1968–69 Princeton Tigers men's basketball team

1968–69 Princeton Tigers men's basketball
1968–69 Princeton Tigers men's basketball
Undefeated Ivy League Champion
1969 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, Regional Quarterfinals
Conference	Ivy League
Record	19–7 (14–0, 1st Ivy)
Head coach	Pete Carril;
Captain	Christopher Thomforde
Home arena	Dillon Gymnasium; Jadwin Gymnasium
	Seasons ← 1967–68 1969–70 →

1968–69 Ivy League men's basketball standings
v t e	Conf				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
Princeton	14	–	0	1.000	19	–	7	.731
Columbia	11	–	3	.786	20	–	4	.833
Penn	10	–	4	.714	15	–	10	.600
Cornell	7	–	7	.500	12	–	13	.480
Yale	6	–	8	.429	9	–	16	.360
Dartmouth	4	–	10	.286	10	–	15	.400
Harvard	3	–	11	.214	7	–	18	.280
Brown	1	–	13	.071	3	–	23	.115

Rankings from AP Poll^[1]

The 1968–69 Princeton Tigers men's basketball team represented the Princeton University in intercollegiate college basketball during the 1968–69 NCAA University Division men's basketball season. The head coach was Pete Carril and the team captain was Christopher Thomforde.^[2] The team played its home games in the Dillon Gymnasium on the university campus before the January 25, 1969, opening of Jadwin Gymnasium on the university campus in Princeton, New Jersey. The team was the champion of the Ivy League, which earned them an invitation to the 25-team 1969 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament.^[3] The team was Princeton's first undefeated Ivy League champion, and earned Carril his first of eleven NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament invitations.^[2] The team helped Princeton end the decade with a 72.6 winning percentage (188–71), which was the tenth best in the nation.^[4]

During the regular season, the team played a few of the teams that would eventually participate in the 25-team NCAA tournament: they opened their season against the Villanova Wildcats and later played two of the eventual final four participants (the UCLA Bruins and North Carolina Tar Heels) in the ECAC Holiday Classic at Madison Square Garden in New York City in late December 1968.^[2]^[5] The team posted a 19–7 overall record and a 14–0 conference record.^[2] The team entered the tournament riding an eleven-game winning streak and having won fifteen of their last sixteen games, but they lost their March 8, 1969 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament East Regional first-round game against the St. John's Redmen 72–63 at Reynolds Coliseum in Raleigh, North Carolina.^[2]^[6]^[7]

Both John Hummer and Geoff Petrie were selected to the All-Ivy League first team. Petrie, who led the conference in scoring with a 23.9 average in conference games,^[6] was also an All-East selection.^[8] Thomforde was selected in the 1969 NBA draft by the New York Knicks with the 96th overall selection in the 7th round.^[9] Hummer led the conference in field goal percentage with 55.4%.^[10] Petrie and Hummer would become the only Tiger teammates to both be drafted in the first round of the NBA draft (in the same draft no less) when they were selected eighth and fifteenth overall in the 1970 NBA draft by the Portland Trail Blazers and the Buffalo Braves. The two were part of a trio of 1970 NBA first-round draftees from the Ivy League that included number thirteen selection Jim McMillian of Columbia.^[6] Hummer was the first NBA draft pick by the expansion Buffalo Braves.^[11] Petrie would share the 1971 NBA Rookie of the Year Award with Dave Cowens.^[12] Brian Taylor was selected in the 1972 NBA draft by the Seattle SuperSonics with the 23rd overall selection in the second round while Reggie Bird was selected by the Atlanta Hawks with the 55th overall selection in the fourth round.^[6]

Schedule and results

The team posted a 19–7 (14–0 Ivy League) record.^[13]

