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

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 ...

in intercollegiate

college basketball College basketball is basketball that is played by teams of Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. In the Higher education in the United States, United States, colleges and universities are governed by collegiate athle ...

during the

1964–65 NCAA University Division men's basketball season The 1964–65 NCAA University Division men's basketball season began in December 1964, progressed through the regular season and conference tournaments, and concluded with the 1965 NCAA University Division basketball tournament championship game ...

Butch van Breda Kolff Willem Hendrik "Butch" (sometimes "Bill") van Breda Kolff (October 28, 1922August 22, 2007) was an American basketball player and coach. He played four seasons for the New York Knicks before becoming a head coach at Lafayette. Ultimately, he co ...

served as

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 ...

and the team

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

was

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 ...

. The team played its home games in the Dillon 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 ...

. The team was the champion of 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 ...

, earning an invitation to the 23-team

1965 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament The 1965 NCAA University Division basketball tournament involved 23 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. It began on March 8, 1965, and ended with the cham ...

. 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 So ...

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 most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon *Portland, Maine, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maine *Isle of Portland, a tied island in the English Channel Portland may also r ...

, Oregon, the team was defeated by the

Cazzie Russell Cazzie Lee Russell (born June 7, 1944) is an American former professional basketball player and coach. An NBA All-Star, he was selected by the New York Knicks with the first overall pick of the 1966 NBA draft. He won an NBA championship with t ...

-led

Michigan Wolverines The Michigan Wolverines comprise 29 varsity sports teams at the University of Michigan. These teams compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA's NCAA Division I, Division I and in the Big Ten Conference in all sports except wo ...

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 (T ...

118–82 the following night.

earned the

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 ...

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

scoring SCORE may refer to: *SCORE (software), a music scorewriter program * SCORE (television), a weekend sports service of the defunct Financial News Network *SCORE! Educational Centers *SCORE International, an offroad racing organization *Sarawak Corrido ...

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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United Press International United Press International (UPI) is an American international news agency whose newswires, photo, news film, and audio services provided news material to thousands of newspapers, magazines, radio and television stations for most of the 20th ce ...

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, the men's basketball head coach for the Univ ...

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

, ''

Sporting News ''The Sporting News'' is a website and former magazine publication owned by Sporting News Holdings, which is a U.S.-based sports media company formed in December 2020 by a private investor consortium. It was originally established in 1886 as a ...

'', Converse, NEA,

Helms 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 ...

). Bradley also won a

Rhodes Scholarship The Rhodes Scholarship is an international 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. Established in 1902, it is ...

and was a territorial first round selection in the

1965 NBA draft The 1965 NBA draft was the 19th annual draft of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The draft was held on May 6, 1965, before the 1965–66 season. In this draft, nine NBA teams took turns selecting amateur U.S. college basketball player ...

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 Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Manhattan. The Knicks compete in the Na ...

. Bradley surpassed Arthur Loeb (1921–22 and 1922–23) and Cyril Haas (1915–16 and 1916–17) as the school's only three-time men's basketball

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 ...

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 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 holds the following

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 ...

records: single-game points scored in a

(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. Consequently, a ...

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 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 ...

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 restricted area. Free throws ...

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 provid ...

(1949),

Chet Forte Fulvio Chester 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. After ...

(1957) and Ernie Beck (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 Gustave Theodore Broberg, Jr. (June 16, 1920 – November 23, 2001) was a college basketball standout, World War II pilot, lawyer and judge. An American, Broberg played basketball as a forward at Dartmouth College from 1938 to 1941, where he b ...

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

Schedule and results

The team posted a 23–6 (13–1 Ivy League) record. , - !colspan=9 style=, Regular season , - !colspan=9 style=, NCAA tournament

NCAA tournament

The team advanced to the

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 ...

. :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

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

. Future

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

(MLB) executive

Larry Lucchino Lawrence Lucchino (September 6, 1945 – April 2, 2024) was an American lawyer and Major League Baseball executive. He served as president of the Baltimore Orioles, president and chief executive officer (CEO) of the San Diego Padres, and preside ...

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 me ...

NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament Final Four seasons

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

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 Tiger ...