Princeton Tigers 2010 NCAA Men's Basketball Post Season

Princeton Tigers

Ivy League (20-8, 11-3)

Big Wins: 1/2 at St. Joseph’s (70-62), 2/5 at Harvard (56-53), 3/6 Harvard (54-51)

Bad Losses: 11/21 Army (52-56), 1/4 at Maine (50-52), 2/20 Brown (54-57)

Coach: Sydney Johnson

Why They Can Surprise:

Two years ago Princeton reached a low point. Coach Sydney Johnson did a great job making Princeton a respectable team last year. And it was a young team and hopes were high heading into the 2009-2010 campaign. However, as expected, Cornell stood in the way of any chance of winning the Ivy League crown. But the Tigers did end up second in the league and are getting back to their old successful ways quicker than anybody expected. Reaching the postseason, of any sort, is another step in the right direction.

Once again it has been Douglas Davis and Dan Mavraides leading the way. Davis is coming off a successful freshman campaign and has gotten even better as a sophomore. He leads the team with 12.8 points per game and has turned into a very consistent outside shooter. Mavraides is a little more dynamic of a scorer compard to Davis, but still relies heavily on the long ball. But he has the size and strength to get to the basket and it is the 6-3 junior who actually leads the Tigers in rebounding.

Why They Can Disappoint:

Part of the reason Mavraides leads the team in rebounding is because Princeton has so many forwards. Patrick Saunders and Pawel Buczak are the usual starters, but Zach Finley, Kareem Maddox and Ian Hummer generally play about as many minutes as the starters. Overall, they all do a decent job on the glass and this is a pretty good rebounding team since nobody has to worry about getting too tired. Saunders and Buczak are the two players who tend to fit into the Princeton style a little more. Neither will take too many three-pointers, but both connect on over 40 percent of the attempts that they do take. While having all that depth is nice, nobody is much of a defensive threat or an intimidating presence under the basket and that allows the opposition to attack the basket quite easily.

Who To Watch:

Marcus Schroeder is the unsung hero of the Tigers. He is not a shooter or much of a scorer, but he is the senior leader and the steady point guard. While this is a group that commits too may turnovers for a team that will not score many points, having a senior around like Schroeder certainly helps the situation. Schroeder is a capable outside shooter to the extent that the defense has to at least think about covering him out on the perimeter. And when they do, he can use his quickness to get pass them and find an open teammate on the wing or under the basket. While it is Davis and Mavraides who hit most of the outside shots, if Schroeder’s is falling, the Princeton offense suddenly opens up.

Probable Starters:

Marcus Schroeder, Senior, Guard, 4.6 ppg, 3.1 apg, 1.7 spg

Douglas Davis, Sophomore, Guard, 12.8 ppg, 1.2 apg

Dan Mavraides, Junior, Guard, 11.8 ppg, 1.5 apg, 4.4 rpg

Patrick Saunders, Sophomore, Forward, 5.4 ppg, 2.2 rpg

Pawel Buczak, Senior, Center, 4.3 ppg, 3.4 rpg

Key Roleplayers:

Zach Finley, Senior, Center, 5.0 ppg, 3.1 rpg

Ian Hummer, Freshman, Forward, 6.4 ppg, 3.0 rpg

Kareem Maddox, Junior, Forward, 5.6 ppg, 3.4 rpg

By the Numbers:

Scoring Offense: 59.4 (322^nd in nation, 7^th in conference)

Scoring Defense: 52.1 (1, 1)

Field-Goal Percentage: 43.8 (156, 4)

Field-Goal Defense: 39.5 (24, 1)

Three-Point Field Goals Per Game: 6.8 (101, 3)

Three-Point Field-Goal Percentage: 36.5 (73, 2)

Free-Throw Percentage: 72.4 (58, 4)

Rebound Margin: 1.3 (146, 3)

Assists Per Game: 11.8 (254, 6)

Turnovers Per Game: 13.1 (120, 3)