.3 percent last weekend in the match against Fordham. The Tigers have also hit 77.1 percent of their free throws and sank a season-high nine three-pointers last weekend against Fordham.

One weakness, however, has been turnovers. Though tonight’s hosts have improved over the last two games, they still see concentration and stamina as points of needed improvement.

“Playing the whole 40 minutes and being consistent is something we need to improve on from last weekend’s game,” Finley said. “Against Fordham, we dropped off a few times.”