Princeton

[fireford]

Win a 61-58 "cat fight" at Villanova led by Chen's 31. Trailing 59-56, Nova had a chance to tie in the closing seconds as Olson was fouled but she only hit two of three of her free throws so the Wildcats still trailed by 1.
Belker then hit 2 free throws to ice the 3 point victory for Coach Carla Berube and the Tigers as they improved to 7-3 while the Wildcats dropped to 6-4.

 

[KnightBridgeAZ]

The rare battle between 2 teams I generally like. Must have been a fun game.

 

[LETTERL]

Princeton is no joke. Dangerous team that can beat you. They knocked NC State out of the NCAAT last year.

 

[fireford]

Princeton hosting Rutgers (6-6) tomorrow in their quest for NJ supremacy. The Tigers already defeated Seton Hall in a wild double OT affair back on 11/29.

 

[Darwin]

Princeton is no joke. Dangerous team that can beat you. They knocked NC State out of the NCAAT last year.

Princeton is a fine team, I root like hell for them. My affinity for Princeton BB goes back to their men’s program from the 80’s and 90’s, such beautiful BB….remember the NCAA tourney game vs Georgetown and Ewing? Pete Carill was the coach, he was awesome, back doored you to death. What a beautiful motion offense to watch.

 

[Cheddie]

Princeton is a fine team, I root like hell for them. My affinity for Princeton BB goes back to their men’s program from the 80’s and 90’s, such beautiful BB….remember the NCAA tourney game vs Georgetown and Ewing?

I go back a bit further, to the 60's when Bill Bradley played for Princeton and averaged 30 ppg. Epic game against Michigan and Cazzie Russell in the Garden. BB scored 40 or so, but Michigan won by 2.

 

[Darwin]

Princeton was something under Pete. Their women’s program has been excellent for awhile now also.

 

[MainefanSC]

I must confess, my history rooting for Princeton began with Carla taking over. Of the UConn coaching tree under Geno, in my mind, Carla is the best. Even when she played for Geno, her attitude has been to "take care of business". Her players are well coached and her teams always make an impact.

 

[JellyBean]

I always love watching teams like Princeton because they are not getting those elite ballers like other programs. But seeing how competitive Princeton is, it is just a joy to watch.

 

[HuskyFan1125]

I may be completely off track here but did the announcer in the Princeton/Rutgers game say that Chen is headed to North Carolina to play for Courtney Banghardt next season?

 

[KnightBridgeAZ]

I may be completely off track here but did the announcer in the Princeton/Rutgers game say that Chen is headed to North Carolina to play for Courtney Banghardt next season?

I don't know what was said, but it sounds plausible. Banghardt connection to Princeton, maybe coached Chen early on. Ivy doesn't give Covid years. So, makes sense.

 

[fireford]

Great first half for the Tigers taking a 21 point lead over Rutgers. They wound up winning by 11, 66-55, to improve to 8-3. Not sure if 2nd half was more a case of Princeton letting off the gas or Rutgers making adjustments.
Chen had 19, St Rose had 17, and Chea had 13 pff the bench to lead the Tigers.
Beating Rutgers, 6-7, not what it used to be 20 or so years ago, but Princeton clinched NJ bragging rights sweeping Seton Hall and Rutgers on the season.

 

[Dillon77]

Kudos to Princeton, as well as Columbia and Harvard, who all had very good seasons last year.

We don't have an Ivy League thread (yet? Should we?) but I want to bring up a factoid/development that has caught my eye.

Dartmouth beat UMass Lowell 58-52 in a sludge-fest last night, but that's not the point: the Big Green is now 5-5 under first-year Coach Linda Cimino. Those five wins are equal to the sum total Dartmouth won in 2021-22 and 2022-23. And she hasn't started league play yet (which may or may not be worse).

Cimino, if you recall, was at St. Francis in Brooklyn and managed to make that a respectable program, beating Michigan State one year.

Worth noting, in part, because she's not doing this with transfers -- these are the same players from those past two (futile) years. She only got the gig in May, so none of these are "her" players -- if she can pull off even a few more wins, she might be able to get some decent players up to Hanover.