Tigers face Harvard tonight, could seal Ivy title vs. Dartmouth Saturday
By: Justin Feil
It seems a little odd to talk about the Princeton University men’s basketball team making sure it matches the intensity of Harvard and Dartmouth, but it might be the most important thing for the Tigers this weekend.
Both are guaranteed to be revved for the challenge. Harvard, in seventh place at 3-9 in the Ivy League, will be looking to avenge a double-overtime loss Feb. 7, while Dartmouth, in last place at 1-11 in the league, will be looking to send resigning head coach Dave Faucher off into the sunset on a high note.
And, truth be told, it shouldn’t be that hard for the Tigers to motivate to play at the Crimson 7 p.m. tonight and at Dartmouth 7 p.m. Saturday. All that’s at stake is a chance to wrap up the Ivy League title and make Tuesday’s game at Pennsylvania one for pride alone. There is no chance Princeton will look beyond Harvard and Dartmouth.
"That won’t happen," reassured PU head coach John Thompson, whose team holds a two-game lead over Brown and Penn in the loss column at 10-1 in the Ivy League. "We won’t let that happen. Eddie (Persia) won’t let that happen.
"That first Harvard game is double overtime, and we’re lucky to get out of there alive. I’ve stressed since the beginning that we have to come play every night. There’s too much on the line."
Though the Tigers have won the last nine meetings with Harvard its longest winning steak against an Ivy opponent the trends say it might be an awful difficult win nonetheless. But maybe not.
It depends on how to figure Princeton’s 58-50 double overtime win four weeks ago as a regulation tie, or truly an eight-point win. Why does it matter? In the past three year, Princeton has won by two or fewer points once each season. The other wins have been by at least six.
"I don’t think we are going out there thinking like that," Thompson said. "Yeah, I hope that was our bad game and I hope we play better this time. But we’re a different team without Eddie."
Persia is still questionable for tonight’s game, and for the weekend. But, if he’s healthy enough, he’ll play.
"It’s just he’s in so much pain," Thompson said. "You never know. He’s improving rapidly. He could walk, and he dribbled around and did a light trot (Wednesday). If we need him, we’d push him. It could change dramatically in the next couple days."
Persia would welcome a chance for some redemption against Harvard, a team against which he shot 0-for-5 from three-point range. As a team, the Tigers didn’t make a three-pointer in the second half while shooting 18 percent from the floor.
"In looking at it," Thompson said, "at both ends of the floor, at the offensive end we have to execute more. We were a little stagnant the first time. At the defensive end, they got a lot of penetration, or in there just by throwing it down. They have a good system and they work hard to score."
Dartmouth, which will likely be in a new system next season after Faucher is replaced, hasn’t been alive in the Ivy race for weeks, but will be looking to end its season on a positive note, while saying thanks to Faucher. Princeton has beaten the Big Green the last six times.
"I’m anticipating that being an exciting and emotional atmosphere," Thompson said. "It’s senior night, it’s Dave’s last game. Many, many former players will be back. There are many festivities planned, ending with the game."
That’s when Princeton hopes to play party pooper. The Tigers will have to contain leading Ivy Rookie of the Year candidate Leon Pattman, who leads the Big Green with a 13.1 points per game scoring average.
"He is a terrific player," Thompson said. "He has consistently played well all year. You have to consider him one of the top because of the year he’s having. He can score inside or out."
Pattman had 18 in Princeton’s 61-45 win over his Big Green. Hun graduate Calvin Arnold was the only other player to threaten 10 points with eight that night. But Thompson expects Dartmouth to play better this time around.
"They’re going to be pretty emotional," he said. "They’re going to come out fired up. It’s about us though. But it’s not going to be the normal Dartmouth crowd for a middle of the year game.
"Especially early, we have to match their intensity. They’re the kind of team that has multiple players who can start making shots. We have to stay close to them and make it difficult."
The Tigers haven’t started talking about the implications of a weekend sweep, but they are somewhere in the far backs of their minds. Princeton could lock up an NCAA tournament berth and would be among the first teams in the country to do so with wins tonight and Saturday. It would be their 25th Ivy League title in program history, and their third in Thompson’s four years at the helm, their second outright title after sharing with Penn and Yale in 2001-02.
All the Tigers have to do is match the intensity of the Ivy cellar dwellers, and find a way to win as they have in 10 of 11 league games, and the 2003-04 Ivy crown is theirs. By game’s end Saturday, there could be some emotion at Dartmouth’s Leede Arena from both teams.