PRINCETON GAMEDAY

Who: Hofstra (7-4) at Princeton (3-7)

When: Thursday, 7 p.m., Jadwin Gymnasium

TV/ Radio: ESPN+/ WPRB 103.3 FM Last Time Out: Princeton def., Iona, 90-86, in overtime; Hofstra def., Stony Brook, 71-63

Series History: Princeton leads, 3-2 Background: The Tigers and Pride are meeting for the first time since a contest in the Dr. Pepper Classic that was played in Waco, Texas during the 1991-92 season. This is the first of two home games for Princeton to close the calendar year. The Tigers host Lehigh on Dec. 29.

Did You Know?: Butch van Breda Kolff, a 1945 Princeton grad, served as the head coach for both programs. Van Breda Kolff was the Hofstra coach from 1955-62 and again from 1988-94 and roamed the Princeton sideline from 1962-67. He won 103 games at Princeton and led the Tigers to the Final Four in 1965. He is also Hofstra’s all-time winningest coach with 215 victories. Van Breda Kolff was the Hofstra coach in both the first and most recent meetings in the series, two games that were separated by 36 years.

Comeback Cats: The Tigers are coming off an overtime victory against Iona in which they erased a 16-point second half deficit. It also marked the fourth time in the last five games that they were in a onepossession game in the final minute. “I feel really good about what we can be,” coach Mitch Henderson said. “I don’t judge them off of anything they are doing today. It’s how they react and respond each day. Are we getting a little bit better? That’s what this group has done. Our record is what it is. We’ve played a really hard schedule.”

Scouting Hofstra: Joe Mihalich’s Pride are off to a 7-4 start and will be in action for the first time since Dec. 10. Mihalich took Niagara to a pair of NCAA Tournaments before swapping upstate New York for Long Island. He has won at least 20 games in three of his six seasons at Hofstra, taking the CAA school to the NIT twice. The Pride feature four players averaging in double figures, led by guards Desure Buie (16.7 ppg) and Eli Pemberton (16 ppg). Jalen Ray is Hofstra’s best 3-point threat (13.3 ppg, 43.4% on 3s).

— Kyle Franko