Tigers face tall task vs. host Yale in Ivy semis
NEW HAVEN, CONN. >> Myles Stephens has been in this position before.
Ivy League semifinal. On the road. Raucous crowd.
The first team All-Ivy senior won’t be fazed even as his team is a big underdog in the Ivy semifinals.
“Two years ago, went into Penn and there was a big crowd there,” Stephens said, referencing Princeton’s overtime semifinal victory over Penn at the Palestra during its perfect Ivy League season. “We’re expecting the same thing (Saturday afternoon). A lot of the guys haven’t played in a tournament environment, but I think we’ll be ready to go. We prepared this week, and we know what it takes to win.”
It’s going to take a Herculean effort for the third-seeded Tigers (16-11) to upset second-seeded Yale (20-7) on its home floor at the John J. Lee Amphitheater on Saturday afternoon (3 p.m., ESPNU, WPRB 103.3 FM).
Already shorthanded after leading scorer Devin Cannady left the team in February to deal with a personal issue, Princeton also won’t have sophomore forward Ryan Schwieger due to a concussion. In addition, the Tigers have dropped three straight games, including an 81-59 setback against the Bulldogs last Saturday at Jadwin.
“Any time you go into a conference tournament, it’s a new season,” Stephens said. “One through four, everyone has the same chance at winning. We’re looking at this as a clean slate. We’ve played Yale twice, but (on Saturday), it’s going to be like playing them for the first time.”
The Bulldogs dominated the two regular-season meetings. James Jones’ team can come at you in waves with four players scoring in double figures, led by guard Miye Oni. The 6-7 junior, who is drawing plenty of interest from NBA scouts, averages 17.4 points, 6.4 rebounds and 3.5 assists.
Oni scored a career-high 35 points in the win over Princeton here.
“It just lets us know what type of team we can be if we play together offensively and defensively,” Oni said when asked about his team’s two victories over the Tigers. “We still know we have to come out with a complete team effort to get it done again. We’re not taking anything for granted this game. We’re going to come out with the same type of fire and intensity the first two games we played them.”
Top-seeded Harvard (17-10) faces fourth-seeded Penn (19-11) in the other semifinal.
Princeton coach Mitch Henderson has had to adjust on the fly this season more than any other in his eight-year tenure. While he liked to have a full lineup in tact, he feels like his group is as focused as it can be.
“Last weekend, we were learning how to play without two significant players,” Henderson said. “No excuses at this time of the year. You’re either healthy or your not. Harvard has had major injuries, so has Penn. We’re really happy with what this team has been able to do.”
Leave it to Henderson to keep things in perspective.
“Two years we came to (the tournament) undefeated in the league and I spent the whole week talking about how it didn’t matter the tournament was at the Palestra, didn’t matter that we were playing Penn at Penn,” Henderson said. “I drew a big circle and wrote all these words and five seconds into the game we were down like 10-0. Watching all these games, this is what we all want to see, competitive games in March. There’s a little magic to it and we’ve been encouraging that because it’s out there for you.”