1968–69 Princeton Tigers men's basketball team
{{short description|American college basketball season}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=December 2016}}
{{Infobox NCAA team season
|mode=Basketball
|year=1968–69
|team=Princeton Tigers
|image=
|image_size=150
|conference=Ivy League
|division=
|short_conf=Ivy
|CoachRank=
|APRank=
|record= 19–7
|conf_record= 14–0, 1st
|head_coach=Pete Carril
|captain=Christopher Thomforde
|asst_coach1=
|asst_coach2=
|asst_coach3=
|stadium=Dillon Gymnasium
Jadwin Gymnasium
|champion= Undefeated Ivy League Champion
|tourney=1969 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament
|tourney_result= Regional Quarterfinals
}}
{{1968–69 Ivy League men's basketball standings}}
The 1968–69 Princeton Tigers men's basketball team represented the Princeton University in intercollegiate college basketball during the 1968–69 NCAA University Division men's basketball season. The head coach was Pete Carril and the team captain was Christopher Thomforde. The team played its home games in the Dillon Gymnasium on the university campus before the January 25, 1969, opening of Jadwin Gymnasium on the university campus in Princeton, New Jersey. The team was the champion of the Ivy League, which earned them an invitation to the 25-team 1969 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament.{{cite book|title=2009–10 Ivy League Basketball Media Guide|page=30|website=IvyLeagueSports.com}} The team was Princeton's first undefeated Ivy League champion, and earned Carril his first of eleven NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament invitations. The team helped Princeton end the decade with a 72.6 winning percentage (188–71), which was the tenth best in the nation.{{cite web|url=http://web1.ncaa.org/web_files/stats/m_basketball_RB/2010/D1.pdf|title=Division I Records|accessdate=October 1, 2010|publisher=National Collegiate Athletic Association|page=57}}
During the regular season, the team played a few of the teams that would eventually participate in the 25-team NCAA tournament: they opened their season against the {{cbb link|1968|sex=men|team=Villanova Wildcats|school=Villanova University|title=Villanova Wildcats}} and later played two of the eventual final four participants (the UCLA Bruins and North Carolina Tar Heels) in the ECAC Holiday Classic at Madison Square Garden in New York City in late December 1968.{{cite web|url=http://www.cbssports.com/collegebasketball/mayhem/brackets/historical/1969/DI|title=1969 Men's College Basketball Bracket|accessdate=October 4, 2010|work=CBS Sports}} The team posted a 19–7 overall record and a 14–0 conference record.{{cite web|url=http://www.goprincetontigers.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=10600&ATCLID=3749695|title=Men's Basketball Record Book • All-Time Results |date=June 12, 2009|accessdate=September 27, 2010|website=GoPrincetonTigers.com|publisher=Princeton Athletic Communications}} The team entered the tournament riding an eleven-game winning streak and having won fifteen of their last sixteen games, but they lost their March 8, 1969 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament East Regional first-round game against the St. John's Redmen 72–63 at Reynolds Coliseum in Raleigh, North Carolina.{{cite web|url=http://www.goprincetontigers.com/ViewArticle.dbml?&DB_OEM_ID=10600&ATCLID=3754497|title=Men's Basketball Record Book • Men's Basketball in the Postseason|accessdate=September 30, 2010|date=June 22, 2009|author=Princeton Athletic Communications|website=GoPrincetonTigers.com|publisher=Princeton University}}
