1988–89 Princeton Tigers men's basketball team

1988–89 Princeton Tigers men's basketball
Ivy League Champion
ConferenceIvy League
Record19–8 (11–3, 1st Ivy)
Head coach
CaptainBob Scrabis
Home arenaJadwin Gymnasium
Seasons
1988-89 Ivy League men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
Princeton 11 – 3   .786 19 – 8   .704
Dartmouth 10 – 4   .714 17 – 9   .654
Penn 9 – 5   .643 13 – 13   .500
Harvard 7 – 7   .500 11 – 15   .423
Cornell 7 – 7   .500 10 – 16   .385
Yale 6 – 8   .429 11 – 17   .393
Columbia 4 – 10   .286 8 – 18   .308
Brown 2 – 12   .143 7 – 19   .269
Rankings from AP Poll[1]


The 1988–89 Princeton Tigers men's basketball team represented Princeton University in intercollegiate college basketball during the 1988–89 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The head coach was Pete Carril and the team captains was Bob Scrabis.[2] The team played its home games in the 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 64-team 1989 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament where they were seeded sixteenth in the East Region.[3]

The team posted a 19–8 overall record and an 11–3 conference record.[2] When the team defeated Colgate 43–33 on November 30, 1988, it established a new National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I record for fewest combined points (since 1986), using the Princeton offense. The record would stand until December 16, 1989.[4] In an East regional first-round game of the 1989 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament against the Georgetown Hoyas, they lost by a 50–49 margin.[2][3][5] The game matched the unheralded sixteenth-seeded Princeton Tigers against the number one seeded Hoyas who featured freshman Alonzo Mourning and senior guard Charles Smith. Mourning blocked shots by Scrabis and Kit Mueller in the final six seconds to save the one-point victory for the Hoyas.[6][7]

The team was led by first team All-Ivy League selections Scrabis and Mueller. Scrabis earned the Ivy League Men's Basketball Player of the Year award.[3] Mueller shot 70.9% on his field goals to earn the second of three Ivy League statistical championships for field goal percentage.[8] The team won the first of twelve consecutive national statistical championships in scoring defense with a 53.0 points allowed average.[9]

Schedule and results

Date
time, TV 		Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site
city, state
Non-conference regular season
Nov, 1988*
 Franklin & Marshall College W 68–60  1–0
 Jadwin Gymnasium 
Princeton, NJ
Nov 30, 1988*
 Colgate W 43–33  2–0
 Jadwin Gymnasium 
Princeton, NJ
Dec 3, 1988*
 Iona W 49–46  3–0
 Jadwin Gymnasium 
Princeton, NJ
Dec 7, 1988*
 at Lehigh W 54–47  4–0
 Stabler Arena 
Bethlehem, PA
Dec 10, 1988*
 Saint Joseph's W 59–53  5–0
 Jadwin Gymnasium 
Princeton, NJ
Dec 17, 1988*
 at Rutgers L 63–69  5–1
 Louis Brown Athletic Center 
Piscataway, NJ
Dec 22, 1988*
 at No. 15 Seton Hall L 46–64  5–2
 Izod Center 
East Rutherford, NJ
Dec 29, 1988*
 vs. Georgia
Cotton States Classic 		L 54–58  5–3
 Omni Coliseum 
Atlanta, GA
Dec 30, 1988*
 vs. No. 16 South Carolina
Cotton States Classic 		W 69–58[10]  6–3
 Omni Coliseum 
Atlanta, GA
Jan 4, 1989*
 at Delaware L 45–52  6–4
 Delaware Field House 
Newark, DE
Jan 7, 1989*
 Fordham W 57–53  7–4
 Jadwin Gymnasium 
Princeton, NJ
Jan 23, 1989*
 Muhlenberg W 49–46  8–4
 Jadwin Gymnasium 
Princeton, NJ
Ivy League
Jan 27, 1989*
 at Brown W 61–55  9–4
(1–0) 		Marvel Gymnasium 
Providence, RI
Jan 28, 1989*
 at Yale W 51–48  10–4
(2–0) 		John J. Lee Amphitheater 
New Haven, CT
Feb 3, 1989*
 Harvard L 57–63  10–5
(2–1) 		Jadwin Gymnasium 
Princeton, NJ
Feb 4, 1989*
 Dartmouth W 63–53  11–5
(3–1) 		Jadwin Gymnasium 
Princeton, NJ
Feb 7, 1989*
 Penn W 53–43  12–5
(4–1) 		Jadwin Gymnasium 
Princeton, NJ
Feb 10, 1989*
 at Columbia W 72–54  13–5
(5–1) 		Levien Gymnasium 
New York, NY
Feb 11, 1989*
 at Cornell W 60–49  14–5
(6–1) 		Barton Hall 
Ithaca, NY
Feb 17, 1989*
 Yale W 70–60  15–5
(7–1) 		Jadwin Gymnasium 
Princeton, NJ
Feb 18, 1989*
 Brown W 57–33  16–5
(8–1) 		Jadwin Gymnasium 
Princeton, NJ
Feb 24, 1989*
 Cornell W 65–46  17–5
(9–1) 		Jadwin Gymnasium 
Princeton, NJ
Feb 25, 1989*
 Columbia W 78–62  18–5
(10–1) 		Jadwin Gymnasium 
Princeton, NJ
Feb 28, 1989*
 at Penn L 42–43  18–6
(10–2) 		Palestra 
Philadelphia, PA
Mar 3, 1989*
 at Dartmouth L 43–53  18–7
(10–3) 		Leede Arena 
Hanover, NH
Mar 4, 1989*
 at Harvard W 73–64  19–7
(11–3) 		Lavietes Pavilion 
Boston, MA
NCAA tournament
Mar 17, 1989*
 (16 E) vs. (1 E) No. 2 Georgetown
First Round 		L 49–50[11][12]  19–8
 Providence Civic Center 
Providence, RI
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
E=East.
All times are in Eastern Time.

[13]

References

  1. ^ sports-reference.com 1988-89 Ivy Group Season Summary
  2. ^ a b c "Men's Basketball Record Book • All-Time Results". GoPrincetonTigers.com. Princeton Athletic Communications. June 12, 2009. Retrieved September 27, 2010.
  3. ^ a b c 2009–10 Ivy League Basketball Media Guide. p. 37. {{cite book}}: |website= ignored (help)
  4. ^ "Division I Records" (PDF). National Collegiate Athletic Association. p. 39. Retrieved October 2, 2010.
  5. ^ 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.
  6. ^ Moran, Malcolm (March 18, 1989). "N.C.A.A. Tournament: East; Georgetown Survives Princeton Scare". The New York Times. Retrieved October 2, 2010.
  7. ^ Moran, Malcolm (March 18, 1989). "College Basketball; Tenacious Princeton Defies Expectations". The New York Times. Retrieved October 2, 2010.
  8. ^ 2009–10 Ivy League Basketball Media Guide. p. 49. {{cite book}}: |website= ignored (help)
  9. ^ "Division I Records" (PDF). National Collegiate Athletic Association. p. 48. Retrieved October 2, 2010.
  10. ^ "Princeton Upsets South Carolina". The New York Times. December 31, 1988. Retrieved February 16, 2020.
  11. ^ "PRINCETON NOT AWED, KNOWS ODDS". The Washington Post. March 16, 1989. Retrieved February 16, 2020.
  12. ^ "The Game That Saved March Madness". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved February 16, 2020.
  13. ^ "1988-89 Princeton Tigers Men's Schedule and Results". sports-reference.com. Retrieved July 20, 2024.