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Princeton heads into last-chance Ivy weekend
Men's basketball team faces Yale tonight, Brown on Saturday
By Justin Feil
Princeton Packet Sports Writer
Friday, March 3, 2000
It's been nearly four months since the Princeton University men's basketball team began the 1999-2000 season. Quickly, it has come to this — the final Ivy League weekend after which remains just the game against Pennsylvania on Tuesday.
The Tigers, 17-9 overall and 9-2 in the Ivy League, host Yale 7:30 p.m. tonight before facing Brown 7:30 p.m. Saturday and need help from either team against Penn for any chance at forcing an Ivy playoff for the automatic NCAA berth.
The Quakers, who are 11-0 in the league, lead Princeton by two games but barely escaped Harvard last weekend, 62-61. Princeton knows, however, that before it goes scoreboard watching it must take care of its own weekend before entertaining any thoughts of postseason.
The last time Princeton was caught overlooking someone, it lost at Yale, 44-42, Feb. 5. But the Tiger team that takes on the Bulldogs, who are 5-7 in Ivy play, is improved and as healthy as ever.
Princeton played Yale the first time without Mason Rocca and Spencer Gloger and only had sparing help from Nate Walton, who still managed nine points despite a cast on his hand, and Eugene Baah, who played just three minutes.
In that contest, PU shot only 36 percent from the field, and 12.5 percent from three-point range. Chris Young, with 17 points, and Ray Robins, with 11 points, were the only Tigers to score double figures and the two shot a combined 10-of-26.
"I've looked at the tapes," Tiger head coach Bill Carmody said. "I've seen it a bunch of times. They packed it in. We had a lot of shots, but they didn't go. They controlled the game with (point guard Chris) Leanza. And it was a bad weekend with injuries."
In last weekend's games, Princeton had five and four players in double digits scoring, respectively, against Harvard and Dartmouth. And while Rocca may not play much this weekend, according to Carmody, due to continuing bouts with tendonitis in his ankle, the rest of Princeton's team is healthy and rolling.
"I think we're playing decently," Carmody said. "I think Chris Young is playing a lot better. Maybe it's the consistency of having the same starters for a bunch of games in a row and we've shot the ball pretty well — C.J. (Chapman), Ray, Ahmed (El-Nokali). They've made it more clear to Chris when he should score and when he should pass. The offense is moving the ball more fluidly than it has in a long time."
Carmody had some inkling before the season began that his Tigers had this sort of capability.
"I certainly figured Mason and Chris would be in there and Spencer probably too," the fourth-year head coach said. "I don't know if balance is necessarily a good thing. I think there are times you have to have a guy to go to...when you have to have a guy you can get the ball to who can just take over the game."
With Young on the floor, Princeton still has that. But there have been games when other guys have taken over, like Rocca at Rutgers and Gloger against Alabama-Birmingham. And the Tigers have been trying to set up more plays for Robins, Carmody said. Young, Gloger and Robins all will be available and starting, but Rocca is just looking to contribute in his final regular-season home stand.
The co-captain will be "the senior" on Senior Night this Saturday. It has been an injury-plagued four seasons for Rocca. Though he's played 75 games, he has been able to make only 10 starts. An 11th start is questionable. He has played just 28 minutes in the last four games since playing 33 minutes against Penn.
"It's been a tough road for that kid," Carmody said. "He's been saying, 'Maybe if I do this or that, it might work.' He's so anxious to play, but it's tendonitis and you can't tell. If he wants to start, I'll start him."
It may not matter to Princeton who starts Saturday. The Tigers are 49-0 against Brown at home, and the Bears are 4-8 in Ivy action and tied for sixth place. It should make for a triumphant final home weekend and set Princeton up for another shot a league-leading Penn.
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