Both John Hummer and Geoff Petrie were selected to the All-Ivy League first team. Petrie, who led the conference in scoring with a 23.9 average in conference games, was also an All-East selection. Thomforde was selected in the 1969 NBA draft by the New York Knicks with the 96th overall selection in the 7th round.{{cite book|title=2009–10 Ivy League Basketball Media Guide|page=32|website=IvyLeagueSports.com}} Hummer led the conference in field goal percentage with 55.4%.{{cite book|title=2009–10 Ivy League Basketball Media Guide|page=49|website=IvyLeagueSports.com}} Petrie and Hummer would become the only Tiger teammates to both be drafted in the first round of the NBA draft (in the same draft no less) when they were selected eighth and fifteenth overall in the 1970 NBA draft by the Portland Trail Blazers and the Buffalo Braves. The two were part of a trio of 1970 NBA first-round draftees from the Ivy League that included number thirteen selection Jim McMillian of Columbia.{{cite book|title=2009–10 Ivy League Basketball Media Guide|page=33|website=IvyLeagueSports.com}} Hummer was the first NBA draft pick by the expansion Buffalo Braves.{{cite web|url=https://www.basketball-reference.com/draft/NBA_1971.html|title=1971 NBA Draft|accessdate=October 7, 2010|publisher=Sports Reference LLC|work=Basketball-Reference}} Petrie would share the 1971 NBA Rookie of the Year Award with Dave Cowens.{{cite web|url=https://www.basketball-reference.com/awards/roy.html|title=NBA & ABA Rookie of the Year Award Winners|accessdate=October 7, 2010|publisher=Sports Reference LLC|work=Basketball-Reference}}
Brian Taylor was selected in the 1972 NBA draft by the Seattle SuperSonics with the 23rd overall selection in the second round while Reggie Bird was selected by the Atlanta Hawks with the 55th overall selection in the fourth round.
Schedule and results
The team posted a 19–7 (14–0 Ivy League) record.{{cite web|url=http://www.goprincetontigers.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=10600&ATCLID=3749695|title=Men's Basketball Record Book • All-Time Results|accessdate=March 27, 2010|date=June 12, 2009|author=Princeton Athletic Communications|website=GoPrincetonTigers.com|publisher=Princeton University}}
{{CBB schedule start
| rank =
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}}
|-
!colspan=9 style={{NCAA color cell|Princeton Tigers}}| Regular season
{{CBB schedule entry
| date = Dec 3, 1968
| time =
| nonconf = yes
| away = yes
| neutral =
| rank =
| opponent = {{cbb link|year=1968|sex=men|team=Villanova Wildcats|title=Villanova}}
| opprank = 10
| site_stadium = Villanova Field House
| site_cityst = Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
| gamename =
| score = 54–64
| overtime =
| attend =
| record = 0–1
}}
{{CBB schedule entry
| date = Dec 7, 1968
| time =
| nonconf = yes
| away =
| neutral = yes
| rank =
| opponent = Duke
| opprank = 16
| site_stadium = Madison Square Garden
| site_cityst = New York, New York
| gamename =
| score = 62–81
| overtime =
| attend =
| record = 0–2
}}
{{CBB schedule entry
| date = Dec 11, 1968
| time =
| nonconf = yes
| away = yes
| neutral =
| rank =
| opponent = {{cbb link|year=1968|sex=men|team=Maryland Terrapins|title=Maryland}}
| opprank =
| site_stadium = Cole Fieldhouse
