1996–97 Princeton Tigers men's basketball team

The 1996–97 Princeton Tigers men's basketball team represented Princeton University in intercollegiate college basketball during the 1996–97 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The head coach was Bill Carmody and the team captain was Sydney Johnson.^[2] The team played its home games in the Jadwin Gymnasium on the University campus in Princeton, New Jersey. The team was the undefeated champion of the Ivy League, which earned them an invitation to the 64-team 1997 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament where they were seeded twelfth in the East Region.^[3] This was Carmody's first season taking over the coaching duties from Pete Carril who had been Princeton coach since 1967 and retired as the Ivy League's winningest coach in terms of victories and conference championships.^[3][4]

1996–97 Princeton Tigers men's basketball
Undefeated Ivy League Champion
1997 NCAA Men's Division I Tournament, Twelve Seed, Round of 64
Conference	Ivy League
Record	24–4 (14–0, 1st Ivy)
Head coach	Bill Carmody (1st season)
Captain	Sydney Johnson
Home arena	Jadwin Gymnasium
Seasons ← 1995–96 1997–98 →

1996–97 Ivy League men's basketball standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
Princeton	14	–	0		1.000			24	–	4		.857
Dartmouth	10	–	4		.714			18	–	8		.692
Harvard	10	–	4		.714			17	–	9		.654
Penn	8	–	6		.571			12	–	14		.462
Cornell	7	–	7		.500			15	–	11		.577
Yale	3	–	11		.214			10	–	16		.385
Brown	3	–	11		.214			4	–	22		.154
Columbia	1	–	13		.071			6	–	20		.231
Rankings from AP Poll[1]

Using the Princeton offense, the team posted a 24–4 overall record and a 14–0 conference record.^[2] On February 28 and March 1, 1997, Johnson established the current Ivy League record by making 11 consecutive three-point field goals against Columbia Lions and Cornell Big Red, respectively.^[5] The six for six performance against Columbia stands as the only Ivy League perfect three-point shot game of six attempts or more.^[6][7] The team ended the regular season on a nineteen-game winning streak, which tied a school record.^[2][8] Nonetheless, in a March 13, 1997, NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament East Regional first round game at the Joel Coliseum in Winston-Salem, North Carolina against the fifth-seeded California Golden Bears, the team lost 55–52.^{[2][3][9][10]}

The team was led by first team All-Ivy League selections Steve Goodrich and Johnson.^[3] Johnson earned Ivy League Men's Basketball Player of the Year.^[3] He earned the award for his defense and was the first winner with a single-digit scoring average.^[11][12] The team won the ninth of twelve consecutive national statistical championships in scoring defense with a 53.4 points allowed average.^[13] Goodrich repeated as the Ivy League's field goal percentage statistical champion with a 64.8% average in conference games.^[14]

Schedule and results

The team posted a 24–4 (14–0 Ivy League) record.^[15]

