2001–02 Princeton Tigers men's basketball team

The 2001–02 Princeton Tigers men's basketball team represented the Princeton University in intercollegiate college basketball during the 2001–02 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The head coach was John Thompson III and the team co-captains were Michael S. Bechtold and Ahmed El-Nokali.^[2] The team played its home games in the Jadwin Gymnasium on the University campus in Princeton, New Jersey, and was co-champion of the Ivy League. The team earned an invitation to the 40-team 2000 National Invitation Tournament.^[3] The team was making its seventh consecutive postseason appearance.^[4]

2001–02 Princeton Tigers men's basketball
Ivy League Tri-Champion
One-game Ivy League playoff, Lost 2002 National Invitation Tournament, First Round
Conference	Ivy League
Record	16–12 (11–4, 1st-t Ivy)
Head coach	John Thompson III (2nd season)
Assistant coach	Mike Brennan
Captains	Michael S. Bechtold Ahmed El-Nokali
Home arena	Jadwin Gymnasium
Seasons ← 2000–01 2002–03 →

2001–02 Ivy League men's basketball standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
Penn	11	–	3		.786			25	–	7		.781
Yale	11	–	3		.786			21	–	11		.656
Princeton	11	–	3		.786			16	–	12		.571
Brown	8	–	6		.571			17	–	10		.630
Harvard	7	–	7		.500			14	–	12		.538
Columbia	4	–	10		.286			11	–	17		.393
Dartmouth	2	–	12		.143			9	–	18		.333
Cornell	2	–	12		.143			5	–	22		.185
Rankings from AP Poll^[1]

Using the Princeton offense, the team posted a 16–12 overall record and an 11–4 conference record.^[2] The team was led by All-Ivy League second team selections Bechtold and El-Nokali.^[3] The team earned the 52nd consecutive home victory over Brown on February 23 to establish a National Collegiate Athletic Association record for consecutive home victories over a single opponent. As of 2010^[update] the North Carolina Tar Heels men's basketball team eclipsed that record with a current streak of 54 over Clemson.^[5] The Tigers had a chance to win the Ivy League championship outright by defeating Penn in the regular season finale on March 5, but they lost 64–48, resulting in a three-way tie.^[6] By virtue of its superior record head-to-head Penn had a bye in the first round of the three-way playoff.^[6] The Tigers played Yale in a one-game playoff with the winner to face Penn in a one-game championship. Princeton lost 76–60 on March 7 at The Palestra in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.^[2][3][7][8] In the National Invitation Tournament the team lost its first round contest against the Louisville Cardinals at Freedom Hall in Louisville, Kentucky on March 12 by a 66–65 score.^[2][8] The team lost on a jump shot with 5.3 seconds remaining.^[4]

Schedule and results

The team posted a 16–12 (11-4 Ivy League) record.^[9]

Date time, TV	Rank^#	Opponent^#	Result	Record	Site city, state
Regular season
Nov 15, 2001*		at California	L 58–70	0–1	Haas Pavilion  Berkeley, California
Nov 16, 2001*		vs. No. 10 Saint Joseph's	L 63–74	0–2	Haas Pavilion  Berkeley, California
Nov 24, 2001*		at Florida International	L 44–49	0–3	Golden Panther Arena  Miami, Florida
Nov 28, 2001*		Rider	W 69–57	1–3	Jadwin Gymnasium  Princeton, New Jersey
Dec 2, 2001*		vs. No. 5 Maryland	L 53–61	1–4	Verizon Center  Washington, D.C.
Dec 3, 2001*		vs. George Washington	L 57–60	1–5	Verizon Center  Washington, D.C.
Dec 8, 2001*		Monmouth	W 76–70	2–5	Jadwin Gymnasium  Princeton, New Jersey
Dec 12, 2001*		No. 4 Kansas	L 62–78	2–6	Jadwin Gymnasium  Princeton, New Jersey
Dec 21, 2001*		Lafayette	W 67–61	3–6	Jadwin Gymnasium  Princeton, New Jersey
Dec 29, 2001*		at Rutgers	L 62–70	3–7	Louis Brown Athletic Center  Piscataway, New Jersey
Jan 5, 2002*		Holy Cross	W 52–50	4–7	Jadwin Gymnasium  Princeton, New Jersey
Jan 11, 2002*		at Harvard	W 50–48	5–7	Lavietes Pavilion  Cambridge, Massachusetts
Jan 12, 2002*		at Dartmouth	W 57–46	6–7	Leede Arena  Hanover, New Hampshire
Jan 28, 2002*		McDaniel	W 78–24	7–7	Jadwin Gymnasium  Princeton, New Jersey
Feb 1, 2002		Columbia	W 49–41	8–7 (1–0)	Jadwin Gymnasium  Princeton, New Jersey
Feb 2, 2002		Cornell	W 60–38	9–7 (2–0)	Jadwin Gymnasium  Princeton, New Jersey
Feb 8, 2002		at Brown	W 70–56	10–7 (3–0)	Pizzitola Sports Center  Providence, Rhode Island
Feb 9, 2002		at Yale	L 50–60	10–8 (3–1)	John J. Lee Amphitheater  New Haven, Connecticut
Feb 12, 2002		Penn	L 38–62	10–9 (3–2)	Jadwin Gymnasium  Princeton, New Jersey
Feb 15, 2002		Dartmouth	W 79–68	11–9 (4–2)	Jadwin Gymnasium  Princeton, New Jersey
Feb 16, 2002		Harvard	W 70–59	12–9 (5–2)	Jadwin Gymnasium  Princeton, New Jersey
Feb 22, 2002		Yale	W 59–46	13–9 (6–2)	Jadwin Gymnasium  Princeton, New Jersey
Feb 23, 2002		Brown	W 73–47	14–9 (7–2)	Jadwin Gymnasium  Princeton, New Jersey
Mar 1, 2002		at Cornell	W 61–57	15–9 (8–2)	Newman Arena  Ithaca, New York
Mar 2, 2002		at Columbia	W 49–48	16–9 (9–2)	Levien Gymnasium  New York, New York
Mar 5, 2002		at Penn	L 48–64	16–10 (9–3)	The Palestra  Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Mar 7, 2002		at Yale Ivy League Play-off	L 60–76	16–11	John J. Lee Amphitheater  New Haven, Connecticut
National Invitation Tournament
Mar 12, 2002*		at Louisville First round	L 65–66	16–12	Freedom Hall  Louisville, Kentucky
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.

References

1. sports-reference.com 2001-02 Ivy League 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. 40. {{cite book}}: |website= ignored (help)
4. "College Basketball: Men's Roundup; Late Jumper by Louisville Beats Princeton in N.I.T." The New York Times. March 13, 2002. Retrieved October 5, 2010.
5. "Division I Records" (PDF). National Collegiate Athletic Association. p. 60. Retrieved October 4, 2010.
6. Finley, Bill (March 6, 2002). "College Basketball; 3-Way Playoff in Ivy League As Penn Rolls Over Princeton". The New York Times. Retrieved October 5, 2010.
7. Popper, Steve (March 8, 2002). "Basketball; Yale Holds Off Tigers And Holds On to Dream". The New York Times. Retrieved October 5, 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. Princeton Athletic Communications (June 12, 2009). "Men's Basketball Record Book • All-Time Results". GoPrincetonTigers.com. Princeton University. Retrieved February 5, 2024.