1990–91 Princeton Tigers men's basketball team


The 1990–91 Princeton Tigers men's basketball team represented Princeton University in NCAA Division I men's college basketball during the 1990–91 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. Their head coach was Pete Carril, and the team captain was Kit Mueller.[3] 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 automatic invitation to the 64-team 1991 NCAA tournament, where they were seeded eighth in the East Region.[4]

1990–91 Princeton Tigers men's basketball
Ivy League champion
NCAA tournament, Round of 64
ConferenceIvy League
Ranking
CoachesNo. 20
APNo. 18
Record24–3 (14–0 Ivy)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
CaptainKit Mueller
Home arenaJadwin Gymnasium
Seasons
1990-91 Ivy League men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
No. 18 Princeton 14 0   1.000 24 3   .889
Yale 9 5   .643 15 11   .577
Cornell 6 8   .429 13 13   .500
Brown 6 8   .429 11 15   .423
Harvard 6 8   .429 9 17   .346
Penn 6 8   .429 9 17   .346
Columbia 5 9   .357 7 19   .269
Dartmouth 4 10   .286 9 17   .346
Rankings from AP Poll[2]

In December, undefeated Princeton handed Rutgers their first loss.[5] The team posted a 24–3 overall record and a 14–0 conference record using the Princeton offense.[6] When the team beat Yale 55–27 on January 11, 1991, it established a new National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I record for fewest points allowed (since 1986), breaking its own record set the prior year. The record would last until March 2, 1992.[7] On February 8, 1991, against Cornell, Sean Jackson made all five of his three-point field goal attempts, which tied the Ivy League single-game record for most made without a miss set three years earlier by Princeton Tigers Dave Orlandini and Bob Scrabis.[8] These stood as unsurpassed as the Ivy League record until future Princeton Tigers head coach Sydney Johnson made all six for Princeton on February 28, 1997.[8] In a March 15, 1991 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament East Regional first-round game at the Carrier Dome in Syracuse, New York, against the Villanova Wildcats, they lost by a 50–48 margin.[3][4][9] The Tigers led 30–25 at halftime, but lost on a shot in the final second of regulation play.[10][11][12] Princeton's number eight seed was a record for the highest seed by an Ivy League school at the time.[13] During the undefeated conference game season, Jackson established the Ivy League single-season conference games record with 56 three-point field goals made, which stood at least 25 seasons.[14]

During the season, the team spent six weeks (one week in mid December and the final five weeks of the season) of the seventeen-week season ranked in the Associated Press Top Twenty-five Poll, peaking at number eighteen where it ended the season.[15] The team finished the season ranked twentieth in the final UPI Coaches' Poll.[16] The team completed the first undefeated Ivy season by any team since the 1975–76 Princeton Tigers men's basketball team.[17]

The team was led by first team All-Ivy League selections Jackson and Mueller, who repeated as the Ivy League Men's Basketball Player of the Year while earning first team Academic All-America recognition from College Sports Information Directors of America.[4] Mueller shot 62.5% on his field goals to earn the third of three Ivy League statistical championships for field goal percentage.[18] Jackson led the Ivy League in three point shooting percentage in conference games with a 55.4% average and established the Ivy League single-season record for conference games with 56 made.[8][18] The team won the third of twelve consecutive national statistical championships in scoring defense with a 48.9 points allowed average.[19]

Schedule and results edit

The team posted a 24–3 (14–0 Ivy League) record.[20]

Date
time, TV
Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site
city, state
Regular season
Nov 24, 1990*
at Cleveland State
North Coast Tournament
W 70–57  1–0
Woodling Gym 
Cleveland, Ohio
Nov 25, 1990*
vs. Coastal Carolina
North Coast Tournament
W 42–39  2–0
Woodling Gym 
Cleveland, Ohio
Nov 27, 1990*
at Lafayette W 45–36  3–0
Allan P. Kirby Field House 
Easton, Pennsylvania
Dec 4, 1990*
at Lehigh W 57–40  4–0
Stabler Arena 
Bethlehem, Pennsylvania
Dec 7, 1990*
vs. Saint Mary's
Manufacturers Hanover Classic
W 63–45  5–0
John A. Mulcahy Campus Events Center 
New Rochelle, New York
Dec 8, 1990*
at Iona
Manufacturers Hanover Classic
W 58–50  6–0
John A. Mulcahy Campus Events Center 
New Rochelle, New York
Dec 15, 1990*
at Rutgers W 58–45  7–0
Louis Brown Athletic Center 
Piscataway, New Jersey
Dec 19, 1990*
No. 25 at No. 1 UNLV L 35–69  7–1
Thomas & Mack Center (17,778)
Las Vegas, Nevada
Dec 28, 1990*
vs. UC Santa Barbara
Cable Car Classic
W 67–51  8–1
Toso Pavilion 
Santa Clara, California
Dec 29, 1990*
at Santa Clara
Cable Car Classic
L 53–59  8–2
Toso Pavilion 
Santa Clara, California
Jan 11, 1991
Yale W 55–27  9–2
(1–0)
Jadwin Gymnasium 
Princeton, New Jersey
Jan 12, 1991
Brown W 67–42  10–2
(2–0)
Jadwin Gymnasium 
Princeton, New Jersey
Jan 28, 1991*
Elizabethtown W 82–45  11–2
Jadwin Gymnasium 
Princeton, New Jersey
Feb 1, 1991
Dartmouth W 64–52  12–2
(3–0)
Jadwin Gymnasium 
Princeton, New Jersey
Feb 2, 1991
Harvard W 75–59  13–2
(4–0)
Jadwin Gymnasium 
Princeton, New Jersey
Feb 5, 1991
at Penn W 60–47  14–2
(5–0)
The Palestra 
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Feb 8, 1991
at Cornell W 84–40  15–2
(6–0)
Newman Arena 
Ithaca, New York
Feb 9, 1991
at Columbia W 65–47  16–2
(7–0)
Levien Gymnasium 
New York, New York
Feb 15, 1991
No. 25 at Brown W 79–63  17–2
(8–0)
Pizzitola Sports Center 
Providence, Rhode Island
Feb 16, 1991
No. 25 at Yale W 59–54  18–2
(9–0)
John J. Lee Ampitheater 
New Haven, Connecticut
Feb 22, 1991
No. 23 Columbia W 56–33  19–2
(10–0)
Jadwin Gymnasium 
Princeton, New Jersey
Feb 23, 1991
No. 23 Cornell W 68–53  20–2
(11–0)
Jadwin Gymnasium 
Princeton, New Jersey
Feb 26, 1991
No. 21 Penn W 63–56  21–2
(12–0)
Jadwin Gymnasium 
Princeton, New Jersey
Mar 1, 1991
No. 21 at Harvard W 79–64  22–2
(13–0)
Lavietes Pavilion 
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Mar 2, 1991
No. 21 at Dartmouth W 56–49  23–2
(14–0)
Leede Arena 
Hanover, New Hampshire
Mar 10, 1991*
No. 19 Loyola Marymount W 76–48  24–2
Jadwin Gymnasium 
Princeton, New Jersey
NCAA tournament
Mar 15, 1991*
(8 E) No. 18 vs. (9 E) Villanova L 48–50  24–3
Carrier Dome 
Syracuse, New York
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
E=East.