| site_cityst = College Park, Maryland
| gamename =
| score = 72–63
| overtime =
| attend =
| record = 1–2
}}
{{CBB schedule entry
| date = Dec 14, 1968
| time =
| nonconf = yes
| away =
| neutral =
| rank =
| opponent = {{cbb link|year=1968|sex=men|team=Navy Midshipmen|title=Navy}}
| opprank =
| site_stadium = Dillon Gym
| site_cityst = Princeton, New Jersey
| gamename =
| score = 56–55
| overtime =
| attend =
| record = 2–2
}}
{{CBB schedule entry
| date = Dec 17, 1968
| time =
| nonconf = yes
| away = yes
| neutral =
| rank =
| opponent = {{cbb link|year=1968|sex=men|team=Rutgers Scarlet Knights|title=Rutgers}}
| opprank =
| site_stadium = College Avenue Gymnasium
| site_cityst = Piscataway, New Jersey
| gamename =
| score = 60–61
| overtime =
| attend =
| record = 2–3
}}
{{CBB schedule entry
| date = Dec 18, 1968
| time =
| nonconf = yes
| away =
| neutral =
| rank =
| opponent = {{cbb link|year=1968|sex=men|team=NYU Violets |title=NYU}}
| opprank =
| site_stadium = Dillon Gym
| site_cityst = Princeton, New Jersey
| gamename =
| score = 88–76
| overtime =
| attend =
| record = 3–3
}}
{{CBB schedule entry
| date = Dec 27, 1968
| time =
| nonconf = yes
| away =
| neutral = yes
| rank =
| opponent = {{cbb link|year=1968|sex=men|team=Holy Cross Crusaders|title=Holy Cross}}
| opprank =
| site_stadium = Madison Square Garden
| site_cityst = New York, New York
| gamename = ECAC Holiday Festival
| score = 67–55
| overtime =
| attend =
| record = 4–3
}}
{{CBB schedule entry
| date = Dec 28, 1968
| time =
| nonconf = yes
| away =
| neutral = yes
| rank =
| opponent = UCLA
| opprank = 1
| site_stadium = Madison Square Garden
| site_cityst = New York, New York
| gamename = ECAC Holiday Festival
| score = 67–83
| overtime =
| attend =
| record = 4–4
}}
{{CBB schedule entry
| date = Dec 30, 1968
| time =
| nonconf = yes
| away =
| neutral = yes
| rank =
| opponent = North Carolina
| opprank = 4
| site_stadium = Madison Square Garden
| site_cityst = New York, New York
| gamename = ECAC Holiday Festival
| score = 76–103
| overtime =
| attend =
| record = 4–5
}}
{{CBB schedule entry
| date = Jan 3, 1969
| time =
| nonconf =
| away = yes
| neutral =
| rank =
| opponent = {{cbb link|year=1968|sex=men|team=Penn Quakers|title=Penn}}
| opprank =
| site_stadium = The Palestra
| site_cityst = Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
| gamename =
| score = 59–56
| overtime =
| attend =
| record = 5–5
| conference = 1–0
}}
{{CBB schedule entry
| date = Jan 4, 1969
| time =
| nonconf = yes
| away = yes
| neutral =
| rank =
| opponent = {{cbb link|year=1968|sex=men|team=Army Cadets|title=Army}}
| opprank =
| site_stadium = Gillis Field House
| site_cityst = West Point, New York
| gamename =
| score = 51–42
| overtime =
| attend =
| record = 6–5
}}
{{CBB schedule entry
| date = Jan 10, 1969
| time =
| nonconf =
| away =
| neutral =
| rank =
| opponent = {{cbb link|year=1968|sex=men|team=Dartmouth Big Green|title=Dartmouth}}
| opprank =
| site_stadium = Dillon Gym
| site_cityst = Princeton, New Jersey
| gamename =
| score = 70–55
| overtime =
| attend =
| record = 7–5
| conference = 2–0
}}
{{CBB schedule entry
| date = Jan 11, 1969
| time =
| nonconf =
| away =
| neutral =
| rank =
| opponent = {{cbb link|year=1968|sex=men|team=Harvard Crimson|title=Harvard}}
| opprank =
| site_stadium = Dillon Gym
| site_cityst = Princeton, New Jersey
| gamename =
| score = 73–62
| overtime =
| attend =
| record = 8–5
