1968–69 Princeton Tigers men's basketball team

1968–69 Princeton Tigers men's basketball
Undefeated Ivy League Champion
ConferenceIvy League
Record19–7 (14–0, 1st Ivy)
Head coach
CaptainChristopher Thomforde
Home arenaDillon Gymnasium
Jadwin Gymnasium
Seasons
1968–69 Ivy League men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
Princeton 14 – 0   1.000 19 – 7   .731
Columbia 11 – 3   .786 20 – 4   .833
Penn 10 – 4   .714 15 – 10   .600
Cornell 7 – 7   .500 12 – 13   .480
Yale 6 – 8   .429 9 – 16   .360
Dartmouth 4 – 10   .286 10 – 15   .400
Harvard 3 – 11   .214 7 – 18   .280
Brown 1 – 13   .071 3 – 23   .115
Rankings from AP Poll[1]


The 1968–69 Princeton Tigers men's basketball team represented the Princeton University in intercollegiate college basketball during the 1968–69 NCAA University Division men's basketball season. The head coach was Pete Carril and the team captain was Christopher Thomforde.[2] The team played its home games in the Dillon Gymnasium on the university campus before the January 25, 1969, opening of Jadwin Gymnasium on the university campus in Princeton, New Jersey. The team was the champion of the Ivy League, which earned them an invitation to the 25-team 1969 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament.[3] The team was Princeton's first undefeated Ivy League champion, and earned Carril his first of eleven NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament invitations.[2] The team helped Princeton end the decade with a 72.6 winning percentage (188–71), which was the tenth best in the nation.[4]

During the regular season, the team played a few of the teams that would eventually participate in the 25-team NCAA tournament: they opened their season against the Villanova Wildcats and later played two of the eventual final four participants (the UCLA Bruins and North Carolina Tar Heels) in the ECAC Holiday Classic at Madison Square Garden in New York City in late December 1968.[2][5] The team posted a 19–7 overall record and a 14–0 conference record.[2] The team entered the tournament riding an eleven-game winning streak and having won fifteen of their last sixteen games, but they lost their March 8, 1969 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament East Regional first-round game against the St. John's Redmen 72–63 at Reynolds Coliseum in Raleigh, North Carolina.[2][6][7]

Both John Hummer and Geoff Petrie were selected to the All-Ivy League first team. Petrie, who led the conference in scoring with a 23.9 average in conference games,[6] was also an All-East selection.[8] Thomforde was selected in the 1969 NBA draft by the New York Knicks with the 96th overall selection in the 7th round.[9] Hummer led the conference in field goal percentage with 55.4%.[10] Petrie and Hummer would become the only Tiger teammates to both be drafted in the first round of the NBA draft (in the same draft no less) when they were selected eighth and fifteenth overall in the 1970 NBA draft by the Portland Trail Blazers and the Buffalo Braves. The two were part of a trio of 1970 NBA first-round draftees from the Ivy League that included number thirteen selection Jim McMillian of Columbia.[6] Hummer was the first NBA draft pick by the expansion Buffalo Braves.[11] Petrie would share the 1971 NBA Rookie of the Year Award with Dave Cowens.[12] Brian Taylor was selected in the 1972 NBA draft by the Seattle SuperSonics with the 23rd overall selection in the second round while Reggie Bird was selected by the Atlanta Hawks with the 55th overall selection in the fourth round.[6]

Schedule and results

The team posted a 19–7 (14–0 Ivy League) record.[13]

