1996–97 Princeton Tigers men's basketball team

1996–97 Princeton Tigers men's basketball
Undefeated Ivy League Champion
1997 NCAA Men's Division I Tournament, Twelve Seed, Round of 64
ConferenceIvy League
Record24–4 (14–0, 1st Ivy)
Head coach
CaptainSydney Johnson
Home arenaJadwin Gymnasium
Seasons
1996–97 Ivy League men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
Princeton 14 – 0   1.000 24 – 4   .857
Dartmouth 10 – 4   .714 18 – 8   .692
Harvard 10 – 4   .714 17 – 9   .654
Penn 8 – 6   .571 12 – 14   .462
Cornell 7 – 7   .500 15 – 11   .577
Yale 3 – 11   .214 10 – 16   .385
Brown 3 – 11   .214 4 – 22   .154
Columbia 1 – 13   .071 6 – 20   .231
Rankings from AP Poll[1]

The 1996–97 Princeton Tigers men's basketball team represented Princeton University in intercollegiate college basketball during the 1996–97 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The head coach was Bill Carmody and the team captain was Sydney Johnson.[2] The team played its home games in the Jadwin Gymnasium on the University campus in Princeton, New Jersey. The team was the undefeated champion of the Ivy League, which earned them an invitation to the 64-team 1997 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament where they were seeded twelfth in the East Region.[3] This was Carmody's first season taking over the coaching duties from Pete Carril who had been Princeton coach since 1967 and retired as the Ivy League's winningest coach in terms of victories and conference championships.[3][4]

Using the Princeton offense, the team posted a 24–4 overall record and a 14–0 conference record.[2] On February 28 and March 1, 1997, Johnson established the current Ivy League record by making 11 consecutive three-point field goals against Columbia Lions and Cornell Big Red, respectively.[5] The six for six performance against Columbia stands as the only Ivy League perfect three-point shot game of six attempts or more.[6][7] The team ended the regular season on a nineteen-game winning streak, which tied a school record.[2][8] Nonetheless, in a March 13, 1997, NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament East Regional first round game at the Joel Coliseum in Winston-Salem, North Carolina against the fifth-seeded California Golden Bears, the team lost 55–52.[2][3][9][10]

The team was led by first team All-Ivy League selections Steve Goodrich and Johnson.[3] Johnson earned Ivy League Men's Basketball Player of the Year.[3] He earned the award for his defense and was the first winner with a single-digit scoring average.[11][12] The team won the ninth of twelve consecutive national statistical championships in scoring defense with a 53.4 points allowed average.[13] Goodrich repeated as the Ivy League's field goal percentage statistical champion with a 64.8% average in conference games.[14]

Schedule and results

The team posted a 24–4 (14–0 Ivy League) record.[15]

