After tying Yale for second in the Ivy League last season, the Tigers came into this season with their eyes on the prize.
And while Cornell and Harvard will pose seemingly insurmountable obstacles, Princeton’s 9-5 non-conference showing has certainly put it on the right track toward the Ivy title.
After losing former coach John Thompson to Georgetown at the end of the 2003-2004 season, Princeton has struggled to gain back a solid foothold at the top of the Ivy League.
Though the team has placed second in the conference twice in the last five seasons, it spent the other three at the bottom of the heap.
But Princeton’s 2009-10 record alone proves that the team is showing signs of consistency.
The Tigers entered last year’s Ivy slate with a 5-8 record, following a non-conference schedule just as difficult as this year’s.
After struggling at the beginning of the season, the team has built momentum. Princeton has notched victories in seven of its last eight games — including wins over Lafayette, Monmouth and St. Joseph’s. Three teams that gave Penn trouble — and losses — this season.
The Tigers’ experience will also give them an edge in their Ivy season. All of the team’s starters are returning from last year and have shown marked improvement.
Leading Princeton’s attack is sophomore Douglas Davis, who also led the Tigers in scoring during his rookie year at 12.3 points per game. Seventh in the Ivy League in scoring, the guard is currently putting up 14.0 points per game for the Tigers.
Davis has also been shooting consistently, making 40.2 percent of his shots from behind the arc and 80.6 percent of his free throws. Davis is ranked tenth and seventh in the League in shots from behind the arc and free throws, respectively.
Second to Davis in scoring is junior guard Dan Mavraides. The only other Tiger to average double-digit scoring, Mavraides also leads the team in rebounds at 4.6 per game.
Seniors Marcus Schroeder (whose 2.4 steals per game rank him third in the Ivies behind powerhouses Jeremy Lin and Alex Zampier) and Pawel Buczak as well as sophomore Patrick Saunders round out the Tigers’ starting line up.
Adding to the experience of these starters are six freshmen who have proved invaluable to the team.
Chief among them is Ian Hummer, who has played all 14 games for the Tigers and was named Ivy Rookie of the Week Dec. 14 following a 17-point performance at UNC Greensboro.
With the ups and downs of the last half decade behind them, the Tigers have a chance to solidify their spot in the upper echelon of the Ivy League.
Their first test will be tomorrow, when they face Brown in Providence, R.I.
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