| conference = 3–0
}}
{{CBB schedule entry
| date = Jan 23, 1969
| time =
| nonconf = yes
| away = yes
| neutral =
| rank =
| opponent = Davidson
| opprank = 4
| site_stadium = Charlotte Coliseum
| site_cityst = Charlotte, North Carolina
| gamename =
| score = 54–71
| overtime =
| attend =
| record = 8–6
}}
{{CBB schedule entry
| date = Jan 25, 1969
| time =
| nonconf =
| away =
| neutral =
| rank =
| opponent = Penn
| opprank =
| site_stadium = Dillon Gym
| site_cityst = Princeton, New Jersey
| gamename =
| score = 74–62
| overtime =
| attend =
| record = 9–6
| conference = 4–0
}}
{{CBB schedule entry
| date = Jan 31, 1969
| time =
| nonconf =
| away = yes
| neutral =
| rank =
| opponent = Harvard
| opprank =
| site_stadium = Lavietes Pavilion
| site_cityst = Cambridge, Massachusetts
| gamename =
| score = 76–65
| overtime =
| attend =
| record = 10–6
| conference = 5–0
}}
{{CBB schedule entry
| date = Feb 1, 1969
| time =
| nonconf =
| away = yes
| neutral =
| rank =
| opponent = Dartmouth
| opprank =
| site_stadium = Alumni Gym
| site_cityst = Hanover, New Hampshire
| gamename =
| score = 61–50
| overtime =
| attend =
| record = 11–6
| conference = 6–0
}}
{{CBB schedule entry
| date = Feb 7, 1969
| time =
| nonconf =
| away =
| neutral =
| rank =
| opponent = {{cbb link|year=1968|sex=men|team=Columbia Lions|title=Columbia}}
| opprank = 14
| site_stadium = Dillon Gym
| site_cityst = Princeton, New Jersey
| gamename =
| score = 68–49
| overtime =
| attend =
| record = 12–6
| conference = 7–0
}}
{{CBB schedule entry
| date = Feb 8, 1969
| time =
| nonconf =
| away =
| neutral =
| rank =
| opponent = {{cbb link|year=1968|sex=men|team=Cornell Big Red|title=Cornell}}
| opprank =
| site_stadium = Dillon Gym
| site_cityst = Princeton, New Jersey
| gamename =
| score = 67–57
| overtime =
| attend =
| record = 13–6
| conference = 8–0
}}
{{CBB schedule entry
| date = Feb 14, 1969
| time =
| nonconf =
| away = yes
| neutral =
| rank =
| opponent = Yale
| opprank =
| site_stadium = John J. Lee Amphitheater
| site_cityst = New Haven, Connecticut
| gamename =
| score = 67–56
| overtime =
| attend =
| record = 14–6
| conference = 9–0
}}
{{CBB schedule entry
| date = Feb 15, 1969
| time =
| nonconf =
| away = yes
| neutral =
| rank =
| opponent = {{cbb link|year=1968|sex=men|team=Brown Bears|title=Brown}}
| opprank =
| site_stadium = Marvel Gymnasium
| site_cityst = Providence, Rhode Island
| gamename =
| score = 75–56
| overtime =
| attend =
| record = 15–6
| conference = 10–0
}}
{{CBB schedule entry
| date = Feb 21, 1969
| time =
| nonconf =
| away =
| neutral =
| rank =
| opponent = Yale
| opprank =
| site_stadium = Dillon Gym
| site_cityst = Princeton, New Jersey
| gamename =
| score = 72–53
| overtime =
| attend =
| record = 16–6
| conference = 11–0
}}
{{CBB schedule entry
| date = Feb 22, 1969
| time =
| nonconf =
| away =
| neutral =
| rank =
| opponent = Brown
| opprank =
| site_stadium = Dillon Gym
| site_cityst = Princeton, New Jersey
| gamename =
| score = 74–46
| overtime =
| attend =
| record = 17–6
| conference = 12–0
}}
{{CBB schedule entry
| date = Feb 28, 1969
| time =
| nonconf =
| away = yes
| neutral =
| rank =
| opponent = Columbia
| opprank =
| site_stadium = University Gymnasium
| site_cityst = New York, New York
| gamename =
| score = 60–59
| overtime =
| attend =
| record = 18–6
| conference = 13–0
}}
{{CBB schedule entry
| date = Mar 1, 1969
| time =
| nonconf =