Date
time, TV 		Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site
city, state
Regular season
Nov 20, 1996*
 at No. 22 Indiana
Preseason NIT 		L 49–59  0–1
 Assembly Hall 
Bloomington, Indiana
Dec 3, 1996*
 at Lafayette W 75–54  1–1
 Allan P. Kirby Field House 
Easton, Pennsylvania
Dec 6, 1996*
 vs. Rice
First Bank Classic 		W 59–54  2–1
 Bradley Center 
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Dec 7, 1996*
 at Marquette
First Bank Classic 		W 66–62  3–1
 Bradley Center 
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Dec 10, 1996*
 Bucknell L 62–74 OT 3–2
 Jadwin Gymnasium 
Princeton, New Jersey
Dec 14, 1996*
 at Monmouth W 48–46  4–2
 Boylan Gymnasium 
West Long Branch, New Jersey
Dec 19, 1996*
 Lehigh W 73–42  5–2
 Jadwin Gymnasium 
Princeton, New Jersey
Dec 22, 1996*
 No. 12 North Carolina L 60–69  5–3
 Jadwin Gymnasium 
Princeton, New Jersey
Dec 27, 1996*
 vs. Texas A&M
Sierra Medical Center Sun Classic 		W 46–38  6–3
 Don Haskins Center 
El Paso, Texas
Dec 28, 1996*
 at UTEP
Sierra Medical Center Sun Classic 		W 76–64  7–3
 Don Haskins Center 
El Paso, Texas
Jan 3, 1997*
 at Manhattan W 54–49  8–3
 Draddy Gymnasium 
New York, New York
Jan 6, 1997*
 Rutgers W 71–66  9–3
 Jadwin Gymnasium 
Princeton, New Jersey
Jan 10, 1997
 at Brown W 44–40  10–3
(1–0) 		Pizzitola Sports Center 
Providence, Rhode Island
Jan 11, 1997*
 at Yale W 58–45  11–3
(2–0) 		John J. Lee Amphitheater 
New Haven, Connecticut
Jan 27, 1997*
 Hamilton W 90–48  12–3
 Jadwin Gymnasium 
Princeton, New Jersey
Jan 31, 1997*
 at Cornell W 66–42  13–3
(3–0) 		Newman Arena 
Ithaca, New York
Feb 1, 1997*
 at Columbia W 65–53  14–3
(4–0) 		Levien Gymnasium 
New York, New York
Feb 7, 1997*
 Dartmouth W 57–55  15–3
(5–0) 		Jadwin Gymnasium 
Princeton, New Jersey
Feb 8, 1997
 Harvard W 75–51  16–3
(6–0) 		Jadwin Gymnasium 
Princeton, New Jersey
Feb 11, 1997
 at Penn W 74–59  17–3
(7–0) 		The Palestra 
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Feb 14, 1997
 Yale W 81–51  18–3
(8–0) 		Jadwin Gymnasium 
Princeton, New Jersey
Feb 15, 1997
 Brown W 63–34  19–3
(9–0) 		Jadwin Gymnasium 
Princeton, New Jersey
Feb 21, 1997
 at Harvard W 66–61  20–3
(10–0) 		Lavietes Pavilion 
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Feb 22, 1997
 at Dartmouth W 60–53  21–3
(11–0) 		Leede Arena 
Hanover, New Hampshire
Feb 28, 1997
 Columbia W 67–52  22–3
(12–0) 		Jadwin Gymnasium 
Princeton, New Jersey
Mar 1, 1997
 Cornell W 70–47  23–3
(13–0) 		Jadwin Gymnasium 
Princeton, New Jersey
Mar 4, 1997
 Penn W 86–73  24–3
(14–0) 		Jadwin Gymnasium 
Princeton, New Jersey
NCAA tournament
Mar 13, 1997*
 (12 E) vs. (5 E) California
First round 		L 52–55  24–4
 Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum 
Winston-Salem, North Carolina
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
E=East.

References

  1. ^ sports-reference.com 1996-97 Ivy Group Season Summary
  2. ^ a b c d "Men's Basketball Record Book • All-Time Results". GoPrincetonTigers.com. Princeton Athletic Communications. June 12, 2009. Retrieved September 27, 2010.
  3. ^ a b c d e 2009–10 Ivy League Basketball Media Guide. p. 39. {{cite book}}: |website= ignored (help)
  4. ^ 2009–10 Ivy League Basketball Media Guide. pp. 55–56. {{cite book}}: |website= ignored (help)
  5. ^ 2009–10 Ivy League Basketball Media Guide. p. 50. {{cite book}}: |website= ignored (help)
  6. ^ 2009–10 Ivy League Basketball Media Guide. p. 51. {{cite book}}: |website= ignored (help)
  7. ^ Mallozzi, Vincent M. (March 1, 1997). "Long Island Outshines Marist and the Crowd". The New York Times. Retrieved October 5, 2010.
  8. ^ "Results Plus". The New York Times. March 5, 1997. Retrieved March 12, 2011.
  9. ^ Araton, Harvey (March 14, 1997). "Two Upstarts Go Down Fighting". The New York Times. Archived from the original on November 9, 2010. Retrieved October 3, 2010.
  10. ^ 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.
  11. ^ Berkow, Ira (March 12, 1997). "Princeton Is Pesky As Ever". The New York Times. Retrieved March 12, 2011.
  12. ^ "East". The Baltimore Sun. March 10, 1997. Retrieved March 12, 2011.
  13. ^ "Division I Records" (PDF). National Collegiate Athletic Association. p. 48. Retrieved October 2, 2010.
  14. ^ 2009–10 Ivy League Basketball Media Guide. p. 49. {{cite book}}: |website= ignored (help)
  15. ^ Princeton Athletic Communications (June 12, 2009). "Men's Basketball Record Book • All-Time Results". GoPrincetonTigers.com. Princeton University. Retrieved February 5, 2024.