2003–04 Princeton Tigers men's basketball team

2003–04 Princeton Tigers men's basketball
Ivy League Champion
2004 NCAA Men's Division I Tournament, Fourteen Seed, Round of 64
ConferenceIvy League
Record20–8 (13–1, 1st Ivy)
Head coach
Assistant coachMike Brennan
Captains
Home arenaJadwin Gymnasium
Seasons
2003–04 Ivy League men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
Princeton 13 – 1   .929 20 – 8   .714
Penn 10 – 4   .714 17 – 10   .630
Brown 10 – 4   .714 14 – 13   .519
Yale 7 – 7   .500 12 – 15   .444
Cornell 6 – 8   .429 11 – 16   .407
Columbia 6 – 8   .429 10 – 17   .370
Harvard 3 – 11   .214 4 – 23   .148
Dartmouth 1 – 13   .071 3 – 25   .107
Rankings from AP Poll[1]


The 2003–04 Princeton Tigers men's basketball team represented Princeton University in intercollegiate college basketball during the 2003–04 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The head coach was John Thompson III and the team captains were Ed Persia and Judson Wallace.[2] The team played its home games in the Jadwin Gymnasium on the university campus in Princeton, New Jersey, and was the champion of the Ivy League, which earned them an invitation to the 65-team 2004 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament where they were seeded fourteenth in the Atlanta Region.[3] Following the season Thompson departed to coach Georgetown where his father John Thompson Jr. had coached for decades.[4] He was replaced by Joe Scott.[5] Both Scott and the younger Thompson are former Princeton Tigers basketball captains.[2]

Using the Princeton offense, the team posted a 20–8 overall record and a 13–1 conference record.[2] Princeton clinched the Ivy League title on March 6, 2004, at Dartmouth,[6][7] making the March 9 annual Ivy League season finale contest against Penn meaningless. Nonetheless, the Tigers defeated Penn 76–70 in overtime giving them a nine-game winning streak as they entered the NCAA Division I basketball tournament.[8] In its March 18, 2004 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament Atlanta Regional first-round game against the Brandon Mouton-led Texas Longhorns at the Pepsi Center in Denver, Colorado the team lost by a 66–49 margin.[2][3][9][10][11]

The team was led by first team All-Ivy League selections Will Venable and Judson Wallace.[3]

Schedule and results

The team posted a 20–8 (13–1 Ivy League) record.[12]

