The Princeton Tigers men's basketball team is the intercollegiate men's basketball program representing

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 ...

. The school competes in 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 ...

in Division I of the

National Collegiate Athletic Association The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

(NCAA). The

Tigers The tiger (''Panthera tigris'') is the largest living cat species and a member of the genus ''Panthera''. It is most recognisable for its dark vertical stripes on orange fur with a white underside. An apex predator, it primarily preys on un ...

play home basketball games at the

Jadwin Gymnasium The L. Stockwell Jadwin Gymnasium is a 6,854-seat multi-purpose arena at Princeton University in Princeton, New Jersey. The arena opened in 1969. It is home to the Princeton Tigers college basketball teams. It replaced Dillon Gymnasium, the home ...

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 ...

on the university campus. Princeton has won six

Eastern Intercollegiate Basketball League The Eastern Intercollegiate Basketball League was an athletic conference for men's college basketball, beginning with the 1901–02 season and ending with the 1954–55 season. Its membership ranged from four to eight members; all of these te ...

championships, 27 Ivy League championships, and the 1975 National Invitation Tournament. The team is currently coached by Mitch Henderson. The team is known for the

Princeton offense The Princeton offense is an offensive basketball strategy which emphasizes constant motion, back-door cuts, picks on and off the ball, and disciplined teamwork. It was used and perfected at Princeton University by Pete Carril, though its roots ma ...

perfected under the tenure of former

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 ...

Pete Carril Peter Joseph Carril (July 10, 1930 – August 15, 2022) was an American basketball coach. He is best known as head coach of Princeton University for 30 years and for his use of the "Princeton offense". He also coached at Lehigh University an ...

who coached the team from 1967 to 1996. The Princeton offense has resulted in Princeton leading the nation 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 ...

defense 20 times since 1976 including every year from 1989 to 2000. The Tigers entered the 2009–10 NCAA Division I men's basketball season with 1,552 career victories (which ranked 23rd among the 347 NCAA Division I programs), 24

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 ...

appearances (including four consecutive appearances between 1989 and 1992), and 5 National Invitation Tournament appearances. Eight different Tigers have earned 12 All-American recognitions. Bill Bradley is the only three-time honoree. Numerous Tigers have played professional basketball. The most recent Tiger

NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...

er was Steve Goodrich. Petrie was the

NBA Rookie of the Year The National Basketball Association's Rookie of the Year Award is an annual National Basketball Association (NBA) award given to the top rookie(s) of the regular season. Initiated following the 1952–53 NBA season, it confers the Eddie Gottl ...

in 1971, while Taylor earned the same honor in the

American Basketball Association The American Basketball Association (ABA) was a major men's professional basketball league from 1967 to 1976. The ABA ceased to exist with the ABA–NBA merger, American Basketball Association–National Basketball Association merger in 1976, ...

in 1973. Two of the three Ivy Leaguers to have played in the

Olympic games The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...

were Tigers. Four of the eight NBA and ABA championships earned by Ivy League players have been earned by Tigers. Three of the five highest NBA career point totals by Ivy League players were by Tigers. Five of the ten Ivy League players selected among the top 25 overall selections in the NBA draft were Tigers. Their main Ivy League rivalry is with Penn.

Coaches

Carril holds the Ivy League record for most career seasons, championships, and wins.

Bill Carmody William D. Carmody (born December 4, 1951) is a retired American men's college basketball coach, formerly the head coach at the College of the Holy Cross. He was the head coach of the Wildcats men's basketball team at Northwestern University ...

holds the career winning percentage record. ;Coaching Records

Arenas

Princeton originally played its home games at University Gymnasium until it burned down in 1944.

Hobey Baker Memorial Rink Hobey Baker Memorial Rink is a 2,092-seat hockey arena in Princeton, New Jersey. It is home to the Princeton University Tigers men's and women's ice hockey teams as well as the venue for club and intramural hockey teams, intramural broomball, fi ...

served as the interim home court for the 1945–46 and 1946–47 seasons until Dillon Gymnasium was built. The 6,800-seat

hosted the Tigers for the first time on January 25, 1969 against the

Penn Quakers men's basketball The Penn Quakers men's basketball team is the college basketball program representing the University of Pennsylvania. As the twentieth-winningest men's basketball program of all-time, the team from Penn had its greatest success from 1966 to 2007 ...

team. It continues to be the team's home court.