Date time, TV	Rank#	Opponent#	Result	Record	Site city, state
Regular season
Nov 20, 1996*		at No. 22 Indiana Preseason NIT	L 49–59	0–1	Assembly Hall  Bloomington, Indiana
Dec 3, 1996*		at Lafayette	W 75–54	1–1	Allan P. Kirby Field House  Easton, Pennsylvania
Dec 6, 1996*		vs. Rice First Bank Classic	W 59–54	2–1	Bradley Center  Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Dec 7, 1996*		at Marquette First Bank Classic	W 66–62	3–1	Bradley Center  Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Dec 10, 1996*		Bucknell	L 62–74 OT	3–2	Jadwin Gymnasium  Princeton, New Jersey
Dec 14, 1996*		at Monmouth	W 48–46	4–2	Boylan Gymnasium  West Long Branch, New Jersey
Dec 19, 1996*		Lehigh	W 73–42	5–2	Jadwin Gymnasium  Princeton, New Jersey
Dec 22, 1996*		No. 12 North Carolina	L 60–69	5–3	Jadwin Gymnasium  Princeton, New Jersey
Dec 27, 1996*		vs. Texas A&M Sierra Medical Center Sun Classic	W 46–38	6–3	Don Haskins Center  El Paso, Texas
Dec 28, 1996*		at UTEP Sierra Medical Center Sun Classic	W 76–64	7–3	Don Haskins Center  El Paso, Texas
Jan 3, 1997*		at Manhattan	W 54–49	8–3	Draddy Gymnasium  New York, New York
Jan 6, 1997*		Rutgers	W 71–66	9–3	Jadwin Gymnasium  Princeton, New Jersey
Jan 10, 1997		at Brown	W 44–40	10–3 (1–0)	Pizzitola Sports Center  Providence, Rhode Island
Jan 11, 1997*		at Yale	W 58–45	11–3 (2–0)	John J. Lee Amphitheater  New Haven, Connecticut
Jan 27, 1997*		Hamilton	W 90–48	12–3	Jadwin Gymnasium  Princeton, New Jersey
Jan 31, 1997*		at Cornell	W 66–42	13–3 (3–0)	Newman Arena  Ithaca, New York
Feb 1, 1997*		at Columbia	W 65–53	14–3 (4–0)	Levien Gymnasium  New York, New York
Feb 7, 1997*		Dartmouth	W 57–55	15–3 (5–0)	Jadwin Gymnasium  Princeton, New Jersey
Feb 8, 1997		Harvard	W 75–51	16–3 (6–0)	Jadwin Gymnasium  Princeton, New Jersey
Feb 11, 1997		at Penn	W 74–59	17–3 (7–0)	The Palestra  Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Feb 14, 1997		Yale	W 81–51	18–3 (8–0)	Jadwin Gymnasium  Princeton, New Jersey
Feb 15, 1997		Brown	W 63–34	19–3 (9–0)	Jadwin Gymnasium  Princeton, New Jersey
Feb 21, 1997		at Harvard	W 66–61	20–3 (10–0)	Lavietes Pavilion  Cambridge, Massachusetts
Feb 22, 1997		at Dartmouth	W 60–53	21–3 (11–0)	Leede Arena  Hanover, New Hampshire
Feb 28, 1997		Columbia	W 67–52	22–3 (12–0)	Jadwin Gymnasium  Princeton, New Jersey
Mar 1, 1997		Cornell	W 70–47	23–3 (13–0)	Jadwin Gymnasium  Princeton, New Jersey
Mar 4, 1997		Penn	W 86–73	24–3 (14–0)	Jadwin Gymnasium  Princeton, New Jersey
NCAA tournament
Mar 13, 1997*	(12 E)	vs. (5 E) California First round	L 52–55	24–4	Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum  Winston-Salem, North Carolina
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. E=East.

References

1. sports-reference.com 1996-97 Ivy Group Season Summary
2. "Men's Basketball Record Book • All-Time Results". GoPrincetonTigers.com. Princeton Athletic Communications. June 12, 2009. Retrieved September 27, 2010.
3. 2009–10 Ivy League Basketball Media Guide. p. 39. {{cite book}}: |website= ignored (help)
4. 2009–10 Ivy League Basketball Media Guide. pp. 55–56. {{cite book}}: |website= ignored (help)
5. 2009–10 Ivy League Basketball Media Guide. p. 50. {{cite book}}: |website= ignored (help)
6. 2009–10 Ivy League Basketball Media Guide. p. 51. {{cite book}}: |website= ignored (help)
7. Mallozzi, Vincent M. (March 1, 1997). "Long Island Outshines Marist and the Crowd". The New York Times. Retrieved October 5, 2010.
8. "Results Plus". The New York Times. March 5, 1997. Retrieved March 12, 2011.
9. Araton, Harvey (March 14, 1997). "Two Upstarts Go Down Fighting". The New York Times. Archived from the original on November 9, 2010. Retrieved October 3, 2010.
10. Princeton Athletic Communications (June 22, 2009). "Men's Basketball Record Book • Men's Basketball in the Postseason". GoPrincetonTigers.com. Princeton University. Retrieved September 30, 2010.
11. Berkow, Ira (March 12, 1997). "Princeton Is Pesky As Ever". The New York Times. Retrieved March 12, 2011.
12. "East". The Baltimore Sun. March 10, 1997. Retrieved March 12, 2011.
13. "Division I Records" (PDF). National Collegiate Athletic Association. p. 48. Retrieved October 2, 2010.
14. 2009–10 Ivy League Basketball Media Guide. p. 49. {{cite book}}: |website= ignored (help)
15. Princeton Athletic Communications (June 12, 2009). "Men's Basketball Record Book • All-Time Results". GoPrincetonTigers.com. Princeton University. Retrieved February 5, 2024.