Princeton Tigers men's basketball
The Princeton Tigers men's basketball team is the intercollegiate men's basketball program representing Princeton University. The school competes in the Ivy League in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association. The Tigers play home basketball games at the Jadwin Gymnasium in Princeton, New Jersey on the university campus. Princeton has won six Eastern Intercollegiate Basketball League championships, 27 Ivy League championships, and the 1975 National Invitation Tournament. The team is currently coached by Mitch Henderson.
The team is known for the Princeton offense perfected under the tenure of former head coach Pete Carril who coached the team from 1967 to 1996. The Princeton offense has resulted in Princeton leading the nation in scoring defense 20 times since 1976 including every year from 1989 to 2000. The Tigers entered the 2009–10 NCAA Division I men's basketball season with 1,552 career victories, 24 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament appearances, and 5 National Invitation Tournament appearances.
Eight different Tigers have earned 12 All-American recognitions. Bill Bradley is the only three-time honoree. Numerous Tigers have played professional basketball. The most recent Tiger NBAer was Steve Goodrich. Petrie was the NBA Rookie of the Year in 1971, while Taylor earned the same honor in the American Basketball Association in 1973. Two of the three Ivy Leaguers to have played in the Olympic games were Tigers. Four of the eight NBA and ABA championships earned by Ivy League players have been earned by Tigers. Three of the five highest NBA career point totals by Ivy League players were by Tigers. Five of the ten Ivy League players selected among the top 25 overall selections in the NBA draft were Tigers. Their main Ivy League rivalry is with Penn.
Coaches
Carril holds the Ivy League record for most career seasons, championships, and wins. Bill Carmody holds the career winning percentage record.;Coaching Records
| Name | Years | Wins | Losses | Winning % |
| Mowbray Forney | 1900–01 | 7 | 5 | 0.583 |
| Augustus W. Enderbrock | 1901–02 | 10 | 10 | 0.500 |
| William Roper | 1902–03 | 8 | 7 | 0.533 |
| William McCoy | 1903–04 | 10 | 5 | 0.667 |
| Frederick Cooper | 1904–06 | 13 | 15 | 0.464 |
| William Kelleher | 1906–07 | 4 | 10 | 0.286 |
| C.F. Kogel | 1907–08 | 7 | 10 | 0.412 |
| Harry F. Shorter | 1908–11 | 19 | 28 | 0.404 |
| Harry Hough | 1911–12 | 8 | 8 | 0.500 |
| Frederick Leuhring | 1912–20 | 100 | 43 | 0.699 |
| Lewis Sugarman | 1920–21 | 11 | 4 | 0.733 |
| James Hynson | 1921 | 3 | 5 | 0.375 |
| J. Hill Zahn | 1921–23 | 36 | 9 | 0.800 |
| Albert Wittmer | 1923–32 | 115 | 86 | 0.572 |
| Herbert Crisler | 1932–34 | 32 | 11 | 0.744 |
| John Jefferies | 1934–35 | 6 | 14 | 0.300 |
| Ken Fairman | 1935–38 | 25 | 38 | 0.397 |
| Franklin Cappon | 1938–43 * | 52 | 37 | 0.584 |
| William Logan | 1943–45 | 20 | 20 | 0.500 |
| Leonard Hattinger | 1945 | 5 | 8 | 0.385 |
| Wes Fesler | 1945–46 | 7 | 12 | 0.368 |
| Franklin Cappon | 1946–61 * | 198 | 144 | 0.579 |
| Jake McCandless | 1961–62 | 22 | 16 | 0.579 |
| Butch van Breda Kolff | 1962–67 | 103 | 31 | 0.769 |
| Pete Carril | 1967–1996 | 514 | 261 | 0.663 |
| Bill Carmody | 1996–2000 | 92 | 25 | 0.787 |
| John Thompson | 2000–2004 | 68 | 42 | 0.618 |
| Joe Scott | 2004–2007 | 38 | 45 | 0.458 |
| Sydney Johnson | 2007–2011 | 66 | 53 | 0.555 |
