Princeton, nation's top defense, routed by Seton Hall
By Steve Mergelsberg | Jan. 30, 2007
The Seton Hall men’s basketball team snapped a three-game losing streak by defeating
Princeton , 79-41, on Monday evening. All nine players that dressed for the Pirates found their way into the scorer’s column, led by junior Brian Laing's 17 points. Seton Hall improves to 12-9 on the season and 10-2 at Continental Airlines Arena.
Seton Hall outscored Princeton, 34-14, in the paint. Seton Hall also controlled the boards, holding a, 33-to-18 advantage. Noah Savage led the Princeton Tigers with 10 points. Seton Hall made the nation's top-rated defense look like a "sieve" shooting 54 per-cent from the field and handing the Tigers 9-7 on the season and 0-2 in the Ivy League, one of their worst losses in school history. The 79 points were the most scored by a Princeton opponent this season. They came into the game leading the nation in fewest points allowed with 50.5 ppg.
The Tigers have now lost for the third straight game and will begin Ivy League play beginning Friday evening at Yale.
Coach Joe Scott can add this loss to his impressive list of records that have been set since he took over the Tigers in 2004-05. The 38 point loss to Seton Hall was the largest since a 77-34 loss to Cornell in 1946. Already this season, Princeton is 0-2 in Ivy League play for the first time since the 1983-84 season. This years 55-35 loss to Cornell were Princeton's fewest points in an Ivy League game since falling to Cornell 63-30 during the 1984-85 season. Columbia won this season's Ivy opener 64-56 to win consecutive games against Princeton since sweeping the Tigers in the 1992-93 season.
Under coach Joe Scott, players think too much about what they should do rather than react to what is taking place on the court. Playing tango with the basketball for 25 or 30 seconds and then try to get a good look in the little time remaining boarders on the side of basketball "insanity"! How many records does Joe Scott have to set before he realizes that his "Princeton Offense" is not working and he goes to plan "B"? A new, up tempo version of the offense where the players can use their God given talents to run and shoot, if they have an open look, regardless of the time on the clock.
I believe with plan "B", Joe Scott will not have to worry about setting anymore records this season.
Steve Mergelsberg has spent twenty-five years coaching professionally in the Atlantic Basketball Association, United States Basketball League (USBL), on the college level and on the high school level in New Jersey and Nevada. He is a constant contributor to coaching journals, including articles on the triangle offense, coaching philosophies, and amoeba defenses.
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