Date time, TV	Opponent^#	Result	Record	Site city, state
Regular season
Dec 3, 1968*	at No. 10 Villanova	L 54–64	0–1	Villanova Field House Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Dec 7, 1968*	vs. No. 16 Duke	L 62–81	0–2	Madison Square Garden New York, New York
Dec 11, 1968*	at Maryland	W 72–63	1–2	Cole Fieldhouse College Park, Maryland
Dec 14, 1968*	Navy	W 56–55	2–2	Dillon Gym Princeton, New Jersey
Dec 17, 1968*	at Rutgers	L 60–61	2–3	College Avenue Gymnasium Piscataway, New Jersey
Dec 18, 1968*	NYU	W 88–76	3–3	Dillon Gym Princeton, New Jersey
Dec 27, 1968*	vs. Holy Cross ECAC Holiday Festival	W 67–55	4–3	Madison Square Garden New York, New York
Dec 28, 1968*	vs. No. 1 UCLA ECAC Holiday Festival	L 67–83	4–4	Madison Square Garden New York, New York
Dec 30, 1968*	vs. No. 4 North Carolina ECAC Holiday Festival	L 76–103	4–5	Madison Square Garden New York, New York
Jan 3, 1969	at Penn	W 59–56	5–5 (1–0)	The Palestra Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Jan 4, 1969*	at Army	W 51–42	6–5	Gillis Field House West Point, New York
Jan 10, 1969	Dartmouth	W 70–55	7–5 (2–0)	Dillon Gym Princeton, New Jersey
Jan 11, 1969	Harvard	W 73–62	8–5 (3–0)	Dillon Gym Princeton, New Jersey
Jan 23, 1969*	at No. 4 Davidson	L 54–71	8–6	Charlotte Coliseum Charlotte, North Carolina
Jan 25, 1969	Penn	W 74–62	9–6 (4–0)	Dillon Gym Princeton, New Jersey
Jan 31, 1969	at Harvard	W 76–65	10–6 (5–0)	Lavietes Pavilion Cambridge, Massachusetts
Feb 1, 1969	at Dartmouth	W 61–50	11–6 (6–0)	Alumni Gym Hanover, New Hampshire
Feb 7, 1969	No. 14 Columbia	W 68–49	12–6 (7–0)	Dillon Gym Princeton, New Jersey
Feb 8, 1969	Cornell	W 67–57	13–6 (8–0)	Dillon Gym Princeton, New Jersey
Feb 14, 1969	at Yale	W 67–56	14–6 (9–0)	John J. Lee Amphitheater New Haven, Connecticut
Feb 15, 1969	at Brown	W 75–56	15–6 (10–0)	Marvel Gymnasium Providence, Rhode Island
Feb 21, 1969	Yale	W 72–53	16–6 (11–0)	Dillon Gym Princeton, New Jersey
Feb 22, 1969	Brown	W 74–46	17–6 (12–0)	Dillon Gym Princeton, New Jersey
Feb 28, 1969	at Columbia	W 60–59	18–6 (13–0)	University Gymnasium New York, New York
Mar 1, 1969	at Cornell	W 74–64	19–6 (14–0)	Barton Hall Ithaca, New York
NCAA tournament
Mar 8, 1969*	vs. No. 8 St. John's First round	L 63–72	19–7	Reynolds Coliseum Raleigh, North Carolina
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.

NCAA tournament

The team lost in the first round of the 1969 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament.^[14]^[15]

3/8/69 in Raleigh, N.C.: St. John’s 72, Princeton 63

Awards and honors

Geoff Petrie
- First Team All-Ivy League^[14]
- Ivy League Scoring Champion^[14]
- All-East^[8]
John Hummer
- First Team All-Ivy League^[14]
Chris Thomforde
- Second Team All-Ivy League^[14]
- NCAA Postgraduate Scholar^[14]

Players drafted into the NBA

Five players from this team were selected in the NBA draft.^[16]^[17]

Year	Round	Pick	Player	NBA Club
1969	7	11	Chris Thomforde	New York Knicks
1970	1	8	Geoff Petrie	Portland Trail Blazers
1970	1	15	John Hummer	Buffalo Braves
1972	2	23	Brian Taylor	Seattle SuperSonics
1972	4	55	Reggie Bird	Atlanta Hawks

