Tigers stop Penn, look for post-season bid
By Justin Feil, Assistant Sports Editor
Douglas Davis had a lot to look forward to after the Ivy League regular season ended last year.
The Princeton University senior isn’t quite sure what to expect after the Tigers men’s basketball team ended its Ivy season 10-4 after a 62-52 win over the University of Pennsylvania on Tuesday night at Jadwin Gym.
Princeton finished third in the Ivy League. Their win Tuesday prevented Penn from tying Harvard for the Ivy title. The Crimson will represent the Ivies in the NCAA tournament for the first time since 1946, while Penn finishes second at 11-3. Princeton is third, one win ahead of Yale.
”The last time we felt like this was sophomore year where we got to the CBI, but there was some uncertainty where we’d be playing and if we’d be playing at all,” Davis said. “But this year, we have some good wins and being a senior, I have my thesis to write and there’s a lot going on right now, so you have to juggle a lot.”
Selections for the NCAA tournament, NIT and CBI tournament games are expected Sunday. The Tigers know they won’t be returning to the NCAAs, but are hoping for a postseason berth.
”Compared to last year, the waiting is just killing me,” said Davis, who had 12 points and was 6-for-6 from the free throw line Tuesday. “Last year, we had something to play for. We had the playoff, and we knew if we won the playoff, we’d be in the tournament, and if we lost, we’d be in the NIT most likely. Now we’re just waiting, and it’s killing me.”
Davis, the hero of the last year’s Ivy playoff when his buzzer-beater gave the Tigers a win over Harvard and a berth in the NCAA tournament, knows one thing. He definitely wants another game, which would be his 121st for the Orange and Black, more than any other player in men’s program history.
”It’s just playing again, playing again with the guys,” said Davis, a Hun School graduate. “You want to play. No matter where we play or who we play. We could play in Australia. I’m going out there with Pat (Saunders, a fellow senior), I’m going out there with (John) Comfort.
”A lot of these guys might not play again, and this would be my last time playing with those guys. It’s special all the way around. I definitely want to play with the guys for the last time, another game or two or three.”
The Tigers all want another chance together. They are playing their best basketball of the season after finishing the Ivy schedule unbeaten at home. Ian Hummer led the way with a monster game against Penn that solidified his unanimous selection to the All-Ivy first team Wednesday. The junior forward had 18 points, 10 rebounds, four assists, four blocks and three steals. Davis, who was a second-team All-Ivy pick this year, was joined in double figures scoring by Saunders, a senior who had 10 points, while Comfort earned the start on Senior Night.
”It’s a good group,” said first-year PU head coach Mitch Henderson. “I feel fortunate that I could coach a team with seniors like this.”
The Tigers played far better than they had in their road loss to Penn. They held Penn to 30 fewer points than they had in January, with Davis helping to control Ivy League Player of the Year Zack Rosen. Rosen was 8-for-24 and had no trips to the foul line. Rosen had 28 points in the first meeting of the year.
”We had the same game plan tonight, it just seemed to work,” Henderson said. “I thought Doug was terrific down the stretch, and Ian and T.J. (Bray) switching onto Rosen helped. He had four turnovers. He had 11 of their 17 (points) at the half. We knew he’d be key.”
Davis, who is substituted out for his defense at times, helped to control Rosen in what he saw as a special challenge.
”Sometimes when I come out, I feel like I can be in those situations,” Davis said of his defense. “Tonight I’ve proven it.
”If you’re any type of competitor, you take pride in playing other good people. You play another good player, you’re up for that challenge. For special players, you get some more juice in your step. You’re anxious to guard him.”
Princeton put the clamps on Penn’s offense early. They burst out to a 23-6 lead in the first 15 minutes.
”We executed,” Davis explained. “We got the ball where we wanted to. We got out to a good lead, but we know Penn is a good team and Rosen is a good player. They have really good pieces, so we knew that wasn’t the end of the game. We knew they were going to come back at some point.”
Penn got as close as 34-31 eight minutes into the second half, but following a Princeton timeout, the Tigers went on a 7-0 run capped by a Davis 3-pointer to build a 10-point lead again. They were never seriously threatened again on the way to their eighth win in nine games.
”What I’ve noticed in my four years here is Princeton plays its best ball halfway through Ivy,” Davis said. “We get our legs, and we’re off. If you look even two years ago, we were playing pretty well at the end and into the CBI and went pretty deep in that.
”When we go to the tournament this year, it’s like we’re doing the same thing. I think we’re a tough out, no matter where we play, who we play. I just think the chemistry is there right now, the confidence as well.”
What cost the Tigers a chance at the Ivy title this year was a 2-3 start, including road losses at Cornell, Penn and Yale.
”You know you wish you could have those games back, especially the way we’re playing now compared to then,” Davis said. “Right now, we’re playing so well and we have some good wins, and you think, what if things had gone better against Cornell or Yale or when we played at Harvard? We played well. You think, what if? But in reality, you can’t control that stuff.”
All the Tigers can do now is wait until Sunday and hope that they get at least one more game together, one more chance to play together, in a post-season tournament. It will have to come from a tournament other than the NCAAs this year, something that did happen two years ago when the CBI invited them. Princeton has beaten Florida State of the ACC, Rutgers from the Big East and Buffalo, which enjoyed a good year, as well as Harvard, which was ranked in the top 25, and Penn.
”I feel we do have a better case,” Davis said. “I feel like we have a lot of key wins, and we cause matchup problems for a lot of people. It’s not up to me, it’s not up to the coaches, so we’re just waiting to see how other people view our team. It’s kind of weird waiting.”