| Mitch Henderson | 2011–present | 147 | 84 | 0.636 |
Arenas
Princeton originally played its home games at University Gymnasium until it burned down in 1944. Hobey Baker Memorial Rink served as the interim home court for the 1945–46 and 1946–47 seasons until Dillon Gymnasium was built. The 6,800-seat Jadwin Gymnasium hosted the Tigers for the first time on January 25, 1969 against the Penn Quakers men's basketball team. It continues to be the team's home court.| Name | Wins | Losses | Winning % |
| University Gymnasium | |||
| Hobey Baker Memorial Rink | |||
| Dillon Gymnasium | |||
| Jadwin Gymnasium |
Ivy League
The Tigers have played against their Ivy League foes for over a century.| Opponent | First Gm. | Last Gm. | W | L | Pct. | Home | Away | Neutral |
| 1908 | 2018 | 106 | 28 | 62–6 | 44–22 | — | ||
| 1901 | 2018 | 153 | 86 | 83–34 | 68–51 | 2–1 | ||
| 1902 | 2018 | 147 | 81 | 87–27 | 59–52 | 1–2 | ||
| 1905 | 2018 | 152 | 63 | 89–17 | 62-42 | 1–4 | ||
| 1901 | 2018 | 132 | 48 | 77-14 | 54–34 | 1–0 | ||
| 1903 | 2018 | 113 | 126 | 62–52 | 48-70 | 3–4 | ||
| 1902 | 2018 | 150 | 89 | 88–28 | 59–60 | 3–1 |
Through 2017–2018 season
Awards & honors
Bradley has won numerous distinctions as a Princeton Tiger. He is the team's only Rhodes Scholar, and he is the only player to earn NCAA Basketball Tournament Most Outstanding Player. Other honors earned by Tiger basketball players include:All-Americas
| Year | Name |
| 1905 | Oliver deGray Vanderbilt |
| 1913 | Hamilton Salmon |
| 1916 | Cyril Haas |
| 1917 | Cyril Haas |
| 1922 | Arthur Loeb |
| 1923 | Arthur Loeb |
| 1926 | Carl Loeb |
| 1963 | Bill Bradley |
| 1964 | Bill Bradley |
| 1965 | Bill Bradley |
| 1972 | Brian Taylor |
| 1998 | Steve Goodrich |
| 2013 | Ian Hummer |
Ivy League Men's Basketball Player of the Year
| Year | Name |
| 1976 | Armond Hill |
| 1977 | Frank Sowinski |
| 1982 | Craig Robinson |
| 1983 | Craig Robinson |
| 1989 | Bob Scrabis |
| 1990 | Kit Mueller |
| 1991 | Kit Mueller |
| 1992 | Sean Jackson |
| 1997 | Sydney Johnson |
| 1998 | Steve Goodrich |
| 1999 | Brian Earl |
| 2013 | Ian Hummer |
| 2017 | Spencer Weisz |
Ivy League Rookie of the Year
| Year | Name |
| 1971 | Brian Taylor |
| 1977 | Bob Roma |
| 1992 | Rick Hielscher |
| 1999 | Chris Young |
| 2001 | Konrad Wysocki |
| 2014 | Spencer Weisz |
Ivy League Defensive Player of the Year
| Year | Name |
| 2011 | Kareem Maddox |
| 2017 | Myles Stephens |
Ivy League Coach of the Year
| Year | Name |
| 2017 | Mitch Henderson |
Academic All-Americas
| Year | Name | Designation |
| 1965 | Bill Bradley | First Team |
| 1982 | Gordon Enderle | Honorable Mention |
| 1988 | Bill Bradley | Hall of Fame |
| 1990 | Kit Mueller | Third Team |
| 1991 | Kit Mueller | First Team |
| 1998 | Steve Goodrich | Second Team |
Olympians
| Year | Name | Designation |
| 1964 | Bill Bradley | United States |
| 2008 | Konrad Wysocki | Germany |
College Basketball Hall of Fame
| Year | Name | Designation |
| 1999 | Bill Bradley | Player |
| 1997 | Pete Carril | Coach |
Basketball Hall of Fame
| Year | Name | Designation |
| 1983 | Bill Bradley | Player |
| 1997 | Pete Carril | Coach |
Professional basketball
Princeton NBA players were Bud Palmer, Willem van Breda Kolff, Bradley, Geoff Petrie, John Hummer, Taylor, Ted Manakas, Armond Hill, Mike Kearns and Steve Goodrich.David Blatt, now an Israeli-American, played for Princeton in 1977–81 and then became a professional basketball player and subsequently a coach.
