1997–98 Princeton Tigers men's basketball team

The 1997–98 Princeton Tigers men's basketball team represented Princeton University in intercollegiate college basketball during the 1997–98 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The head coach was Bill Carmody and the team co-captains were Steve Goodrich and Mitch Henderson.^[2] The team played its home games in the Jadwin Gymnasium on the University campus in Princeton, New Jersey, and was the repeat undefeated champion of the Ivy League, which earned them an invitation to the 64-team 1998 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament where they were seeded fifth in the East Region and advanced to the second round.^[3] Over the course of the season, the team achieved the highest winning percentage in the nation (93.1%, 27–2).^[4] It also established the current school record of 20 consecutive wins surpassing the 19-game streak achieved twice, including the prior season.^[5]

1997–98 Princeton Tigers men's basketball
Undefeated Ivy League Champion Coaches vs. Cancer Classic Champion
1998 NCAA Men's Division I Tournament, Five Seed, Regional quarterfinals
Conference	Ivy League
Ranking
Coaches	No. 16
AP	No. 8
Record	27–2 (14–0, 1st Ivy)
Head coach	Bill Carmody (2nd season)
Captains	Steve Goodrich Mitch Henderson
Home arena	Jadwin Gymnasium
Seasons ← 1996–97 1998–99 →

1997–98 Ivy League men's basketball standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
No. 8 Princeton	14	–	0		1.000			27	–	2		.931
Penn	10	–	4		.714			17	–	12		.586
Yale	7	–	7		.500			12	–	14		.462
Harvard	6	–	8		.429			13	–	13		.500
Columbia	6	–	8		.429			11	–	15		.423
Cornell	6	–	8		.429			9	–	17		.346
Dartmouth	4	–	10		.286			7	–	19		.269
Brown	3	–	11		.214			6	–	20		.231
Rankings from AP Poll^[1]

Using the Princeton offense, the team posted a 27–2 overall record and a 14–0 conference record.^[2] The team entered the tournament on a 19-game winning streak.^[6] In a March 12, 1998 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament East Regional first round game at the Hartford Civic Center in Hartford, Connecticut, the fifth-seeded Tigers defeated UNLV Runnin' Rebels 69–57.^[2][3][7][8] Then two days later in the second round the team lost to the Michigan State Spartans 63–56.^[2][3][8][9]

The team's season-opening 62–56 win against Texas in the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic on November 11, 1997, was the team's last win against a ranked opponent until the 2011–12 team defeated Harvard on February 11, 2012.^[10][11][12] During the season, the team entered the fourth Associated Press Top Twenty-five Poll (for the week of December 2) ranked twenty-fifth and climbed steadily each week until it ended the season ranked eighth.^[12] The team also finished the season ranked eighth in the final USAToday/NABC Coaches Poll.^[13]

The team was led by first team All-Ivy League selections Goodrich and Gabe Lewullis.^[3] Goodrich, who finished second in the conference in scoring with a 16.1 average in conference games, earned the Ivy League Men's Basketball Player of the Year award as well as second team Academic All-American recognition from College Sports Information Directors of America.^[3] Goodrich was also a 1998 NCAA Men's Basketball All-American honorable mention selection by the Associated Press.^[14] With two first team selections and two second team selections (Brian Earl & Mitch Henderson), this was the fourth team (and third Princeton team) to have four first and second team selections.^[15]

The team won the tenth of twelve consecutive national statistical championships in scoring defense with a 51.4 points allowed average.^[16] The team also led the nation in assist-turnover ratio (1.63)^[17] and fewest turnovers per game (10.14).^[18] The assist-to-turnover ration was a national record that lasted until 2005.^[19] The team continues to be a contributor to the national record for combined single-game three-point field goal shooting percentage (72.4%, minimum 20 made) stemming from a February 20, 1998, contest in which they made 12 of 15 attempts, while Brown made 9 of 14 attempts.^[20] Two-time defending Ivy League field goal percentage statistical champion Goodrich was unable to repeat a third time, but instead he won the three-point field goal shooting percentage title with a 51.4% average.^[21]

Schedule and results

The team posted a 27–2 (14–0 Ivy League) record.^[22]

