The 6-7 Princeton Tigers Open Up Conference Play With Optimism

Added by Stephen Zimkouski on January 10, 2013.

The Princeton Tigers are set to open conference play this Saturday.

Yesterday, the Ivy League Media Teleconference was held which gave each of the eight head men’s basketball coaches a chance to reflect on their seasons so far. The coaches were also able to tell us their projections for their respective teams and answer questions from the panel. Princeton coach Mitch Henderson spoke in honesty as he analyzed his team both positively and negatively, as the Tigers look to compete for an Ivy League title and NCAA tournament birth.

When breaking down his team, Henderson said there was a “turnaround after the Fordham game.” After the Princeton 63-60 loss to Fordham in the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, the Tigers fell to 3-6. Henderson added to that saying that the schedule was “front loaded this year” with tough games against Syracuse, Rutgers and Wagner all of which the Tigers lost. Since the Fordham game, the turnaround really began as the Tigers won three of their next four games all by double digit margins to bring themselves to their current record of 6-7. Henderson said the team is “handling pressure and playing smarter” and that has been the key to the Tigers feeling confident entering conference play.

The Tigers are led by senior Ian Hummer who is leading the team in points, rebounds and assists per game. Hummer comes into the middle of the season averaging 16.2 points per game, 6.6 rebounds per game and 4.5 assists per game. Hummer is doing that while shooting an impressive .51% from the field. When describing Hummer, Henderson stated that he has a “knack for finding the basket.”

All of the coaches agreed on one thing as they all stated in their own way that this year the Ivy League is “anybodies race.” While Harvard comes in with the best record and looks to be the best team thus far, the conference title can really go to anybody this year. Princeton opens up their conference schedule this Saturday when they host 2-12 Penn in pursuit of their 2nd tournament appearance in three seasons.