Ivy League

The Tigers have played against their Ivy League foes for over a century. Through 2017–2018 season

Awards and honors

Bradley has won numerous distinctions as a Princeton Tiger. He is the team's only

Rhodes Scholar 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 he is the only player to earn

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 ...

. Other honors earned by Tiger basketball players include:

All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed upon an amateur sports person from the United States who is considered to be one of the best amateurs in their sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an All-Am ...

Ivy League Men's Basketball Player of the Year The Ivy League Men's Basketball Player of the Year is a basketball award given to the Ivy League's most outstanding player. The award was first given following the 1974–75 season. There have been six players honored on two occasions: Craig Robi ...

Ivy League Rookie of the Year Ivy League Defensive Player of the Year Ivy League Coach of the Year

Academic All-America The Academic All-America program is a student-athlete recognition program. The program selects an honorary sports team composed of the most outstanding student-athletes of a specific season for positions in various sports—who in turn are giv ...

s Olympians

College Basketball Hall of Fame The National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame, located in Kansas City, Missouri, is a hall of fame and museum dedicated to men's college basketball. The museum is an integral portion of the College Basketball Experience created by the National ...

Basketball Hall of Fame The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame is an American history museum and hall of fame, located at 1000 Hall of Fame Avenue in Springfield, Massachusetts. It serves as basketball's most complete library, in addition to promoting and pre ...

Professional basketball

Princeton NBA players were

Bud Palmer John Shove "Bud" Palmer (born John Palmer Flynn; September 14, 1921 – March 19, 2013) was an American professional basketball player. He was a member of the New York Knicks during the team's first three seasons in the Basketball Association of A ...

, Willem van Breda Kolff, Bradley,

Geoff Petrie Geoffrey Michael Petrie (born April 17, 1948) is an American former professional basketball player. A native of Pennsylvania, he played professional basketball in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for the Portland Trail Blazers where he ...

John Hummer John Hummer (born May 4, 1948) is an American venture capitalist and retired professional basketball player who was an original member of the Buffalo Braves after starring for the Princeton Tigers men's basketball team. He also led his high scho ...

, Taylor,

Ted Manakas Theodore Manakas (born February 22, 1951), is an American former professional basketball player for the Kansas City-Omaha Kings. He played in five National Basketball Association (NBA) games.Caldera, Pete"Where are they now? Former Fort Lee/Prince ...

Armond Hill Armond G. Hill (born March 31, 1953) is an American professional basketball coach and former player who is Director of Basketball Administration for Indiana University men's basketball. He spent eight seasons in the NBA between 1976 and 1984, pl ...

, Mike Kearns and Steve Goodrich. Devin Cannady is the only active Princeton NBA player.

David Blatt David Michael Blatt ( he, דוד מיכאל בלאט; born May 22, 1959), is an Israeli-American professional basketball executive. He is also a former coach and player. Blatt played point guard at Princeton University from 1977 to 1981 and p ...

, now an Israeli-American, played for Princeton in 1977–81 and then became a professional basketball player and subsequently a coach (most recently, for the

Cleveland Cavaliers The Cleveland Cavaliers (often referred to as the Cavs) are an American professional basketball team based in Cleveland. The Cavaliers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference (NBA), Ea ...

/ABA Champiohips NBA Experience NBA draft

Records

Bradley continues to hold the single-game, single-season, and career total and average

point Point or points may refer to: Places * Point, Lewis, a peninsula in the Outer Hebrides, Scotland * Point, Texas, a city in Rains County, Texas, United States * Point, the NE tip and a ferry terminal of Lismore, Inner Hebrides, Scotland * Point ...

s Ivy League records. In addition, he holds the Ivy records for single-game, single-season, and career

field goal 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 ...

s 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. Other Tiger Ivy League record holders include Howard Levy (1982–85, career

field goal percentage Field goal percentage in basketball is the ratio of field goals made to field goals attempted. Its abbreviation is FG%. Although three-point field goal percentage is often calculated separately, three-point field goals are included in the gener ...

