The 1964–65 Princeton Tigers men's basketball team represented

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial Colleges, fourth-oldest ins ...

in intercollegiate

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during the 1964–65 NCAA University Division men's basketball season.

Butch van Breda Kolff Willem Hendrik "Butch" van Breda Kolff (October 28, 1922August 22, 2007) was an American basketball player and coach. Biography Early life and career Butch was born in Glen Ridge, New Jersey, son of Dutch soccer player Jan van Breda Kolff. He g ...

served as

head coach A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches. In some sports, the head coach is instead called the "manager", as in assoc ...

and the team

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

was Bill Bradley. The team played its home games in the Dillon Gymnasium in

Princeton, New Jersey Princeton is a municipality with a borough form of government in Mercer County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It was established on January 1, 2013, through the consolidation of the Borough of Princeton and Princeton Township, both of whi ...

. The team was the champion of the

Ivy League The Ivy League is an American collegiate athletic conference comprising eight private research universities in the Northeastern United States. The term ''Ivy League'' is typically used beyond the sports context to refer to the eight schools ...

, earning an invitation to the 23-team 1965 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament. The team posted a 23–6 overall record and a 13–1 conference record. The team won its NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament East region first round contest against the by a 60–58 margin at

The Palestra The Palestra, often called the Cathedral of College Basketball, is a historic arena and the home gym of the Penn Quakers men's and women's basketball teams, volleyball teams, wrestling team, and Philadelphia Big 5 basketball. Located at 235 Sou ...

on March 8, 1965. Then in the East Regional at

Cole Field House The Jones-Hill House is an indoor collegiate sports training complex located on of land on the campus of the University of Maryland in College Park, a suburb north of Washington, D.C. Jones-Hill House is situated in the center of the campu ...

in College Park, Maryland, the team defeated 66–48 on March 12 and 109–69 on March 13. Then on March 19 in the national semifinal at the Memorial Coliseum

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: * Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States * Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...

, Oregon, the team was defeated by the Cazzie Russell-led Michigan Wolverines 93–76 before beating the

Wichita State Shockers The Wichita State Shockers are the athletic teams that represent Wichita State University, located in Wichita, Kansas, in intercollegiate sports as a member of the NCAA Division I ranks, primarily competing in the American Athletic Conference (A ...

118–82 the following night. Bill Bradley earned the

NCAA basketball tournament Most Outstanding Player At the conclusion of the NCAA men's and women's Division I basketball championships (the "Final Four" tournaments), a media panel selects a Most Outstanding Player (MOP). It is usually awarded to a member of the championship team. There have been ...

award. Bradley, who for third consecutive season led the conference in

scoring Score or scorer may refer to: *Test score, the result of an exam or test Business * Score Digital, now part of Bauer Radio * Score Entertainment, a former American trading card design and manufacturing company * Score Media, a former Canadian m ...

with a 28.8 points per game average in conference games, was a first team All-Ivy League selection. In addition, Bradley was a repeat consensus first team 1965 NCAA Men's Basketball All-American selection by numerous panels: First team (

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National Association of Basketball Coaches The National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC), headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri, is an American organization of men's college basketball coaches. It was founded in 1927 by Phog Allen, head men's basketball coach at the University o ...

United States Basketball Writers Association The United States Basketball Writers Association (USBWA) was founded in 1956 by National Collegiate Athletic Association director Walter Byers to serve the interests of journalists who cover college basketball. Scholarships The USBWA annually awa ...

, ''

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'',

Converse Converse may refer to: Mathematics and logic * Converse (logic), the result of reversing the two parts of a definite or implicational statement ** Converse implication, the converse of a material implication ** Converse nonimplication, a logical c ...

, NEA, Helms Foundation). Bradley also won a

Rhodes Scholarship The Rhodes Scholarship is an international postgraduate award for students to study at the University of Oxford, in the United Kingdom. Established in 1902, it is the oldest graduate scholarship in the world. It is considered among the world' ...

and was a territorial first round selection in the 1965 NBA Draft by the

New York Knicks The New York Knickerbockers, shortened and more commonly referred to as the New York Knicks, are an American professional basketball team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. The Knicks compete in the National Basketball Associat ...

. Bradley surpassed Arthur Loeb (1921–22 and 1922–23) and

Cyril Haas Cyril (also Cyrillus or Cyryl) is a masculine given name. It is derived from the Greek name Κύριλλος (''Kýrillos''), meaning 'lordly, masterful', which in turn derives from Greek κυριος ('' kýrios'') 'lord'. There are various varia ...

(1915–16 and 1916–17) as the school's only three-time men's basketball All-American selection. Over the course of the season, Bradley won the national statistical championship for

free throw percentage In basketball, free throws or foul shots are unopposed attempts to score points by shooting from behind the free-throw line (informally known as the foul line or the charity stripe), a line situated at the end of the restricted area. Free throws ...