References

^ sports-reference.com 1968-69 Ivy Group Season Summary
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e "Men's Basketball Record Book • All-Time Results". GoPrincetonTigers.com. Princeton Athletic Communications. June 12, 2009. Retrieved September 27, 2010.
^ 2009–10 Ivy League Basketball Media Guide. p. 30. {{cite book}}: |website= ignored (help)
^ "Division I Records" (PDF). National Collegiate Athletic Association. p. 57. Retrieved October 1, 2010.
^ "1969 Men's College Basketball Bracket". CBS Sports. Retrieved October 4, 2010.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d 2009–10 Ivy League Basketball Media Guide. p. 33. {{cite book}}: |website= ignored (help)
^ 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.
^ ^a ^b Princeton Athletic Communications (June 12, 2009). "Men's Basketball Record Book • Ivy League & National Awards". GoPrincetonTigers.com. Princeton University. Retrieved March 28, 2010.
^ 2009–10 Ivy League Basketball Media Guide. p. 32. {{cite book}}: |website= ignored (help)
^ 2009–10 Ivy League Basketball Media Guide. p. 49. {{cite book}}: |website= ignored (help)
^ "1971 NBA Draft". Basketball-Reference. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved October 7, 2010.
^ "NBA & ABA Rookie of the Year Award Winners". Basketball-Reference. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved October 7, 2010.
^ Princeton Athletic Communications (June 12, 2009). "Men's Basketball Record Book • All-Time Results". GoPrincetonTigers.com. Princeton University. Retrieved March 27, 2010.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f "1968–69 Ivy Men's Basketball". IvyLeagueSports.com. Archived from the original on January 31, 2009. Retrieved March 28, 2010.
^ "1969 NCAA basketball tournament Bracket". databaseSports.com. Retrieved March 27, 2010.
^ "1969 NBA Draft". databaseSports.com. Archived from the original on March 18, 2010. Retrieved March 28, 2010.
^ "1970 NBA Draft". databaseSports.com. Archived from the original on December 6, 2008. Retrieved March 28, 2010.

[1] sports-reference.com 1968-69 Ivy Group Season Summary

[MBRBATR-2] "Men's Basketball Record Book • All-Time Results". GoPrincetonTigers.com. Princeton Athletic Communications. June 12, 2009. Retrieved September 27, 2010.

[2010ILBMG-3] 2009–10 Ivy League Basketball Media Guide. p. 30. {{cite book}}: |website= ignored (help)

[DIR57-4] "Division I Records" (PDF). National Collegiate Athletic Association. p. 57. Retrieved October 1, 2010.

[5] "1969 Men's College Basketball Bracket". CBS Sports. Retrieved October 4, 2010.

[2010ILBMG33-6] 2009–10 Ivy League Basketball Media Guide. p. 33. {{cite book}}: |website= ignored (help)

[MBitP-7] 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.

[IL&NA-8] Princeton Athletic Communications (June 12, 2009). "Men's Basketball Record Book • Ivy League & National Awards". GoPrincetonTigers.com. Princeton University. Retrieved March 28, 2010.

[autogenerated1-9] 2009–10 Ivy League Basketball Media Guide. p. 32. {{cite book}}: |website= ignored (help)

[2010ILBMG49-10] 2009–10 Ivy League Basketball Media Guide. p. 49. {{cite book}}: |website= ignored (help)

[11] "1971 NBA Draft". Basketball-Reference. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved October 7, 2010.

[12] "NBA & ABA Rookie of the Year Award Winners". Basketball-Reference. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved October 7, 2010.

[13] Princeton Athletic Communications (June 12, 2009). "Men's Basketball Record Book • All-Time Results". GoPrincetonTigers.com. Princeton University. Retrieved March 27, 2010.

[6869IMB-14] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f "1968–69 Ivy Men's Basketball". IvyLeagueSports.com. Archived from the original on January 31, 2009. Retrieved March 28, 2010.

[15] "1969 NCAA basketball tournament Bracket". databaseSports.com. Retrieved March 27, 2010.

[16] "1969 NBA Draft". databaseSports.com. Archived from the original on March 18, 2010. Retrieved March 28, 2010.

[17] "1970 NBA Draft". databaseSports.com. Archived from the original on December 6, 2008. Retrieved March 28, 2010.

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v t e Princeton Tigers men's basketball
Venues	University Gymnasium (1900–1944) Hobey Baker Memorial Rink (1944–1947) Dillon Gymnasium (1947–1969) Jadwin Gymnasium (1969–present)
Rivalries	Penn Rutgers
Culture & lore	Princeton offense A Sense of Where You Are The Tiger "Princeton Cannon Song" 1989 Georgetown game
People	Head coaches NBA draftees Statistical leaders
Seasons	List of seasons 1900–01 1901–02 1902–03 1903–04 1904–05 1905–06 1906–07 1907–08 1908–09 1909–10 1910–11 1911–12 1912–13 1913–14 1914–15 1915–16 1916–17 1917–18 1918–19 1919–20 1920–21 1921–22 1922–23 1923–24 1924–25 1925–26 1926–27 1927–28 1928–29 1929–30 1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38 1938–39 1939–40 1940–41 1941–42 1942–43 1943–44 1944–45 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25
Helms and Premo-Porretta national championship in bold; NCAA Final Four appearance in italics