Line opened at Yale -8.5 and seems to have settled at Yale -7.5.
Go Tigers!
1 Like
Davis not starting. Seems like he’s still on a minutes restriction.
Let’s see if they can keep it close. I’m already assuming regular season sweeps by Yale and Cornell.
We seem to be rotating defense on Townsend.
Hanging in there. I’d like to see Stanton not force as many shots.
Really good defense. By both teams. Really bad outside shooting. By both teams.
Too many rushed 3s and 3-4 unforced TOs. Let’s go inside more. Love the effort.
Clark and Abdullahi playing very well on both ends.
Princeton doing a great job on Townsend who’s getting frustrated, just have no one to keep Aletan off the boards here
Will you go to the press?
WHAT A WIN!!! And by 16 points?!
For the first time in MH’s tenure, we out-toughed Yale. Malik, Jacob and (in the first half) Clark were phenomenal in the paint. Only Aletan could finish regularly and we could put him at the FT line if need be. Stanton and Davis were also pests on defense.
Hicke and Dalen’s dagger 3s iced it. And we handled the press much better (only 1 TO).
1 Like
In the last “Hard Cuts” video, Malik said with a knowing smile: “I think we’re gonna surprise a lot of people [in Ivy play].”
He knew. He knew Dalen was coming back and that they could beat anyone. Malik is becoming my favorite Tiger. His defense. His ability to finish at the rim. His insanely improved FT shooting. His high energy without being cocky/unsportsmanlike.
As good as Yale is, I’m more afraid of Cornell because of their style. But whatever. We’ll cross that bridge when we get there.
1 Like
I doubt anyone saw this coming. I was convinced Tigers were setting themselves up for disappointment when they kept bricking 1H shots from the outside and not talking advantage while Yale was also struggling. Glad to see I was wrong.
The most impressive thing is that they still made 7-8 embarrassing mistakes that a team like Yale (or most MH teams) would never make.
And they still won.
A gutty win that gives us hope for making the tournament.
Let’s try to get at least one on the road next week.
Our guys definitely get a huge mental boost at home. Hopefully Dalen can play 32+ minutes from now on.
I wonder if Stanton or Clark comes off the bench if Davis reenters the starting lineup. My gut says Stanton could be great as an instant offense 6th man.
Why mess with success?
3 Likes
Great game plan. Great win. Great crowd.
I won’t say that I called that one (I picked against the Tigers for the first time in half a dozen years playing the Ivy Hoops Online pick em contest) but I did expect Princeton to play well and keep it under 10 points. A 16-point victory is just nuts
The defense was smothering on Townsend and more generally and the offense poured it on in the second half. Jackson Hicke is an animal
There was a long stretch in the first half when we had trouble getting any shot off within the shot clock limit but we came out in the second half with a lot more intensity, a lot more cutting, and much less standing around.
Give Mitch a ton of credit, both in preparing the team for the game and in whatever he said at halftime. James Jones is a great coach but Mitch really outcoached him this time. the way he deployed Happy and Huggins was brilliant.
Go Tigers!
3 Likes
Yale really misses Mbeng. Having him at the point of attack was a huge advantage. According to KenPom, their defense has really taken a hit this season.
I have no doubt they’ll be ready to get even in New Haven, but our guys have to be brimming with confidence now. Back to back 54pt 2nd halves is insane.
Adullahi on Townsend was a good move. He played tight on the perimeter, and was quick enough and strong enough inside to delay Townsend until help arrived.
Huggins is becoming an excellent off-ball helper shot blocker.
2 Likes
We may not have a traditional shot blocker like Aletan, but Huggins and Abdullahi have combined to be a force in the paint. Something we’ve been sorely lacking, even on Mitch’s best teams (e.g. 2023-24).
2 Likes
I fantasized about a win like this but didn’t expect it, although the scenario–a rock fight in which Princeton exploited its unusual degree of relative athleticism defensively–was the one I imagined. That was such a great game to see. Phenomenal job guarding Townsend and containing Fox, my two biggest worries. And competing on the boards and blocking shots, being physical. It’s also been a while since the Tigers had so many players who could keep dribblers in front of them. And obviously, Yale missed a lot of shots they would usually make, aiding the cause.
I’m happy that the team has adopted that chip on the shoulder attitude that they are better than advertised, because I think that’s authentically true. I don’t know if they will be able to repeat this performance in future Yale contests this season, but their confidence should be pretty high. This was again a real team effort across the board on both ends.
1 Like