Curious about people’s thoughts on how Princeton
should approach this game. Obviously, Yale is
very good, but they are also a bit of a match-up
problem for us. They have two really athletic
defensive -minded guards and the league’s best
rim protecter at center. How do we get some
inside scoring?
At ther other end, how do we match up to
control their balanced scoring and keep them off
the boards?
We will need (as always) big games from Pierce
and Lee, but also have to hope Scott and/or Hicke
can contribute at both ends. Byriel hitting some
3s would open up the middle a bit.
Any creative thoughts? I am sure Mitch is looking for
our wisdom.
Yale is #75, Cornell 127, Tigers 136 in kenpom rankings. This game may be a blowout for Yale., especially if we play like we have recently. Mbeng will probably guard Lee which should be very interesting. I would have Pierce guard Poulikadas, our best against theirs, and hope he can stay out of foul trouble. Remember what Tosan did a couple of years ago. Townsend is a huge matchup problem and could have a big game. All in all we are skidding right now and may have to hope for a split in the back to back weekend.
one problem with Pierce on Poulikaidis is it keeps Caden away from the Boards.
I would put him on Townsend, but agree this looks tough.
I do think Lee and Pierce will be the two best players on the court, and that ought to matter.
I’m more afraid of Cornell (due to their depth and 3pt shooting) than Yale. Also, Saturday’s loss should give the guys a chip on their shoulder.
Hicke on Poulakidas is probably our best bet. His length and toughness make him a good cover for a 3pt shooter like Poulakidas. Chase him around screens, deflect handoffs/passes, get a hand in his face.
Aletan could be a big X-factor as a rim protector. Byriel hitting early 3s to draw him away from the basket would be a huge boost.
Yale is the better team, but we have the two best players in Lee and Pierce. Lean into that. Don’t let Yale off the hook by having Jack Scott play PG in crunch time or running isolations for Hicke.
This team lives off of isolations, and I think Yale has an answer for each of our best one on one players.
This is the first back-to-back in the schedule. Yale on Friday (on ESPN 2!) followed by Brown on Saturday.
We’ll learn a lot about what this team is made of.
Town Topics writeup with some interesting Mitch quotes. He thinks weak practices are a big reason for the slow starts.
““What’s no good is slow starts, which is a reflection of who you are,” said Henderson. At this point there’s enough body of work to say this is what you are. So practices are extremely important for this group. And once we own those and make them very important, we’ll make some progress towards addressing that need for that first part.
“When you talk about the team, you talk about everybody,” said Henderson. “And when we decide that we will play really hard in practice, then it will show up in the games.
Let’s see if it pays off.
I think if I’m Mitch, I start in a matchup zone in this game. Yale has shot the three pretty well this year, but mostly (imo) because they don’t shoot very many - Yale is 322nd in the country in threes attempted per game according to KenPom. Take advantage of Jadwin’s weird sightlines and make the non-Poulakidas players shoot you out of the zone on the road.
unfortunately, the only zones Henderson
plays are a 1-3-1 and a full court press, both
as sort of change-ups when we are down.
I think we will play man, with switches on
picks and lots of doubling help in the post.
When they play with intensity, that approach
has been effective. We will need 40 minutes of it.
We also need Davis’ shooting touch to return, and some bench help from Hicke and/or Scott.
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Davis has been near invisible since Akron. I really think he’d be better off as the 6th man. Peters is the better complementary player next to Lee and Pierce.
Next year, he can be the lead guard with Lee and Peters gone, but for now, I’d like to see him return to the “instant offense” bench role he excelled in last year.
Opening line is Tigers+2 1/2. If the game is that close i shall be surprised. Who can doubt the Tigers in a one possession game in the last minute?
Opens Yale -2 1/2 O/U 147
Surprise, surprise. Another slow start: Yale leads 19-10.
MH put Peters in the starting lineup but kept Davis in there too - Yale with 2 offensive boards and 6 second-chance points already. Going small has not paid off.
Yale offensive rebounds really hurting us.
Happy and Hicke making an impact right away. We need their toughness/size.
Team looking better, but our guys need to be tougher on the boards. The refs are letting them play.
Yale is off to a hot start shooting-wise. Gotta weather the storm and channel that 2nd half magic.
This is just who the team is. Nothing will change - just gotta embrace it!
Yale can’t miss from 3 and we can’t stop turning it over. This game trending towards early blowout territory.
This is embarrassing stuff, especially on national TV.
Pierce and Lee inside games neutralized by Aletan.
Mbeng nails a buzzer-beater 3 to keep the lead at 10. That pretty sums it up. Yale came to demolish us and they’re well on their way.
Lee looks totally off - I think he might be sick again. He was yawning and slumped in his chair during the player intros and took an extended rest despite not being in foul trouble and - at the time - only taking 3 shots.
Only bright spots are Peters having a career game and and Happy looking like the center we need - his size and rebounding have been huge. I think we have our starting center for next season.