| away = yes
| neutral =
| rank =
| opponent = Cornell
| opprank =
| site_stadium = Barton Hall
| site_cityst = Ithaca, New York
| gamename =
| score = 74–64
| overtime =
| attend =
| record = 19–6
| conference = 14–0
}}
|-
!colspan=9 style={{NCAA color cell|Princeton Tigers}}| NCAA tournament
{{CBB schedule entry
| date = Mar 8, 1969
| time =
| nonconf = yes
| away =
| neutral = yes
| rank =
| seed =
| opponent = St. John's
| opprank = 8
| oppseed =
| site_stadium = Reynolds Coliseum
| site_cityst = Raleigh, North Carolina
| gamename = First round
| score = 63–72
| overtime =
| attend =
| record = 19–7
}}
{{CBB schedule end
| rank =
| poll = AP Poll
| timezone =
| region =
| regionname =
| notes =
}}
NCAA tournament
The team lost in the first round of the 1969 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament.{{cite web|url=http://www.ivyleaguesports.com/documents/mbb6869.asp|title=1968–69 Ivy Men's Basketball|accessdate=March 28, 2010|website=IvyLeagueSports.com|archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20090131141920/http://www.ivyleaguesports.com/documents/mbb6869.asp |archivedate = January 31, 2009|url-status=dead}}{{cite web|url=http://www.databasesports.com/ncaab/tourney.htm?yr=1969|title=1969 NCAA basketball tournament Bracket|accessdate=March 27, 2010|publisher=databaseSports.com}}
:3/8/69 in Raleigh, N.C.: St. John’s 72, Princeton 63
Awards and honors
- Geoff Petrie
- First Team All-Ivy League
- Ivy League Scoring Champion
- All-East{{cite web|url=http://www.goprincetontigers.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=10600&ATCLID=3749635|title=Men's Basketball Record Book • Ivy League & National Awards|accessdate=March 28, 2010|date=June 12, 2009|author=Princeton Athletic Communications|website=GoPrincetonTigers.com|publisher=Princeton University}}
- John Hummer
- First Team All-Ivy League
- Chris Thomforde
- Second Team All-Ivy League
- NCAA Postgraduate Scholar
Players drafted into the NBA
Five players from this team were selected in the NBA draft.{{cite web|url=http://www.databasebasketball.com/draft/draftyear.htm?lg=N&yr=1969 |title=1969 NBA Draft |accessdate=March 28, 2010 |publisher=databaseSports.com |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20100318001935/http://www.databasebasketball.com/draft/draftyear.htm?yr=1969&lg=N |archivedate=March 18, 2010 }}{{cite web|url=http://www.databasebasketball.com/draft/draftyear.htm?lg=N&yr=1970 |title=1970 NBA Draft |accessdate=March 28, 2010 |publisher=databaseSports.com |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20081206184407/http://www.databasebasketball.com/draft/draftyear.htm?lg=N&yr=1970 |archivedate=December 6, 2008 }}
| class="wikitable" style="width:80%;" | ||||
| style="text-align:center;"
| Year | Round | Pick | Player | NBA Club |
| style="text-align:center;" bgcolor=""
| 1969 | 7 | 11 | Chris Thomforde | New York Knicks |
| style="text-align:center;" bgcolor=""
| 1970 | 1 | 8 | Geoff Petrie | Portland Trail Blazers |
| style="text-align:center;" bgcolor=""
| 1970 | 1 | 15 | John Hummer | Buffalo Braves |
| style="text-align:center;" bgcolor=""
| 1972 | 2 | 23 | Brian Taylor | Seattle SuperSonics |
| style="text-align:center;" bgcolor=""
| 1972 | 4 | 55 | Reggie Bird | Atlanta Hawks |
References
{{Reflist|30em}}
{{Princeton Tigers men's basketball navbox}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:1968-69 Princeton Tigers Men's Basketball Team}}