NBA/ABA Champiohips
| Year | Name | Designation |
| 1970 New York Knicks | Bill Bradley | 1970 Finals |
| 1973 New York Knicks | Bill Bradley | 1973 Finals |
| 1974 New Jersey Nets | Brian Taylor | 1974 |
| 1976 New Jersey Nets | Brian Taylor | 1976 |
NBA Experience
| School | NBA Alumni | NBA Games | Last Played |
| PRINCETON | 10 | 2,668 | 2001–02 |
| PENN | 12 | 2,176 | 2002–03 |
| DARTMOUTH | 7 | 1,748 | 1994–95 |
| COLUMBIA | 5 | 1,068 | 1978–79 |
| YALE | 3 | 976 | 2002–03 |
| CORNELL | 3 | 176 | 2011–12 |
| HARVARD | 3 | 118 | 2011–12 |
| BROWN | 3 | 63 | 1953–54 |
NBA Draft
| Name | Year | Team | Selection |
| Bernie Adams | 1950 | Philadelphia | |
| Carl Belz | 1959 | Philadelphia | 9th, 62 |
| Reggie Bird | 1972 | Atlanta | 4th rd, 55 |
| Bill Bradley | 1965 | N.Y. Knicks | before 1st rd, territory |
| Jim Brangan | 1960 | Philadelphia | 6th, 47 |
| Pete Campbell | 1962 | Chicago | 10th rd, 79 |
| John Haarlow | 1968 | N.Y. Knicks | 13th rd, 177 |
| Barnes Hauptfuhrer | 1976 | Houston | 3rd rd, 43 |
| Joe Heiser | 1968 | Baltimore | 6th rd, 68 |
| Armond Hill | 1976 | Atlanta | 1st rd, 9 |
| Ed Hummer | 1967 | Boston | 6th rd, 64 |
| John Hummer | 1970 | Buffalo | 1st rd, 15 |
| Mike Kearns | 1951 | Philadelphia | |
| Ted Manakas | 1973 | Atlanta | 3rd rd, 36 |
| Kevin Mullin | 1984 | Boston | 4th rd, 93 |
| Geoff Petrie | 1970 | Portland | 1st rd, 8th |
| Andy Rimol | 1974 | Buffalo | 10th rd, 170 |
| Craig Robinson | 1983 | Philadelphia | 4th rd, 93 |
| Bob Roma | 1979 | Kansas City | 6th rd, 126 |
| Bill Ryan | 1984 | N.J. Nets | 9th rd, 200 |
| Rich Simkus | 1983 | N.J. Nets | 10th rd, 222 |
| Frank Sowinski | 1978 | N.J. Nets | 9th rd, 171 |
| Brian Taylor | 1972 | Seattle | 2nd rd, 23 |
| Chris Thomforde | 1969 | N.Y. Knicks | 7th rd, 96 |
| Tim van Blommesteyn | 1975 | N.Y. Knicks | 9th rd, 153 |
Records
Bradley continues to hold the single-game, single-season, and career total and average points Ivy League records. In addition, he holds the Ivy records for single-game, single-season, and career field goals made as well as single-season, and career free throws made. Other Tiger Ivy League record holders include Howard Levy, Alan Williams, Brian Earl, Spencer Gloger, Sydney Johnson, Dave Orlandini.;National records:
- Combined single-game Three-point field goal field goal percentage : 72.4%—Princeton vs. Brown, February 20, 1998
- Combined single-game points : 62—Monmouth vs. Princeton, December 14, 2005
- Single-season three-point field goal percentage : 49.2%—Princeton, 1988
- Longest annual rivalry Princeton–Yale: Since 1902
- Free throws made in 100% effort: Bradley
- Single-game points scored in a final four: Bradley 58 Princeton vs. Wichita St., N3d, 3-20- 1965
- Single-game field goals made : Bradley 22 Princeton vs. Wichita St., N3d, 3-20- 1965
- Victory margin : 36 Princeton vs. Wichita St., N3d, March 20, 1965
- Points in a half, team : 65, Princeton vs. Wichita St., N3d, March 20, 1965
- Single-year two-game points scored : 87, Bill Bradley, Princeton, 1965
- Single-year two-game field goals made : 34, Bill Bradley, Princeton, 1965
- Single-game free throw percentage : 93.3%, Bradley, Princeton vs. Wichita St., N3d, March 25, 1965
- Points in a half, both teams : 108, Princeton vs. Wichita St., N3d, March 20, 1965
- Single-year two-game free throw percentage : 95.0%, Bill Bradley, Princeton, 1965
- Single-year two-game field goals made : 78, Princeton, 1965
- Fewest points allowed : 28–66 Dartmouth, February 10, 1990
- Fewest points allowed : 27–55 Yale, January 11, 1991
- Fewest combined points : 76 vs. Colgate, November 30, 1988
- Single-season team defense : 52.9, 1976
- Single-season team defense : 51.7, 1977
- Single-season team assists-turnover ratio : 1.63, 1998
- Consecutive home victories: Princeton over Brown 52, 1929–2002
- Field goal percentage: 70.3% Alan Williams 163 of 232, 1987
- Three-point field goal percentage: 53.4% Matt Lapin 71 of 133, 1990
- Free throw percentage: 88.6% Bill Bradley, 273 of 308, 1965
- Free throw percentage: 90.0% Joe Heiser, 117 of 130, 1968
- Won-loss percentage: 93.1% team, 27 of 29, 1998
- Scoring defense: 52.9, 1976; 51.7, 1977; 55.8, 1979; 52.0, 1983; 50.1, 1984; 55.0, 1986; 53.0, 1989; 51.0, 1990; 48.9, 1991; 48.2, 1992; 54.7, 1993; 52.3, 1994; 57.7, 1995; 51.7, 1996; 53.4, 1997; 51.4, 1998; 52.7, 1999; 54.6, 2000; 53.3, 2007; 53.3, 2010.