Rankings edit

Ranking Movement
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking.
Poll Pre Wk 1 Wk 2 Wk 3 Wk 4 Wk 5 Wk 6 Wk 7 Wk 8 Wk 9 Wk 10 Wk 11 Wk 12 Wk 13 Wk 14 Wk 15 Final
AP Poll[15] 25 25 23 21 19 18

NCAA tournament edit

The team was seeded eighth in the 1991 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament.[21][22]

NCAA Tournament

3/15/91 in Syracuse, N.Y.: (9) Villanova 50, (8) Princeton 48

Awards and honors edit

References edit

  1. ^ "Wright State University Basketball Media Guide 1990-1991". Wright State University. November 14, 1990. Retrieved February 8, 2024.
  2. ^ sports-reference.com 1990-91 Ivy Group Season Summary
  3. ^ a b "Men's Basketball Record Book • All-Time Results". GoPrincetonTigers.com. Princeton Athletic Communications. June 12, 2009. Retrieved September 27, 2010.
  4. ^ a b c 2009–10 Ivy League Basketball Media Guide. p. 38 – via IvyLeagueSports.com.
  5. ^ "Minnesota (6–0) drops Oregon St. to 2–3: [1,2 Edition]". The San Diego Union. December 16, 1990. p. H-9. ProQuest 422652164. Retrieved February 3, 2024.
  6. ^ "2018–19 Ivy League Men's Basketball Media Guide" (PDF). Ivy League. October 24, 2018. Retrieved February 2, 2024.
  7. ^ "Division I Records" (PDF). National Collegiate Athletic Association. p. 39. Retrieved October 2, 2010.
  8. ^ a b c 2009–10 Ivy League Basketball Media Guide. p. 51 – via IvyLeagueSports.com.
  9. ^ 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.
  10. ^ Smith, Timothy W. (March 16, 1991). "College Basketball: N.C.A.A. Tournament/East Regional; Nittany Lions, Villanova and North Carolina Advance". The New York Times. Retrieved October 2, 2010.
  11. ^ Smith, Timothy W. (March 17, 1991). "College Basketball: East Regional; Smith Gets a Kick as a Fan and Scout". The New York Times. Retrieved October 2, 2010.
  12. ^ Vecsey, George (March 16, 1991). "Sports Of The Times; These Tigers Were Definitely Burning Bright". The New York Times. Retrieved October 2, 2010.
  13. ^ Myslenski, Skip (March 11, 1991). "Buckeyes Have It-a Top Seed: Ohio St. Gets Midwest Nod Over Indiana". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved November 6, 2011.
  14. ^ "2015–16 Ivy League Basketball Media Guide" (PDF). IvyLeagueSports.com. pp. 81 & 88. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 17, 2016. Retrieved February 2, 2024.
  15. ^ a b "Division I Records" (PDF). National Collegiate Athletic Association. pp. 68–83. Retrieved October 2, 2010.
  16. ^ "Division I Records" (PDF). National Collegiate Athletic Association. p. 85. Retrieved October 2, 2010.
  17. ^ "COLLEGE BASKETBALL NATIONAL ROUNDUP Mississippi State Happy to Share SEC Title: [Home Edition]". Los Angeles Times. March 3, 1991. p. 8. ProQuest 281391790. Retrieved February 4, 2024.
  18. ^ a b 2009–10 Ivy League Basketball Media Guide. p. 49 – via IvyLeagueSports.com.
  19. ^ "Division I Records" (PDF). National Collegiate Athletic Association. p. 48. Retrieved October 2, 2010.
  20. ^ Princeton Athletic Communications (June 12, 2009). "Men's Basketball Record Book • All-Time Results". GoPrincetonTigers.com. Princeton University. Archived from the original on April 19, 2018. Retrieved February 4, 2024.
  21. ^ a b c d e f "1990–91 Ivy Men's Basketball". IvyLeagueSports.com. Archived from the original on January 31, 2009. Retrieved March 27, 2010.
  22. ^ "1991 NCAA basketball tournament Bracket". databaseSports.com. Retrieved March 28, 2010.