Men's Basketball: Tigers to battle Ivy rivals at Jadwin

Though the Tigers (10-12 overall, 5-4 Ivy League) may have exceeded some expectations — they were picked to finish last in the Ivies — Princeton has dropped four of its last five games. The Tigers played solid basketball at the beginning of the season, and it is this momentum that Princeton will struggle to recapture tonight against the Bears (7-17, 1-9).

Unfortunately for Tiger fans looking for a resurgence, Princeton’s last meeting with Brown was anything but triumphant. After toppling Ivy League giants Columbia and Cornell — a feat which earned the Tigers their first 4-0 start since 2004 — Princeton appeared destined for victory as it headed into a seemingly easy game against the Bears. But Brown outshot Princeton by a sizeable margin, 42.1 percent to 29.4 percent, en route to a 61-43 victory.

“To be honest, I’m not sure what happened against Brown, except we didn’t come out to play,” sophomore forward Kareem Maddox said. “It was pretty painful.”

Though Princeton entered the second half with the game tied at 21, a string of three-pointers — in which the Tigers usually dominate — gave the Bears the win.

“[In] the first half, the score was tied, so we decided in the locker room we had to come out and play harder, and then we came out and it didn’t happen,” Maddox said. “We weren’t playing as hard as we usually do. It was a really bad game.”

Princeton will try to take advantage of Brown’s recent struggles to stop shots on the defense.

After facing off against Brown, the Tigers will hit the courts of Jadwin on Saturday to compete against Yale (11-13, 6-4). Not only did Princeton seem incapable of finding the bottom of the net in its 60-48 loss to the Bulldogs, but the team was also outrebounded by Yale, 43-23.

“We got outrebounded against Yale,” Maddox said. “They are a lot more physical than a lot of other teams, but I think we can match that. We have to shoot the ball better to make up for the fact that they are so athletic and strong.”

In addition to entering the game with a tough defense, the Bulldogs will hit the court with the added momentum from their recent weekend sweep of Columbia and Cornell.

Maddox noted that Yale plays an intense style of basketball.

“They like to take the ball down the post and score,” Maddox said. “I think we might shoot a little better, but we both just play different games. Ideally we would like to be as athletic and strong as they are.”

Though the Tigers faltered against Brown and Yale earlier this season, Princeton will look to several standout players to make sure that this doesn’t happen again. Among those to watch for this weekend is freshman guard Doug Davis, who leads the team with 12.2 points per game. He put up a game-high 11 points in the loss to Brown.