- Field goal percentage: 54.1% team, 601 of 1111, 1987
- Three-point field goals/game: 8.12 team, 1988
- Three-point field percentage: 49.2 team, 1988, 45.2 team, 1990
- Assists-turnover ratio: 1.63 team, 1998
- Fewest turnover/game: 10.14 team, 1998
- The 1925 team is considered the retroactive national champion by the Helms Athletic Foundation and the Premo-Porretta Power Poll.
- Bradley was the second to post a 2000-point/1000-rebound three-year career.
- Weisz became the only player in Princeton career history to amass 1,000 points, 500 rebounds, 300 assists, and 200 3-pointers.
- The 27-point comeback from 13–40 with 15:11 remaining to win 50–49 over Penn on February 9, 1999 remains the fifth-largest comeback and fourth-largest second-half comeback in NCAA history. That game's 9–33 half time deficit comeback remains the second-largest comeback.
- 14 of the top 25 single-season team defensive averages since 1965 have been by Princeton.
- Princeton ranked in the top 10 nationally in win percentage in both the 1960s, and 1990s.
- Last Princeton team ranked in the polls during the season and at the end of the season was the 1997–98 team, which was ranked in all but the first three polls of the season and finished the season 8th.
- Other ranked teams according to the AP Poll 1950–51, 1966–67, 1967–68, 1971–72, 1974–75, 1975–76, 1990–91.
Postseason
NCAA Tournaments
NCAA Tournament Seeding HistoryThe NCAA began seeding the NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament with the 1979 edition. The 64-team field started in 1985, which guaranteed that a championship team had to win six games.
| Years → | '81 | '83 | '84 | '89 | '90 | '91 | '92 | '96 | '97 | '98 | '01 | '04 | '11 | '17 |
| Seeds → | 11 | 12 | 12 | 16 | 13 | 8 | 11 | 13 | 12 | 5 | 15 | 14 | 13 | 12 |
| Round → | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| 1952 | 16 | Sweet Sixteen Regional Third Place Game | L 49–60 L 61–77 | |
| 1955 | 24 | Sweet Sixteen Regional Third Place Game | La Salle | L 46–73 L 57–64 |
| 1960 | 25 | First Round | Duke | L 60–84 |
| 1961 | 24 | First Round Sweet Sixteen Regional Third Place Game | W 84–67 L 67–72 L 67–85 | |
| 1963 | 25 | First Round | L 81–82 | |
| 1964 | 25 | First Round Sweet Sixteen Regional Third Place Game | VMI Connecticut | W 86–60 L 50–52 L 62–74 |
| 1965 | 23 | First Round Sweet Sixteen Elite Eight Final Four National Third Place Game | Michigan | W 60–58 W 66–48 W 109–69 L 76–93 W 118–82 |
| 1967 | 23 | First Round Sweet Sixteen Regional Third Place Game | North Carolina | W 68–57 L 70–78 OT W 78–58 |
| 1969 | 25 | First Round | L 63–72 | |
| 1976 | 32 | First Round | L 53–54 | |
| 1977 | 32 | First Round | Kentucky | L 58–72 |
| 1981 | 48 | First Round | BYU | L 51–60 |
| 1983 | 52 | Preliminary Round First Round Second Round | Boston College | W 53–41 W 56–53 L 42–51 |
| 1984 | 56 | Preliminary Round First Round | W 65–56 L 56–68 | |
| 1989 | 64 | First Round | Georgetown | L 49–50 |
| 1990 | 64 | First Round | Arkansas | L 64–68 |
| 1991 | 64 | First Round | Villanova | L 48–50 |
| 1992 | 64 | First Round | L 43–51 | |
| 1996 | 64 | First Round Second Round | UCLA Mississippi State | W 43–41 L 41–63 |
| 1997 | 64 | First Round | L 52–55 | |
| 1998 | 64 | First Round Second Round | Michigan State | W 69–57 L 56–63 |
| 2001 | 65 | First Round | North Carolina | L 48–70 |
| 2004 | 65 | First Round | Texas | L 49–66 |
| 2011 | 68 | Second Round | Kentucky | L 57–59 |
| 2017 | 68 | First Round | Notre Dame | L 58–60 |
In 2011 the round of 64 was the second round