Date
time, TV 		Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site
city, state
Regular season
Dec 3, 1968*
 at No. 10 Villanova L 54–64  0–1
 Villanova Field House 
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Dec 7, 1968*
 vs. No. 16 Duke L 62–81  0–2
 Madison Square Garden 
New York, New York
Dec 11, 1968*
 at Maryland W 72–63  1–2
 Cole Fieldhouse 
College Park, Maryland
Dec 14, 1968*
 Navy W 56–55  2–2
 Dillon Gym 
Princeton, New Jersey
Dec 17, 1968*
 at Rutgers L 60–61  2–3
 College Avenue Gymnasium 
Piscataway, New Jersey
Dec 18, 1968*
 NYU W 88–76  3–3
 Dillon Gym 
Princeton, New Jersey
Dec 27, 1968*
 vs. Holy Cross
ECAC Holiday Festival 		W 67–55  4–3
 Madison Square Garden 
New York, New York
Dec 28, 1968*
 vs. No. 1 UCLA
ECAC Holiday Festival 		L 67–83  4–4
 Madison Square Garden 
New York, New York
Dec 30, 1968*
 vs. No. 4 North Carolina
ECAC Holiday Festival 		L 76–103  4–5
 Madison Square Garden 
New York, New York
Jan 3, 1969
 at Penn W 59–56  5–5
(1–0) 		The Palestra 
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Jan 4, 1969*
 at Army W 51–42  6–5
 Gillis Field House 
West Point, New York
Jan 10, 1969
 Dartmouth W 70–55  7–5
(2–0) 		Dillon Gym 
Princeton, New Jersey
Jan 11, 1969
 Harvard W 73–62  8–5
(3–0) 		Dillon Gym 
Princeton, New Jersey
Jan 23, 1969*
 at No. 4 Davidson L 54–71  8–6
 Charlotte Coliseum 
Charlotte, North Carolina
Jan 25, 1969
 Penn W 74–62  9–6
(4–0) 		Dillon Gym 
Princeton, New Jersey
Jan 31, 1969
 at Harvard W 76–65  10–6
(5–0) 		Lavietes Pavilion 
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Feb 1, 1969
 at Dartmouth W 61–50  11–6
(6–0) 		Alumni Gym 
Hanover, New Hampshire
Feb 7, 1969
 No. 14 Columbia W 68–49  12–6
(7–0) 		Dillon Gym 
Princeton, New Jersey
Feb 8, 1969
 Cornell W 67–57  13–6
(8–0) 		Dillon Gym 
Princeton, New Jersey
Feb 14, 1969
 at Yale W 67–56  14–6
(9–0) 		John J. Lee Amphitheater 
New Haven, Connecticut
Feb 15, 1969
 at Brown W 75–56  15–6
(10–0) 		Marvel Gymnasium 
Providence, Rhode Island
Feb 21, 1969
 Yale W 72–53  16–6
(11–0) 		Dillon Gym 
Princeton, New Jersey
Feb 22, 1969
 Brown W 74–46  17–6
(12–0) 		Dillon Gym 
Princeton, New Jersey
Feb 28, 1969
 at Columbia W 60–59  18–6
(13–0) 		University Gymnasium 
New York, New York
Mar 1, 1969
 at Cornell W 74–64  19–6
(14–0) 		Barton Hall 
Ithaca, New York
NCAA tournament
Mar 8, 1969*
 vs. No. 8 St. John's
First round 		L 63–72  19–7
 Reynolds Coliseum 
Raleigh, North Carolina
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.

NCAA tournament

The team lost in the first round of the 1969 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament.[14][15]

3/8/69 in Raleigh, N.C.: St. John’s 72, Princeton 63

Awards and honors

Players drafted into the NBA

Five players from this team were selected in the NBA draft.[16][17]

Year Round Pick Player NBA Club
1969 7 11 Chris Thomforde New York Knicks
1970 1 8 Geoff Petrie Portland Trail Blazers
1970 1 15 John Hummer Buffalo Braves
1972 2 23 Brian Taylor Seattle SuperSonics
1972 4 55 Reggie Bird Atlanta Hawks

References

  1. ^ sports-reference.com 1968-69 Ivy Group Season Summary
  2. ^ a b c d e "Men's Basketball Record Book • All-Time Results". GoPrincetonTigers.com. Princeton Athletic Communications. June 12, 2009. Retrieved September 27, 2010.
  3. ^ 2009–10 Ivy League Basketball Media Guide. p. 30. {{cite book}}: |website= ignored (help)
  4. ^ "Division I Records" (PDF). National Collegiate Athletic Association. p. 57. Retrieved October 1, 2010.
  5. ^ "1969 Men's College Basketball Bracket". CBS Sports. Retrieved October 4, 2010.
  6. ^ a b c d 2009–10 Ivy League Basketball Media Guide. p. 33. {{cite book}}: |website= ignored (help)
  7. ^ Princeton Athletic Communications (June 22, 2009). "Men's Basketball Record Book • Men's Basketball in the Postseason". GoPrincetonTigers.com. Princeton University. Retrieved September 30, 2010.
  8. ^ a b Princeton Athletic Communications (June 12, 2009). "Men's Basketball Record Book • Ivy League & National Awards". GoPrincetonTigers.com. Princeton University. Retrieved March 28, 2010.
  9. ^ 2009–10 Ivy League Basketball Media Guide. p. 32. {{cite book}}: |website= ignored (help)
  10. ^ 2009–10 Ivy League Basketball Media Guide. p. 49. {{cite book}}: |website= ignored (help)
  11. ^ "1971 NBA Draft". Basketball-Reference. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved October 7, 2010.
  12. ^ "NBA & ABA Rookie of the Year Award Winners". Basketball-Reference. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved October 7, 2010.
  13. ^ Princeton Athletic Communications (June 12, 2009). "Men's Basketball Record Book • All-Time Results". GoPrincetonTigers.com. Princeton University. Retrieved March 27, 2010.
  14. ^ a b c d e f "1968–69 Ivy Men's Basketball". IvyLeagueSports.com. Archived from the original on January 31, 2009. Retrieved March 28, 2010.
  15. ^ "1969 NCAA basketball tournament Bracket". databaseSports.com. Retrieved March 27, 2010.
  16. ^ "1969 NBA Draft". databaseSports.com. Archived from the original on March 18, 2010. Retrieved March 28, 2010.
  17. ^ "1970 NBA Draft". databaseSports.com. Archived from the original on December 6, 2008. Retrieved March 28, 2010.