Date time, TV	Rank^#	Opponent^#	Result	Record	Site city, state
Regular season
Nov 11, 1997*		vs. No. 22 Texas Coaches vs. Cancer Classic	W 62–56	1–0	Continental Airlines Arena  East Rutherford, New Jersey
Nov 12, 1997*		vs. NC State Coaches vs. Cancer Classic	W 38–36	2–0	Continental Airlines Arena  East Rutherford, New Jersey
Nov 22, 1997*		at Rutgers	W 64–52	3–0	Louis Brown Athletic Center  Piscataway, New Jersey
Nov 25, 1997*		Monmouth	W 61–38	4–0	Jadwin Gymnasium  Princeton, New Jersey
Dec 3, 1997*	No. 25	UNC Wilmington	W 63–50	5–0	Jadwin Gymnasium  Princeton, New Jersey
Dec 6, 1997*	No. 25	Lafayette	W 73–48	6–0	Jadwin Gymnasium  Princeton, New Jersey
Dec 9, 1997*	No. 22	at Bucknell	W 64–52	7–0	Davis Gym  Lewisburg, Pennsylvania
Dec 13, 1997*	No. 22	at No. 2 North Carolina	L 42–50	7–1	Dean Smith Center  Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Dec 19, 1997*	No. 19	vs. No. 23 Wake Forest Jimmy V Classic	W 69–64	8–1	Continental Airlines Arena  East Rutherford, New Jersey
Dec 26, 1997*	No. 18	vs. Drexel ECAC Holiday Festival	W 58–56	9–1	Madison Square Garden  New York, New York
Dec 27, 1997*	No. 18	vs. Niagara ECAC Holiday Festival	W 61–52	10–1	Madison Square Garden  New York, New York
Jan 3, 1998*	No. 17	Manhattan	W 77–48	11–1	Jadwin Gymnasium  Princeton, New Jersey
Jan 9, 1998	No. 15	at Yale	W 69–58	12–1 (1–0)	John J. Lee Amphitheater  New Haven, Connecticut
Jan 10, 1998	No. 15	at Brown	W 69–38	13–1 (2–0)	Pizzitola Sports Center  Providence, Rhode Island
Jan 16, 1998*	No. 11	College of New Jersey	W 59–50	14–1	Jadwin Gymnasium  Princeton, New Jersey
Jan 30, 1998*	No. 11	Cornell	W 86–61	15–1 (3–0)	Jadwin Gymnasium  Princeton, New Jersey
Jan 31, 1998	No. 11	Columbia	W 58–45	16–1 (4–0)	Jadwin Gymnasium  Princeton, New Jersey
Feb 6, 1998	No. 11	at Dartmouth	W 71–39	17–1 (5–0)	Leede Arena  Hanover, New Hampshire
Feb 7, 1998	No. 11	at Harvard	W 76–48	18–1 (6–0)	Lavietes Pavilion  Cambridge, Massachusetts
Feb 13, 1998	No. 10	Brown	W 82–58	19–1 (7–0)	Jadwin Gymnasium  Princeton, New Jersey
Feb 14, 1998	No. 10	Yale	W 78–48	20–1 (8–0)	Jadwin Gymnasium  Princeton, New Jersey
Feb 17, 1998	No. 9	Penn	W 71–52	21–1 (9–0)	Jadwin Gymnasium  Princeton, New Jersey
Feb 20, 1998	No. 9	Harvard	W 77–55	22–1 (10–0)	Jadwin Gymnasium  Princeton, New Jersey
Feb 21, 1998	No. 9	Dartmouth	W 74–53	23–1 (11–0)	Jadwin Gymnasium  Princeton, New Jersey
Feb 27, 1998	No. 9	at Columbia	W 51–37	24–1 (12–0)	Levien Gymnasium  New York, New York
Feb 28, 1998	No. 9	at Cornell	W 72–59	25–1 (13–0)	Newman Arena  Ithaca, New York
Mar 3, 1998	No. 8	at Penn	W 78–72 ^OT	26–1 (14–0)	The Palestra  Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
NCAA tournament
Mar 12, 1998*	(5 E) No. 8	vs. (12 E) UNLV First round	W 69–57	27–1	Hartford Civic Center  Hartford, Connecticut
Mar 14, 1998*	(5 E) No. 8	vs. (4 E) No. 16 Michigan State Second round	L 56–63	27–2	Hartford Civic Center  Hartford, Connecticut
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.

Rankings

Main article: 1997–98 NCAA Division I men's basketball rankings

Ranking Movement
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking.