(88.6%, 273–308). As a result of his performance against Wichita State in the final four, Bradley holds the following

NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament The NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, branded as NCAA March Madness and commonly called March Madness, is a single-elimination tournament played each spring in the United States, currently featuring 68 college basketball teams from ...

records: single-game points scored in a final four (58), single-game

field goals A field goal (FG) is a means of scoring in gridiron football. To score a field goal, the team in possession of the ball must place kick, or drop kick, the ball through the goal, i.e., between the uprights and over the crossbar. The entire ba ...

made in a final four (22), single-year two-game points scored in a final four (87), and single-year two-game field goals made in a final four (34). Additionally, Bradley formerly held the final four single-game free throw percentage record of 93.3% (minimum 10 made, 14–15), which was broken on March 23, 1972, and single-year two-game free throw percentage record 95.0% (minimum 12 made, 19–20), which was broken in 1972. The team's performance against Wichita State established the current final four victory margin record (36) and the final four single-team single-half points scored record (65, tied). The team's performance formerly held two other final four records: single-half two-team points scored (108, broken March 25, 1972) and single-year two-game field goals made (78, broken in 1977). Bradley continues to hold the single-game, single-season, and career total and average points Ivy League records. In addition, he holds the Ivy records for single-game, single-season, and career

made as well as single-season, and career

free throw In basketball, free throws or foul shots are unopposed attempts to score points by shooting from behind the free-throw line (informally known as the foul line or the charity stripe), a line situated at the end of the Key (basketball), restricted ...

s made. His career points, career average, career field goals achieved in 1965 surpassed

Tony Lavelli Anthony Lavelli, Jr. (July 11, 1926 – January 8, 1998) was an American professional basketball player and musician. He averaged 6.9 points per game during his two-year National Basketball Association (NBA) career (1949–1951) while also providi ...

(1949),

Chet Forte Fulvio Chester "Chet" Forte Jr. (August 7, 1935 – May 18, 1996) was an American television director and sports radio talk show host. He was also a standout college basketball player for Columbia and was the UPI Player of the Year in 1956–57. ...

(1957) and

Ernie Beck Ernest Joseph Beck (born December 11, 1931) is a retired American professional basketball player. Born in Philadelphia, Beck played seven years in the National Basketball Association for the Philadelphia Warriors, St. Louis Hawks and Syracuse Na ...

(1953), respectively. His single-game points record surpassed Lavelli's 52 set on February 26, 1949. His 1965 career 87.6%

, which surpassed Gus Broberg's 1941 mark of 85.8%, stood as the Ivy League record until it was eclipsed by Joe Hieser in 1968.

Regular season

The team posted a 23–6 (13–1 Ivy League) record. :! = ECAC Holiday Classic at New York :@ = NCAA first round at Philadelphia : # = NCAA East Regional at College Park, Md. :$ = NCAA Final Four at Portland, Ore. Home games in CAPS

NCAA tournament

The team advanced to the 1965 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament Final four. :3/8/65 in Philadelphia, Pa.: Princeton 60, Penn State 58 East Regional :3/12/65 in College Park, Md.: Princeton 66, N.C. State 48 :3/13/65 in College Park, Md.: Princeton 109, Providence 69 Final Four :3/19/65 in Portland, Ore.: Michigan 93, Princeton 76 :3/20/65 in Portland, Ore.: Princeton 118, Wichita State 82

Awards and honors

* Bill Bradley **

** Ivy League Scoring Champion ** First Team All-Ivy League ** 1965 NCAA Men's Basketball All-American (consensus) ** All-East *

Gary Walters Gary D. Walters is an American former basketball coach and college athletics administrator. He served as the head men's basketball coach at Middlebury College in 1969–70, Union College in Schenectady, New York from 1973 to 1975, Dartmouth Col ...

** Honorable Mention All-Ivy League * Ed Hummer ** Honorable Mention All-Ivy League

Team players drafted into the NBA

Two players from this team were selected in the NBA Draft. Future

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

(MLB) executive

Larry Lucchino Lawrence Lucchino (born September 6, 1945) is an American lawyer, best known as an executive in Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously served as president of the Baltimore Orioles, president/ CEO of the San Diego Padres, and president/CEO of ...

was a reserve on the team.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:1964-65 Princeton Tigers Men's Basketball Team Princeton Tigers men's basketball seasons

Princeton Tigers The Princeton Tigers are the athletic teams of Princeton University. The school sponsors 35 varsity teams in 20 sports. The school has won several NCAA national championships, including one in men's fencing, three in women's lacrosse, six in ...

NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament Final Four seasons

Princeton Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the ni ...

Princeton Tigers men's basketball The Princeton Tigers men's basketball team is the intercollegiate men's basketball program representing Princeton University. The school competes in the Ivy League in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). The Tigers ...