Former New York Jets head coach Herm Edwards once said, “You to play to win the game.” Last night, the men’s basketball team did not seem to follow Edwards’ advice.
Princeton (2-4) faced off against rival Rutgers (4-2) in Piscataway, N.J. Though the Scarlet Knights can relish in the fact that they earned a decisive 58-44 win, the Tiger defense held Rutgers to 37 percent shooting from the field.
“I would definitely say that our defense was actually pretty good,” senior guard Marcus Schroeder said. “[Rutgers] shot under 40 percent in the field, and anytime you can hold a team under 40 percent, you are playing good defensively. We could have rebounded a little bit better, but defensively we were fine.”
But the Tigers made just 28.8 percent of their field-goal attempts. And that is what really defined this game for Princeton: They simply could not get shots to drop, a problem that has, in part, led to a four-game losing streak.
The first 10 minutes of the game were extremely low scoring. Sophomore guard Doug Davis found the bottom of the net with a three-pointer that gave the Tigers a 3-0 lead at 19 minutes, 28 seconds. Neither team scored again until 16:22, when Rutgers made the score 3-2. The dry spell was not for lack of effort — the two teams combined for six failed shot attempts.
The game started off slow, and the Tigers trailed, 11-8, at the 10:38 mark of the first half. The Scarlet Knights, who looked slow in the beginning of the period, started to pick up ball movement and play a much faster paced game. Rutgers used its size advantage to play much more aggressively on offense.
In contrast, Princeton still could not add anything to the scoreboard. The Tigers couldn’t find their groove from three-point range. The Scarlet Knights gave Princeton open looks on the perimeter, but the Tigers couldn’t drain the shots.
“We didn’t do a great job of penetrating and getting into the heart of their defense, but at the same time they were giving us a lot of open threes,” Schroeder said. “There are going to be times when we get a lot of layups and times when we get a backdoor cut, and I think we were just taking what the defense gave us.”
The Tigers shot a meager five of 24 from the field and were two of nine from three-point range in the first half. Even in free throws, typically a strength for Princeton, the team was only six of nine. Davis, who is one of Princeton’s leading free-throw shooters, made just one of two with 1:19 left in the first half. A couple seconds later, Davis fouled a Rutgers player and gave him the opportunity to put another point on the board and end the half, 29-18.
Against a larger and stronger Scarlet Knights squad, Princeton looked to 6’11” senior center Pawel Buczak to step up and to establish a post presence for the Tigers in the final 20 minutes. Buczak — who was quiet in the first half — played dominating defensive coverage in the last 20 minutes, giving Princeton’s offense several extra opportunities to score. The Tigers took advantage, picking up the offensive pace and making better shot attempts.
The score got as close as 29-25 after Davis dropped a jumper into the net. That’s when the Rutgers players came back into the matchup. The Scarlet Knights’ quick fast break — which helped to seal the game for them — was led by 6’9” center Gregory Echenique, who scored a game-high 21 points and made 11 of 12 free throws. Echenique made most of his free throws because Rutgers took the ball to the rim instead of continually attempting risky three-pointers as Princeton did.
Every time the Scarlet Knights got a rebound — and they had a total of 41 compared to the Tigers’ 28 — they would somehow find a way to drive into the paint. Davis far and away led Princeton in scoring, with 20 points, and the two closest scorers behind Davis were Buczak and freshman forward Patrick Saunders, who contributed five points each.
“Some of the greatest shooters in basketball history have games where they can’t shoot,” Schroeder said. “We have some very good shooters on the team, and we just had an off night. The past few games we haven’t shot well, and I’m not sure whether it’s confidence, but I think it is going to be important for us down the road to knock down a few more shots. The big thing for our offense is to get a lot of good looks and open threes, and we need to have the ability to knock those down.”
Read More
With Pierce to sit out the year, men’s basketball loses last senior standing
Harrison BlankSenior forward Caden Pierce announced today that he will be sitting out his senior season of basketball at Princeton in the interests of maintaining his final year of eligibility.
Senior forward Caden Pierce announced today that he will be sitting out his senior season of basketball at Princeton in the interests of maintaining his final year of eligibility.
Women’s ice hockey names Courtney Kessel as new head coach
Lily PampolinaFollowing the resignation of Cara Gardner Morey, Princeton appointed Courtney Kessel as head coach.
Following the resignation of Cara Gardner Morey, Princeton appointed Courtney Kessel as head coach.
Former women’s basketball forward Parker Hill ’25 signs professional contract in Switzerland
Doug SchwartzAfter a successful senior season, women's basketball forward Parker Hill signed a contact to play professional basketball in Europe, following in the steps of her past teammates.
After a successful senior season, women's basketball forward Parker Hill signed a contact to play professional basketball in Europe, following in the steps of her past teammates.