TigerDave
goober
Posts: 61
Reg: 11-21-04
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11-27-04 08:13 PM - Post#316
Princeton barely won this defensive struggle. Lafayette had a chance to tie or win in the last seconds but missed a couple of chances. The Tigers looked out of sync offensively the whole game. They had trouble hitting shots and turned the ball over too many times. When push came to shove they handed the ball to Will Venable who took it to the hoop down the stretch. This was after Venable went flying into a courtside table and cut himself, etc. What will Princeton do without this guy next year?
I haven't seen the box score, but I'm guessing it will be ugly. Wallace doesn't seem like himself right now and will need to pick it up for the team to have a good season. Savage is a bit of a surprise and looks very comfortable out there for a freshman. He is emerging as an outside threat. Stevens played solid ball and made some good passes from the high post.
To be honest, I think Princeton got a bit lucky in this game. It easily could have gone the other way. But then again, this team has always had the knack of winning close games (of course not against Wyoming on Monday, but you know what I mean . . .).
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Domer72
newbie
Posts: 29
Loc: Rural Iowa
Reg: 11-21-04
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Re: Princeton 40 Lafayette 38
11-27-04 09:10 PM - Post#317
In response to TigerDave
It was ugly. Don't look at the stats. Just take the W.
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Phil
Freshman
Posts: 75
Loc: Princeton
Reg: 11-21-04
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Re: Princeton 40 Lafayette 38
11-27-04 11:09 PM - Post#318
In response to Domer72
Pretty much the same as last year's Lafayette game, very similar stats, <30% from the field. Seems to be the way these teams play each other.
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Tiger69
Postdoc
Posts: 2814
Reg: 11-23-04
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Re: Princeton 40 Lafayette 38
11-28-04 01:01 AM - Post#319
In response to Phil
Having seen last year's game, one of the most frustrating I have ever attended, I am glad that I missed this one. It's really hard to believe that we won this one after looking at the stats. I blamed last year's poor performance on John III, but he's not around anymore. WHERE IS OUR OFFENCE?????? Assists? Something has to click or this team will not even win the Ivy League this year. I'm thinking that Joe Scott may need a couple of years to establish his own system with his own players. These last two games are too frustrating and ugly to watch. I think I'll try hockey for a couple of years.
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Phil
Freshman
Posts: 75
Loc: Princeton
Reg: 11-21-04
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Re: Princeton 40 Lafayette 38
11-28-04 03:27 AM - Post#320
In response to Tiger69
One way to disrupt the PU offense is to foul the cutters which is one reason for the large number of Lafayette fouls today.
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joiseyfan
newbie
Posts: 5
Reg: 11-22-04
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Re: Princeton 40 Lafayette 38
11-28-04 10:30 PM - Post#321
In response to Phil
I wasn't certain after Wyoming, but NOW I remember the Good Old Days 
I suppose getting rid of some old alums via cardiac arrest is essentially a public service, but still...
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oldschooltiger
newbie
Posts: 10
Reg: 11-22-04
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Re: Princeton 40 Lafayette 38
11-30-04 04:06 PM - Post#322
In response to joiseyfan
Yeah, the offense resulted in very few good possessions. Part of the problem, I think, is that Lafayette was well-prepared defensively. We play them every year and their coach, O'Hanlon, has coached against us for a long time (20+ years counting his time as a Penn assistant?). They did a particularly good job of doubling (or tripling) down on Wallace and defending the backdoor.
What was surprising to me was how little Wallace played in the second half even though he was not in foul trouble. He did not react well to double teams, holding on to the ball too long much of the time, and took one or two quick shots but our offense was really lame without him. Savage looked good even though he is still learning the system offensively and defensively. Actually, the whole team looked like it had a way to go with Scott's defense.
In fact, about 25% of Lafayette's scoring (yeah, that's only about 5 baskets) came on defensive miscues, particularly down under. Lafayette was able to dish or pass the ball down low for several uncontested layups. It was also noteworthy that Wallace often found himself guarding a non-scorer while Venable or another smaller player guarded Lafayette's 4 or 5.
It was also interesting that Princeton declined to press Lafayette, which is not a good ballhandling team and turned the ball over frequently while losing to St. Peter's.
The referees were erratic as well, which also hurt the flow of the game.
Basically, I think we simply need to be patient while Scott and the players get to know one another. It's only November. Give them a chance.
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