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

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial ...

. The school competes in the

Ivy League The Ivy League is an American collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference of eight Private university, private Research university, research universities in the Northeastern United States. It participates in the National Collegia ...

in Division I of the

National Collegiate Athletic Association The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

(NCAA). The Tigers play home basketball games at the Jadwin Gymnasium in

Princeton, New Jersey The Municipality of Princeton is a Borough (New Jersey), borough in Mercer County, New Jersey, United States. It was established on January 1, 2013, through the consolidation of the Borough of Princeton, New Jersey, Borough of Princeton and Pri ...

, on the university campus. Princeton has appeared in 25 NCAA tournaments, most recently in

2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...

. In

1965 Events January–February * January 14 – The First Minister of Northern Ireland and the Taoiseach of the Republic of Ireland meet for the first time in 43 years. * January 20 ** Lyndon B. Johnson is Second inauguration of Lynd ...

, the Tigers made the NCAA Final Four, with

Bill Bradley William Warren Bradley (born July 28, 1943) is an American politician and former professional basketball player. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he was a United States Senate, United States senator from New ...

being named the Most Outstanding Player. The team is currently coached by former player Mitch Henderson. The team is known for the Princeton offense strategy, perfected under the tenure of former

head coach A head coach, senior coach, or manager is a professional responsible for training and developing athletes within a sports team. This role often has a higher public profile and salary than other coaching positions. In some sports, such as associat ...

Pete Carril, who coached the team from 1967 to 1996. The Princeton offense has resulted in Princeton leading the nation in scoring defense 20 times since 1976, including every year from 1989 to 2000. As of 2023, the Tigers have amassed 1803 victories, 25

NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament The NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, branded as March Madness, or The Big Dance, is a single-elimination tournament played in the United States to determine the men's college basketball national champion of the NCAA Division I, Di ...

appearances (including four consecutive appearances between 1989 and 1992), and 30 Ivy League regular season titles. Their main Ivy League rivalry is with Penn. Eight different Tigers have earned 12

All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

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 composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

er was Steve Goodrich.

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 ...

was the

NBA Rookie of the Year The National Basketball Association's Rookie of the Year 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 Gottlieb T ...

in 1971, while Brian Taylor earned the same honor in the

American Basketball Association The American Basketball Association (ABA) was a major professional basketball league that operated for nine seasons from 1967 to 1976. The upstart ABA operated in direct competition with the more established National Basketball Association thr ...

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

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games (Olympics; ) are the world's preeminent international Olympic sports, sporting events. They feature summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a Multi-s ...

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 The NBA draft is the National Basketball Association's (NBA) annual event, dating back to 1947 BAA draft, 1947, in which the teams in the league can Draft (sports), draft players who declare for the draft and that are Eligibility for the NBA dr ...

were Tigers.

Coaches

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

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

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 2,054-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, ...

served as the interim home court for the 1945–46 and 1946–47 seasons until Dillon Gymnasium was built. The 6,800-seat Jadwin Gymnasium hosted the Tigers for the first time on January 25, 1969, against the Penn Quakers men's basketball team. It continues to be the team's home court.

Ivy League

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

Awards and honors

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

Rhodes Scholar The Rhodes Scholarship is an international Postgraduate education, postgraduate award for students to study at the University of Oxford in Oxford, United Kingdom. The scholarship is open to people from all backgrounds around the world. Esta ...

, and he is the only player to earn

NCAA basketball tournament Most Outstanding Player The Most Outstanding Player (MOP) is awarded to one player after the conclusion of the championship game of the NCAA Division I NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, men's and NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament, women's basketb ...

. Other honors earned by Tiger basketball players include: ;

All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

s ; Ivy League Men's Basketball Player of the Year Spencer Weisz1

;Ivy League Rookie of the Year ;Ivy League Defensive Player of the Year ;Ivy League Coach of the Year ; Academic All-Americas ; Olympians Maddox appeared in the

3x3 basketball 3x3 basketball (stylized as ''ƐX3'', pronounced ''three-ex-three'') is a Variations of basketball, variation of basketball played three-a-side, with one Backboard (basketball), backboard and in a basketball court, half-court setup. This basketba ...

competition. ;

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 Nation ...

;

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 pres ...

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 and sportscaster. He was a member of the New York Knicks during the team's first three seasons in the Basketbal ...

, Willem van Breda Kolff, Bradley,

, John Hummer, Taylor, Ted Manakas, Armond Hill, Mike Kearns and Steve Goodrich. Tosan Evbuomwan is the only active Princeton NBA player. David Blatt, 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 Central Division (NBA), Central Divis ...

). ;

/ ABA Championships ;NBA Experience ;

Records

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

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. Consequently, ...

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 restricted area. Free throws ...

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 gene ...

), Alan Williams (1986–87, single-season field goal percentage), Brian Earl (1995–99, career

three-point field goal A three-point field goal (also 3-pointer, three, or triple) 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 ...

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 triple) 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 ...

(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 and painting, brown is usually made by combining the colors Orange (colour), orange and black. In the ...

(9 of 14), February 20, 1998 *Combined single-game

points A point is a small dot or the sharp tip of something. Point or points may refer to: Mathematics * Point (geometry), an entity that has a location in space or on a plane, but has no extent; more generally, an element of some abstract topologica ...

(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 March Madness, or The Big Dance, is a single-elimination tournament played in the United States to determine the men's college basketball national champion of the Division I level ...

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 In sports, the final four is the last four teams remaining in a playoffs, playoff tournament. Usually the final four compete in the two games of a single-elimination tournament's semi-final (penultimate) round. Of these teams, the two who win in ...

: 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 owner ...

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 played ...

). *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 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 26

s, 7

National Invitation Tournament The National Invitation Tournament (NIT) is an annual men's college basketball tournament operated by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Since 2023, all rounds of the tournament are played at various sites across the country whi ...

s (NIT), 2 College Basketball Invitationals (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 College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

began seeding the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament with the 1979 edition. The 64-team field started in

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a n ...

, which guaranteed that a championship team had to win six games. The Tigers have a 15–30 record in the NCAA tournament. In 2011 the round of 64 was the second round