Princeton’s Henderson wants to renew Rutgers rivalry
Princeton coach Mitch Henderson has made no secret his desire to renew rivalries with New Jersey competition.
Yet for the fourth straight season, Rutgers, the school 19 miles north on Route 1, isn’t on the schedule.
“Do you have their phone number?,” Henderson said during Wednesday’s Ivy League media call. “We would love to play that game. We’ve made effort and we’re hoping that series will continue in the near future.”
Princeton and Rutgers have not met since Dec. 12, 2013 — a 78-73 Tigers victory in Piscataway. The first meeting between the two schools was in 1917 and Princeton leads the all-time series, 75-45.
“I think it’s a really good game for New Jersey,” said Henderson, who is 2-1 against the Scarlet Knights. “We drive right up here on Route 1 past New Brunswick all the time, so it’s an easy travel game. We’d love to see that happen going forward. It’s nice to play a local team.”
Rutgers may not be on the schedule, but Henderson is still challenging his team. The Tigers face four schools (Butler, Miami, USC, Middle Tennessee) that made the NCAA Tournament last season.
Princeton also hosts BYU in its home opener and welcomes Monmouth to Jadwin Gym for its lone home game in December.
“I always joke that I have a loose screw doing it,” Henderson said. “I thought our schedule last year was challenging, and this one is more challenging. … We’ve been fortunate to have a really nice record in the league the last two years and I think it’s because we challenged ourselves in the non-conference. We prepare them to win every game and it will be no difference when we go to Indianapolis (to play Butler) on November 12th.”
Princeton is coming off an historic season in which it went 23-7 overall and a perfect 14-0 in the Ivy League. The Tigers captured the inaugural Ivy Tournament at the Palestra and were a missed 3-pointer at the buzzer away from upsetting Notre Dame in the NCAA Tournament.
Three starters graduated from last season’s championship team, but First Team All-Ivy selection Myles Stephens returns as does a dynamic backcourt of Amir Bell and Devin Cannady.
Bell, an East Brunswick product, finished with a flurry after an uneven start to the season. He shot 57.4 percent from the floor and 51.2 percent from beyond the arc in Ivy play after checking in at 26.8 percent overall and 12 percent from deep in non-league action.
“I thought he was the best players in the league the last few months of the season,” Henderson said. “He let the game come to him. … Amir’s a very aggressive player and that suits him really well, but you have to be on the move going forward, you have to be ready to go. He wants to be like that.
“He’s worked through challenges all three years. He fouled a lot when he was a sophomore and corrected that last year. He had some ups and downs shooting, but he understands the pieces he has to work with. We have high expectations for him, and he’s a captain, so now he’s pulling the levers from the bottom, too. He has to get everybody going. There are some new challenges, but I expect him to keep evolving as a leader.”
Harvard (121 points) was tabbed as the preseason favorite ahead by Yale (118) and Princeton (114).
The Crimson (18-10, 10-4) return Ivy Rookie of the Year Bryce Aiken (14.5 points), Seth Towns (12.3 ppg) and Chris Lewis (league-best 65 percent on field goals).
The Bulldogs (18-11, 9-5) get influential guard Makai Mason back from a foot injury. Mason poured in 31 points to help Yale upset Baylor in the NCAA Tournament two seasons ago.
Yale had eight of the 17 first-place votes, two more than preseason favorite Harvard.
Penn (13-15, 6-8) checked in fourth followed by Columbia (1116, 5-9), Cornell (8-21, 4-10), Dartmouth (7-20, 4-10) and Brown (1317, 4-10).