Poll	Pre	Wk 1	Wk 2	Wk 3	Wk 4	Wk 5	Wk 6	Wk 7	Wk 8	Wk 9	Wk 10	Wk 11	Wk 12	Wk 13	Wk 14	Wk 15	Wk 16	Final
AP^[12]	-	-	-	25	22	19	18	17	15	12	11	11	11	10	9	9	8	8

NCAA tournament

The team was seeded fifth and advanced to the second round of the 1998 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament.^[23][24]

NCAA Tournament

March 12, 1998, in Hartford, Conn.: (5) Princeton 69, (12) UNLV 57

March 14, 1998, in Hartford, Conn.: (4) Michigan State 63, (5) Princeton 56

Awards and honors

• Steve Goodrich
  • Ivy League Men's Basketball Player of the Year^[23]
  • First Team All-Ivy League^[23]
  • Academic All Ivy^[23]
  • Academic All-America, second team^[23]
  • 1998 NCAA Men's Basketball All-Americans, Associated Press honorable mention^[25]
  • All-East^[25]
• Gabe Lewullis
  • First Team All-Ivy League^[23]
• Mitch Henderson
  • Second Team All-Ivy League^[23]
• James Mastaglio
  • Honorable Mention All-Ivy League^[23]

References

1. sports-reference.com 1997-98 Ivy Group Season Summary
2. "Men's Basketball Record Book • All-Time Results". GoPrincetonTigers.com. Princeton Athletic Communications. June 12, 2009. Retrieved September 27, 2010.
3. 2009-10 Ivy League Basketball Media Guide. p. 39. {{cite book}}: |website= ignored (help)
4. "Division I Records" (PDF). National Collegiate Athletic Association. p. 47. Retrieved October 3, 2010.
5. Princeton Athletic Communications (June 22, 2009). "Men's Basketball Record Book • Individual & Team Records". GoPrincetonTigers.com. Princeton University. Retrieved May 4, 2011.
6. Curry, Jack (March 9, 1998). "1998 N.C.A.A. Tournament; Seedings Are Sown, And 64 Dreams Born". The New York Times. Retrieved October 3, 2010.
7. Curry, Jack (March 13, 1998). "1998 N.C.A.A. Tournament: First Round -- East; A Fluke No More: Princeton Shuts Down U.N.L.V." The New York Times. Retrieved October 3, 2010.
8. Princeton Athletic Communications (June 22, 2009). "Men's Basketball Record Book • Men's Basketball in the Postseason". GoPrincetonTigers.com. Princeton University. Retrieved September 30, 2010.
9. Curry, Jack (March 15, 1998). "1998 N.C.A.A. Tournament: Second Round -- East; Michigan State Brings Princeton's Magical Ride to a Jarring Halt". The New York Times. Retrieved October 3, 2010.
10. "Game Notes: Men's Basketball to Open CBI with Evansville Tuesday". GoPrincetonTigers.com. Princeton University. March 11, 2012. Retrieved March 13, 2012.
11. "Men's Basketball Record Book • All-Time Results". GoPrincetonTigers.com. Princeton University. Retrieved March 13, 2012.
12. "Division I Records" (PDF). National Collegiate Athletic Association. p. 80. Retrieved August 28, 2010.
13. "Division I Records" (PDF). National Collegiate Athletic Association. p. 85. Retrieved October 3, 2010.
14. "AP All-America Basketball Team". Las Vegas Sun. March 11, 1998. Retrieved October 3, 2010.
15. 2009-10 Ivy League Basketball Media Guide. p. 43. {{cite book}}: |website= ignored (help)
16. "Division I Records" (PDF). National Collegiate Athletic Association. p. 48. Retrieved October 2, 2010.
17. "Division I Records" (PDF). National Collegiate Athletic Association. p. 50. Retrieved October 3, 2010.
18. "Division I Records" (PDF). National Collegiate Athletic Association. p. 51. Retrieved October 3, 2010.
19. "Division I Records" (PDF). National Collegiate Athletic Association. p. 44. Retrieved October 3, 2010.
20. "Division I Records" (PDF). National Collegiate Athletic Association. p. 14. Retrieved October 3, 2010.
21. 2009-10 Ivy League Basketball Media Guide. p. 51. {{cite book}}: |website= ignored (help)
22. Princeton Athletic Communications (June 12, 2009). "Men's Basketball Record Book • All-Time Results". GoPrincetonTigers.com. Princeton University. Retrieved February 5, 2024.
23. . IvyLeagueSports.com. Archived from the original on March 3, 2009. Retrieved March 27, 2010.
24. "1998 NCAA basketball tournament Bracket". databaseSports.com. from the original on May 21, 2011. Retrieved March 28, 2010.
25. Princeton Athletic Communications (June 12, 2009). "Men's Basketball Record Book • Ivy League & National Awards". GoPrincetonTigers.com. Princeton University. Retrieved March 27, 2010.