Date
time, TV 		Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site
city, state
Regular season
Nov 21, 2003*
 Colgate W 73–64  1–0
 Jadwin Gymnasium 
Princeton, New Jersey
Nov 28, 2003*
 Holy Cross W 61–55  2–0
 Jadwin Gymnasium 
Princeton, New Jersey
Dec 2, 2003*
 at Maryland-Baltimore County W 68–56  3–0
 RAC Arena 
Catonsville, Maryland
Dec 5, 2003*
 vs. UC Irvine
McCaffrey Classic 		L 55–57  3–1
 Save Mart Center 
Fresno, California
Dec 6, 2003*
 at Fresno State
McCaffrey Classic 		W 72–67  4–1
 Save Mart Center 
Fresno, California
Dec 13, 2003*
 at Rutgers L 49–51  4–2
 Louis Brown Athletic Center 
Piscataway, New Jersey
Dec 17, 2003*
 at No. 3 Duke L 51–69  4–3
 Cameron Indoor Stadium 
Durham, North Carolina
Dec 22, 2003*
 Lafayette L 44–47  4–4
 Jadwin Gymnasium 
Princeton, New Jersey
Dec 29, 2003*
 at Loyola (MD) W 74–54  5–4
 Reitz Arena 
Baltimore, Maryland
Jan 3, 2004*
 vs. No. 7 Oklahoma
Touchstone Energy All-College Classic 		L 55–58  5–5
 Ford Center 
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Jan 7, 2004*
 Monmouth W 67–52  6–5
 Jadwin Gymnasium 
Princeton, New Jersey
Jan 10, 2004*
 at Minnesota L 53–57  6–6
 Williams Arena 
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Jan 26, 2004*
 Southern Vermont W 86–48  7–6
 Jadwin Gymnasium 
Princeton, New Jersey
Jan 30, 2004
 at Brown W 64–49  8–6
(1–0) 		Pizzitola Sports Center 
Providence, Rhode Island
Jan 31, 2004
 at Yale W 49–47  9–6
(2–0) 		John J. Lee Amphitheater 
New Haven, Connecticut
Feb 6, 2004
 Dartmouth W 61–45  10–6
(3–0) 		Jadwin Gymnasium 
Princeton, New Jersey
Feb 7, 2004
 Harvard W 58–50 2OT 11–6
(4–0) 		Jadwin Gymnasium 
Princeton, New Jersey
Feb 10, 2004
 Penn L 52–67  11–7
(4–1) 		Jadwin Gymnasium 
Princeton, New Jersey
Feb 13, 2004
 at Cornell W 69–64  12–7
(5–1) 		Newman Arena 
Ithaca, New York
Feb 14, 2004
 at Columbia W 78–71 OT 13–7
(6–1) 		Levien Gymnasium 
New York, New York
Feb 20, 2004
 Yale W 70–58  14–7
(7–1) 		Jadwin Gymnasium 
Princeton, New Jersey
Feb 21, 2004
 Brown W 68–61  15–7
(8–1) 		Jadwin Gymnasium 
Princeton, New Jersey
Feb 27, 2004
 Columbia W 75–52  16–7
(9–1) 		Jadwin Gymnasium 
Princeton, New Jersey
Feb 28, 2004
 Cornell W 59–46  17–7
(10–1) 		Jadwin Gymnasium 
Princeton, New Jersey
Mar 5, 2004
 at Harvard W 60–51  18–7
(11–1) 		Lavietes Pavilion 
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Mar 6, 2004
 at Dartmouth W 64–59  19–7
(12–1) 		Leede Arena 
Hanover, New Hampshire
Mar 9, 2004
 at Penn W 76–70 OT 20–7
(13–1) 		The Palestra 
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
NCAA tournament
Mar 18, 2004*
 (14 ATL) vs. (3 ATL) No. 12 Texas
First round 		L 49–66  20–8
 The Pepsi Center 
Denver, Colorado
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
ATL=Atlanta.
All times are in EST.

References

  1. ^ sports-reference.com 2003-04 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 2009–10 Ivy League Basketball Media Guide. p. 41. {{cite book}}: |website= ignored (help)
  4. ^ Williams, Lena (April 21, 2004). "College Basketball; Familiar Name Back With Hoyas". The New York Times. Retrieved October 5, 2010.
  5. ^ "Scott Leaves Air Force For Alma Mater, Princeton". The New York Times. April 22, 2004. Retrieved October 5, 2010.
  6. ^ "College Basketball; Worth Noting". The New York Times. March 7, 2004. Retrieved October 5, 2010.
  7. ^ "Princeton 64 (19–7, 12–1 Ivy); Dartmouth 59 (3–25, 1–13 Ivy)". ESPN. March 6, 2004. Archived from the original on August 22, 2017. Retrieved October 5, 2010.
  8. ^ "Princeton 76 (20–7, 13–1 Ivy); Pennsylvania 70 (17–10, 10–4 Ivy)". ESPN. March 9, 2004. Archived from the original on August 23, 2017. Retrieved October 5, 2010.
  9. ^ George, Thomas (March 19, 2004). "College Basketball: East Rutherford; Texas 66, Princeton 49". The New York Times. Retrieved October 5, 2010.
  10. ^ "(14) Princeton 49 (20–8, 13–1 Ivy); (3) Texas 66 (24–7, 12–4 Big 12)". ESPN. March 18, 2004. Archived from the original on August 23, 2017. Retrieved October 5, 2010.
  11. ^ 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.
  12. ^ Princeton Athletic Communications (June 12, 2009). "Men's Basketball Record Book • All-Time Results". GoPrincetonTigers.com. Princeton University. Retrieved February 5, 2024.