RAM TOUGH: Princeton University men’s basketball player Ethan Wright dribbles upcourt in game this season. Last week, senior guard Wright scored 18 points and had seven rebounds in a losing cause as Princeton fell 90-79 at Virginia Commonwealth University in the opening round of the National Invitation Tournament (NIT). The loss to the Rams on March 15 left Princeton with a final record of 23-7. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

By Justin Feil

The Princeton University men’s basketball team saw a record-setting season in which it won the Ivy League regular season title end last week in the first round of the National Invitation Tournament.

The Tigers were eliminated from the NIT with a 90-79 loss at VCU on March 15 to finish the season 23-7 overall.

“They’re a very difficult matchup, especially at their place,” said Princeton head coach Mitch Henderson. “They turn you over a lot. We knew going in we needed to have a special night and take care of the ball to win. Some of our turnovers were costly in the second half.”

The Tigers fought back so many times over the last year that it would have been easy to expect another rally against VCU. Princeton had already returned from more than a year without games to win the Ivy regular season and set four school records for offensive proficiency. The Tigers’ 79.8 points per game is the school’s highest scoring average, their 2,395 points the most ever in a single season, their 910 field goals the greatest total and their 327 made three-pointers a new mark.

“They’re not only the best offensive team in history — most 3s made, most points scored, you could argue one of the best if not the best shooting teams — they’re also great people, to each other and to the community,” said Henderson.

“It felt like the Olympics — we were off forever. They won the league outright and I’m so proud of them.”

The Tigers had hoped to continue their record-setting season in the NIT. They got a three-pointer from Ryan Langborg to trim their deficit to 71-65 with still 5:33 left, but got no closer as the Rams pulled away against a Princeton team playing its third game in four days following the Ivy tournament Saturday and Sunday.

“We knew we’d have to be really good,” said Henderson. “No excuses, but we were on a really short turnaround. We bussed back from Harvard, got in really late on Sunday night and turned around at noon on Monday and got on a bus to Richmond. It’s such a fun team to coach, and they were ready to go, but it was a tough turnaround.”

Ivy Player of the Year Tosan Evbuomwan finished his junior season with a double-double of 22 points and 12 rebounds to go with a game-high seven assists. His 142 assists rank second most ever in a season by a Princeton player, and Henderson credits him for part of Princeton’s team offensive success along with having a plethora of shooting stars.

“Tosan, our best passer, had the most assists and is incredibly unselfish,” said Henderson. “I don’t think you’ll see passing like this around here for a long time. He has the unique ability to get the ball to people in the right spots and also finish himself. We had a really unique combination that was really fun to watch as a coach or a fan. As a coach, there’s no tension. The ball finds the right shot, and this team had guys that were finding the right shot. We rarely took bad shots, including early in the (shot) clock. That’s a good shot for us.”

Senior guard Ethan Wright closed his Princeton career with 18 points and seven rebounds and Langborg poured in 16 points to finish his junior campaign. Senior guard Jaelin Llewellyn gave Princeton four players in double figures in scoring with 13 points to cap his senior career. It was also the final game for Princeton for seniors Drew Friberg, Elijah Barnes, Charlie Bagin and Max Johns.

“The senior class totally dove in on everything I asked of them, starting with sticking together, supporting each other, playing for each other, playing to make each other better, and they just did it over and over again with a sense of gratitude,” said Henderson. “And followed the rules for campus and supported other teams while they were doing it.”

The Tigers returned to the court this year after not playing last year when the Ivy League canceled the season due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The 2020 season ended before the Ivy League tournament that sends the winner automatically to the NCAA tournament.

“When we got shut down along with the rest of country in 2020, no one thought it would be two years before we got a chance,” said Henderson.

“This senior class got two chances to play in NCAA tournament — their freshman year and their senior year. There wasn’t a blueprint for how to handle this, which was Zoom meetings galore starting in 2020, and keeping them together, basketball being so important for rhythm and timing and also the maturation of a season and what it does for you. A sophomore year where you form tight bonds and also where you go through the wins and losses of the season helps you in your junior year. So we missed out on all those learning situations.”

Princeton had to use each other through the time away from competition to improve. Last spring’s abnormal situation showed Henderson encouraging signs that the group could achieve significantly this year. The players who returned to campus last spring worked out together though they had no games to play.

“We’d sit on the floor before the workouts or after the workouts and just talk — with our masks on,” said Henderson. “They practiced with masks on. And we got that opportunity until the regular season was over. We got six weeks. That vibe stayed with us, me included. It was a good lesson, and I’ll take it with me forever — the connection with the team. It’s a very close knit group. They like each other a lot. That doesn’t always happen, and that’s a testament to the older guys, investing in them and the rest of the team. They also allowed us to coach them and that doesn’t always happen.”

The Tigers quickly shook off the rust of not competing for more than a year. Princeton knocked off South Carolina and Oregon State in their first five games and took Minnesota to overtime. They won five straight before heading into Ivy tournament play.

“Talent is always relevant, but you can’t discount the unity of the group,” said Henderson. “Right when we did our first workouts in September, they were completely on it with what we were asking them to do, all up and down the line. I wasn’t surprised that we got off to a good start because that’s basketball — being together and sharing the ball and doing the little things to help you win and internally having the dialogue that these are the things we need to do, and that coming from the team. That was always there. Then you have to make shots, which we were doing early.”

Selected in the media preseason poll to finish third in the Ivy League, Princeton rattled off wins in its first five conference games before losses to Yale and Cornell. The Tigers would not lose the rest of the regular season and clinched the outright Ivy regular season crown with a 93-70 win at Penn on March 5.

“I think it’s an incredible accomplishment,” said Henderson. “I believe the league is as good as it’s ever been. It’s so hard to win. Then you add in COVID, getting tested multiple times per week, and then we played without fans for six weeks at home and we had all of our home games in January. We got better in February and we had that sweep on the road against Brown and Yale. And they clinch a share of the title on a really tough Harvard-Harvard weekend and then go down to the Palestra and clinch it outright. You’ve got a really good team and it doesn’t always go the way you want it to, but this group always found ways to win and played together throughout. It’s a long season. I’m so proud of them.”

Princeton will hang a banner next year to commemorate this year’s Ivy title that came after overcoming plenty of challenges through the season. The Tigers were one of the more experienced Ivy teams this year, and part of the challenge next year will be replacing a senior class that boasted solid playing time from the time they were young before losing two years and two chances to qualify for the NCAA tournament. This year’s seniors will have the opportunity to explore their extra season of NCAA playing eligibility elsewhere.

“These guys all are going to have really nice opportunities,” said Henderson. “There will be some really happy coaches out there.”

Henderson is looking forward to building on this year’s success with a team that will have a new look next year and new opportunities for returning players and newcomers. This year’s seniors head their separate ways after leaving a legacy of records and adding another Ivy championship in their final chance at Princeton.

“They were everyday guys; they came down all the time and put in the time to work and get better, which has been a huge staple of our program,” said Henderson.

“The spring has always been crucial to us getting better. That’ll be huge for us coming back. Now we’ve got Matt Allocco, Ryan Langborg, Tosan, Zach Martini, Mason Hooks, Keeshawn Kellman — these guys have played some spot minutes. And some of them played a ton of minutes, so we’ll rely heavily on them and then it’s the same thing. Even this year, it wasn’t set in stone that everybody who came back was going to play. It was who’s making you win. I’m confident we’re in a really good spot to keep moving forward.”