), Alan Williams (1986–87, single-season field goal percentage),

Brian Earl Brian W. Earl is an American basketball coach and former professional basketball player. He is the current head coach for the Cornell Big Red men's basketball team. He previously served nine seasons as an assistant coach for Princeton Tigers men ...

(1995–99, career

three-point field goal A three-point field goal (also 3-pointer, three, or trey) is a field goal in a basketball game made from beyond the three-point line, a designated arc surrounding the basket. A successful attempt is worth three points, in contrast to the two poi ...

s made), Spencer Gloger (vs- Ala.-Birmingham, December 18, 1999, single-game three-point field goals made), Sydney Johnson (-vs- Columbia & Cornell, Feb 28 – March 1, 1997, consecutive three-point field goals made; single-game three-point field goals made with no misses), Dave Orlandini (1986–88, career three-point field goal percentage; 1987–88 single-season three-point field goal percentage). ;National records: *Combined single-game

Three-point field goal A three-point field goal (also 3-pointer, three, or trey) is a field goal in a basketball game made from beyond the three-point line, a designated arc surrounding the basket. A successful attempt is worth three points, in contrast to the two poi ...

(minimum 20 made): 72.4%—Princeton (12 of 15) vs.

Brown Brown is a color. It can be considered a composite color, but it is mainly a darker shade of orange. In the CMYK color model used in printing or painting, brown is usually made by combining the colors orange and black. In the RGB color model us ...

(9 of 14), February 20, 1998 *Combined single-game points (Since 1986, which is either the three-point shot or shot clock era): 62—Monmouth (41) vs. Princeton (21), December 14, 2005 *Single-season three-point field goal percentage (Min. 200 made): 49.2%—Princeton, 1988 (211 of 429) *Longest annual rivalry Princeton–Yale: Since 1902 (tied with Columbia–Yale, Princeton–Penn is second since 1903) ;

NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship 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 ...

Tournament records *Free throws made in 100% effort: Bradley (16 vs. St. Joseph’s, 1st R, November 3, 1963) *Single-game points scored in a final four: Bradley 58 Princeton vs. Wichita St., N3d, 3-20- 1965 *Single-game field goals made (final four): Bradley 22 Princeton vs. Wichita St., N3d, 3-20- 1965 *Victory margin (final four): 36 Princeton (118) vs. Wichita St. (82), N3d, March 20, 1965 *Points in a half, team (final four): 65, Princeton vs. Wichita St., N3d, March 20, 1965 (2d half, 2nd team to do so) *Single-year two-game points scored (final four): 87, Bill Bradley, Princeton, 1965 *Single-year two-game field goals made (final four): 34, Bill Bradley, Princeton, 1965 ;Selected former records NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship Tournament records *Single-game free throw percentage (final four, minimum 10 made): 93.3% (14–15), Bradley, Princeton vs. Wichita St., N3d, March 25, 1965 (broken March 23, 1972) *Points in a half, both teams (final four): 108, Princeton (65) vs. Wichita St. (43), N3d, March 20, 1965 (2d) (broken March 25, 1972) *Single-year two-game free throw percentage (final four, minimum 12 made): 95.0% (19–20), Bill Bradley, Princeton, 1965 (broken 1972) *Single-year two-game field goals made (final four): 78, Princeton, 1965 (broken 1977) ;Former national records: *Fewest points allowed (Since 1986): 28–66 Dartmouth, February 10, 1990 (broken on January 11, 1991) *Fewest points allowed (Since 1986): 27–55 Yale, January 11, 1991 (broken on March 2, 1992) *Fewest combined points (Since 1986): 76 (43–33) vs. Colgate, November 30, 1988 (broken on December 16, 1989) *Single-season team defense (Since 1965): 52.9, 1976 (broken 1977) *Single-season team defense (Since 1965): 51.7, 1977 (broken 1980) *Single-season team assists-turnover ratio (Since 1993): 1.63 (486:302), 1998 (broken 2005) *Consecutive home victories: Princeton over Brown 52, 1929–2002 (broken by North Carolina over Clemson 54 and active through 2009) ;National statistical champions: *Field goal percentage: 70.3% Alan Williams 163 of 232, 1987 *Three-point field goal percentage: 53.4% Matt Lapin 71 of 133, 1990 *Free throw percentage: 88.6% Bill Bradley, 273 of 308, 1965 *Free throw percentage: 90.0% Joe Heiser, 117 of 130, 1968 *Won-loss percentage: 93.1% team, 27 of 29, 1998 *Scoring defense: 52.9, 1976; 51.7, 1977; 55.8, 1979; 52.0, 1983; 50.1, 1984; 55.0, 1986; 53.0, 1989; 51.0, 1990; 48.9, 1991; 48.2, 1992; 54.7, 1993; 52.3, 1994; 57.7, 1995; 51.7, 1996; 53.4, 1997; 51.4, 1998; 52.7, 1999; 54.6, 2000; 53.3, 2007; 53.3, 2010. *Field goal percentage: 54.1% team, 601 of 1111, 1987 *Three-point field goals/game: 8.12 team, 1988 *Three-point field percentage: 49.2 team, 1988, 45.2 team, 1990 *Assists-turnover ratio: 1.63 team (486:302), 1998 *Fewest turnover/game: 10.14 team (294/29), 1998 *The 1925 team is considered the retroactive national champion by the

