1988–89 Princeton Tigers men's basketball team

The 1988–89 Princeton Tigers men's basketball team represented Princeton University in intercollegiate college basketball during the 1988–89 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The head coach was Pete Carril and the team captains was Bob Scrabis.^[1] The team played its home games in the 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 64-team 1989 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament where they were seeded sixteenth in the East Region.^[2]

The team posted a 19–8 overall record and an 11–3 conference record.^[1] When the team defeated Colgate 43–33 on November 30, 1988, it established a new National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I record for fewest combined points (since 1986), using the Princeton offense. The record would stand until December 16, 1989.^[3] In a March 17, 1989 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament East Regional first round game at the Providence Civic Center in Providence, Rhode Island against the Georgetown Hoyas, they lost by a 50–49 margin.^[1]^[2]^[4] The game matched the unheralded sixteenth-seeded Princeton Tigers against the number one seeded Hoyas who featured freshman Alonzo Mourning and senior guard Charles Smith. Mourning blocked shots by Scrabis and Kit Mueller in the final six seconds to save the one-point victory for the Hoyas.^[5]^[6]

The team was led by first team All-Ivy League selections Scrabis and Mueller. Scrabis earned the Ivy League Men's Basketball Player of the Year award.^[2] Mueller shot 70.9% on his field goals to earn the second of three Ivy League statistical championships for field goal percentage.^[7] The team won the first of twelve consecutive national statistical championships in scoring defense with a 53.0 points allowed average.^[8]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c "Men's Basketball Record Book • All-Time Results". GoPrincetonTigers.com. Princeton Athletic Communications. 2009-06-12. Retrieved 2010-09-27.
^ ^a ^b ^c 2009–10 Ivy League Basketball Media Guide. p. 37. {{cite book}}: |website= ignored (help)
^ "Division I Records" (PDF). National Collegiate Athletic Association. p. 39. Retrieved 2010-10-02.
^ Princeton Athletic Communications (2009-06-22). "Men's Basketball Record Book • Men's Basketball in the Postseason". GoPrincetonTigers.com. Princeton University. Retrieved 2010-09-30.
^ Moran, Malcolm (1989-03-18). "N.C.A.A. Tournament: East; Georgetown Survives Princeton Scare". The New York Times. Retrieved 2010-10-02.
^ Moran, Malcolm (1989-03-18). "College Basketball; Tenacious Princeton Defies Expectations". The New York Times. Retrieved 2010-10-02.
^ 2009–10 Ivy League Basketball Media Guide. p. 49. {{cite book}}: |website= ignored (help)
^ "Division I Records" (PDF). National Collegiate Athletic Association. p. 48. Retrieved 2010-10-02.

[MBRBATR-1] "Men's Basketball Record Book • All-Time Results". GoPrincetonTigers.com. Princeton Athletic Communications. 2009-06-12. Retrieved 2010-09-27.

[2010ILBMG-2] 2009–10 Ivy League Basketball Media Guide. p. 37. {{cite book}}: |website= ignored (help)

[DIR39-3] "Division I Records" (PDF). National Collegiate Athletic Association. p. 39. Retrieved 2010-10-02.

[MBitP-4] Princeton Athletic Communications (2009-06-22). "Men's Basketball Record Book • Men's Basketball in the Postseason". GoPrincetonTigers.com. Princeton University. Retrieved 2010-09-30.

[5] Moran, Malcolm (1989-03-18). "N.C.A.A. Tournament: East; Georgetown Survives Princeton Scare". The New York Times. Retrieved 2010-10-02.

[6] Moran, Malcolm (1989-03-18). "College Basketball; Tenacious Princeton Defies Expectations". The New York Times. Retrieved 2010-10-02.

[2010ILBMG49-7] 2009–10 Ivy League Basketball Media Guide. p. 49. {{cite book}}: |website= ignored (help)

[DIR48-8] "Division I Records" (PDF). National Collegiate Athletic Association. p. 48. Retrieved 2010-10-02.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

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