The 1987–88 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 1987–88 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The

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 ...

was

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 a ...

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

John Thompson III John Robert Thompson III (born March 11, 1966) is an American professional basketball coach and executive who has been the assistant coach for the United States men's national basketball team since 2017. He previously served as the head coach of ...

. The team played its home games in 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 ho ...

on the University campus 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 finished third 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 ...

, earning no postseason invitation to either the

1988 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament The 1988 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament involved 64 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. The 50th annual edition of the tournament began on March ...

or the

1988 National Invitation Tournament The 1988 National Invitation Tournament was the 1988 edition of the annual NCAA college basketball competition. Selected teams Below is a list of the 32 teams selected for the tournament.

. The team posted a 17–9 overall record and a 9–5 conference record. The team was led by first team All-Ivy League selection Bob Scrabis. During the season,

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 ...

was inducted into the

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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 give ...

Hall of Fame. Using 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 m ...

, the team set the current

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. ...

Division I single-season

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 ...

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 ...

record (minimum 200 made) with 49.2% shooting (211 of 429). In addition to leading the nation in three-point field goal percentage, the team led the nation in three-point field goals made per game (8.12). The subsequent twelve consecutive teams would highlight defense and lead the nation. That season Princeton established Ivy League standards for career, single-season and single-game three-point field goal shooting.

Dave Orlandini Dave may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Dave'' (film), a 1993 film starring Kevin Kline and Sigourney Weaver * ''Dave'' (musical), a 2018 stage musical adaptation of the 1993 film * ''Dave'' (TV series), a 2020 American comedy series * ...

(51.3%) and Tim Neff (51.2%) ended their careers with what continue to be the two highest career three-point field goal percentages in Ivy League history. Orlandini also posted the current single-season record with 54.5% shooting. In addition, On December 16, 1987, against the

Seton Hall Pirates The Seton Hall Pirates are the intercollegiate athletic sports teams representing Seton Hall University, located in South Orange, New Jersey. The Pirates compete as a member of the NCAA Division I level (non-football sub-level), primarily compet ...

, Orlandini made all five of his three-point attempts, which set the Ivy League single-game record for most made without a miss. Scrabis matched this record on March 4, 1988, against . These stood as unsurpassed as the Ivy League record until future Princeton Tigers head coach

Sydney Johnson Sydney Johnson (born April 26, 1974) is an American professional basketball coach and former player who is the head coach of the Washington Mystics of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). A 1997 Princeton alumnus, Johnson played ...

made all six for Princeton on February 28, 1997, but Orlandini's performance continues to be the league record for non-conference games. In addition, Kit Mueller shot 58.9% on his field goals to earn the first of three Ivy League statistical championships for field goal percentage.

Schedule and results

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:1987-88 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 ...

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 ...