Helms Athletic Foundation The Helms Athletic Foundation, founded in 1936, was a Los Angeles-based organization dedicated to the promotion of athletics and sportsmanship. Paul H. Helms was the organization's founder and benefactor, funding the foundation via his ownership ...

and the

Premo-Porretta Power Poll The Premo-Porretta Power Poll is a retroactive end-of-year ranking for American college basketball teams competing in the 1895–96 through the 1947–48 seasons. The Premo-Porretta Polls are intended to serve collectively as a source of informa ...

. ;Selected notable statistics: *Bradley was the second to post a 2000-point/1000-rebound three-year career (

Oscar Robertson Oscar Palmer Robertson (born November 24, 1938), nicknamed "the Big O", is an American former professional basketball player who played for the Cincinnati Royals and Milwaukee Bucks in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Robertson playe ...

). *Weisz became the only player in Princeton career history to amass 1,000 points, 500 rebounds, 300 assists, and 200 3-pointers. *The 27-point comeback from 13–40 with 15:11 remaining to win 50–49 over Penn on February 9, 1999 remains the fifth-largest comeback and fourth-largest second-half comeback in NCAA history. That game's 9–33 half time deficit comeback remains the second-largest comeback. *14 of the top 25 single-season team defensive averages since 1965 have been by Princeton. *Princeton ranked in the top 10 nationally in win percentage in both the 1960s (72.6, 188–71, 10th), and 1990s (76.1, 210–66, 8th). *Last Princeton team ranked in the polls during the season and at the end of the season was the 1997–98 team, which was ranked in all but the first three polls (15 weeks) of the season and finished the season 8th. *Other ranked teams according to the

AP Poll The Associated Press poll (AP poll) provides weekly rankings of the top 25 NCAA teams in one of three Division I college sports: football, men's basketball and women's basketball. The rankings are compiled by polling 62 sportswriters and broadca ...

1950–51 (2 weeks, peak 18, finished unranked), 1966–67 (9 weeks, peak 3, finished 5), 1967–68 (2 weeks, peak 8, finished unranked, but 15 by UPI since AP was only top 10 at the time), 1971–72 (3 weeks, peak 14, finished unranked), 1974–75 (2 weeks, peak 12, finished 12), 1975–76 (2 weeks, peak 15, finished unranked, but 19T by UPI), 1990–91 (6 weeks, peak 18, finished 18).

Postseason

Princeton has appeared in 25

s, 6 National Invitation Tournaments (NIT), 2

College Basketball Invitational The College Basketball Invitational (CBI) is a men's college basketball tournament created in 2007 by The Gazelle Group. The inaugural tournament occurred after the conclusion of the 2007–08 men's college basketball regular season. The CBI s ...

s (CBI) and 8

one-game playoffs.

NCAA Tournaments

NCAA Tournament Seeding History The

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

began seeding the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament with the 1979 edition. The 64-team field started in 1985, which guaranteed that a championship team had to win six games. The Tigers have a 13–29 record in the NCAA tournament. In 2011 the round of 64 was the second round