The Princeton Tigers handled Penn, 68-52, Tuesday night to win the Ivy League title and reach the NCAA tournament for the first time since 1998.
By: Justin Feil
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PRINCETON There will be no playoff, but there will be a postseason for the Princeton University men’s basketball team.
The Tigers defeated Pennsylvania, 68-52, Tuesday night in front of 7,133 fans at Jadwin Gym to win its first outright Ivy League title and its first automatic bid to the NCAA tournament since 1997-98 and the first in the career of John Thompson.
"It means a lot," the first-year head coach said. "Not necessarily because it’s my first season. I tried not to talk about that all year. But this is Princeton. It’s Princeton basketball. A lot of people didn’t expect us to be here. These guys can tell you I’m not really a patient guy."
The Tigers’ 23rd Ivy League championship came Tuesday with some of the same characteristics that have become hallmarks of the young team. Princeton was patient on offense and they worked hard on defense to limit the Quakers. The Tigers, who improved to 16-10 overall, 11-3 in the Ivies, had a balanced attack with five players with nine or more points and, of the first nine players who played, eight had three-pointers.
Ahmed El-Nokali led Princeton with 14 points, Kyle Wente had 12 points, Andre Logan 10 points and Mike Bechtold and Nate Walton had nine apiece.
Walton, the senior captain of the Tigers, also had game highs in rebounds with eight, assists with seven and steals with six. He becomes the first Princeton player ever to lead the team in scoring, rebounds, assists and steals for an entire season, but it was the title that he’ll share with the team that had him happiest.
"I’ve never been so proud to be a part of any team in my entire life," the PU center said with the cut-down Jadwin Gym net still draped around his neck. "Sports is so much about heart. This team played with more than any other I’ve seen all year long, one through 15. Guys on the end of the bench they never complained once. Everyone was there every practice. I’ve never been more proud to be a member of a group. This is something I’ll never forget."
Princeton took an early 3-0 lead on a three-pointer by Wente, the first of 11 on the day for the Tigers, but Penn would respond when David Klatzky and Lamar Plummer nailed three-pointers as the Quakers took the lead. Klatzky would finish the half with four three-pointers, but did not have a single three-pointer in the second half. Penn would hold the first-half lead for just 10 minutes before a three-pointer from Bechtold gave Princeton the lead for good with 7:40 to play in the first half. The Tigers would never trail again.
The Tigers held their largest lead of the first half at 29-21 on a three-pointer from C.J. Chapman with 2:31 left. Leading, 31-26 at the half, Princeton saw its lead vanquish in the start of the second half when a Plummer three-pointer followed by a Jeff Schiffner runner tied the score, 31-31.
Bechtold answered with one free throw and Walton followed with his only three-pointer of the game to build a four-point edge, 35-31. Penn would get within one point on another Plummer three-pointer with 15:13 to play. The Quakers would stay close at 40-37 on three free throws from Klatzky with 12:47 left, but then a Tiger run did in the two-time defending Ivy champions.
Over the next 5:58, Princeton put together an 11-0 run to pull ahead and seal the victory. Back-to-back backdoor lay-up from Walton to Logan highlighted the run though Princeton also got a tough driving runner from Wente a three-pointer from Chapman and clutch one-and-one shooting from El-Nokali.
Barely a minute later, the Princeton student body was chanting, "We want Stanford," in reference to the nation’s current No. 1 ranked team, which would mean a 16 seed in the NCAA tournament. It wouldn’t be much longer before "Ivy champs," rained down from the Jadwin bleachers.
The Tigers continued to pull away from Penn, stretching their lead to its largest, 67-45, when senior Terence Rozier-Byrd made one of two free throws with 1:45 remaining. It was the final Jadwin appearance for Rozier-Byrd, Walton and Chapman.
The Ivy title was the 13th straight that either Princeton or Penn has won, and makes it the 31st year out of 33 that one of the Ivy powerhouses has won the championship. It was also the 10th time in the last 11 years that the winner of the first game also won the second contest between the two teams. Princeton defeated Penn by a nearly identical score, 67-53, at The Palestra on Feb. 13.
"Princeton did a great job tonight," said Penn coach Fran Dunphy, whose team finished the season 12-17 overall, 9-5 in the Ivies. "Coach Thompson did a wonderful job preparing his team, all year long really. They overcame a number of difficult situations. I’m real impressed with how they played throughout the year."
Since the end of last season, the Tigers lost head coach Bill Carmody to Northwestern, assistant coach Joe Scott to Air Force, center Chris Young to major league baseball, guard Spencer Gloger to UCLA, and forwards Ray Robins, Chris Krug and Eugene Baah, who all were not with the team this season.
"The cupboard wasn’t as bare as some of you thought it was," Thompson said. "We had some hurdles to get over. I had confidence in the guys. They had confidence in me."
Princeton will represent the Ivy League in the NCAA tournament. The selection show is 6 p.m. Sunday, and Princeton could receive a 15 or 16 seed. The Tigers will look to give some high seed fits in a first-round game that’s taken years to get back to. After Tuesday, Princeton is there.
"I said when I was hired that I want Princeton basketball to stay Princeton basketball," Thompson said. "I think we’ve done it so far."