The 2016–17 Princeton Tigers men's basketball team represented Princeton University during the 2016–17 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Tigers, led by sixth-year head coach Mitch Henderson, played their home games at Jadwin Gymnasium as members of the Ivy League. They finished the season 23–7, 14–0 in Ivy League play to win the Ivy League regular season championship. They defeated Penn and Yale to win the inaugural Ivy League tournament championship. As a result, they earned the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament as the No. 12 seed in the West Region. There they lost in the First Round to Notre Dame.
| 2016–17 Princeton Tigers men's basketball | |
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Ivy League regular season and tournament champions | |
NCAA tournament, First Round | |
| Conference | Ivy League |
| Record | 23–7 (14–0 Ivy) |
| Head coach |
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| Assistant coaches |
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| Home arena | Jadwin Gymnasium |
| Conf | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Team | W | L | PCT | W | L | PCT | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| x-Princeton † | 14 | – | 0 | 1.000 | 23 | – | 7 | .767 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Harvard | 10 | – | 4 | .714 | 18 | – | 10 | .643 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Yale | 9 | – | 5 | .643 | 18 | – | 11 | .621 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Penn | 6 | – | 8 | .429 | 13 | – | 15 | .464 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Columbia | 5 | – | 9 | .357 | 11 | – | 16 | .407 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Brown | 4 | – | 10 | .286 | 13 | – | 17 | .433 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Cornell | 4 | – | 10 | .286 | 8 | – | 21 | .276 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Dartmouth | 4 | – | 10 | .286 | 7 | – | 20 | .259 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| x – Ivy League champions | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| † 2017 Ivy League Tournament winner | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Previous season
The Tigers finished the 2015–16 season 22–7, 12–2 in Ivy League play to finish in second place. They were invited to the National Invitation Tournament where they lost in the first round to Virginia Tech.
Offseason
Departures
| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mike Washington, Jr. | 13 | G | 6'3" | 190 | Senior | Oak Harbor, WA | Graduated |
2016 recruiting class
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Will Gladson #42 C | St. Louis, MO | Chaminade College Prep | 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) | N/A | Dec 31, 2015 | |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 74 | ||||||
| Vittorio Reynoso-Avila #61 SF | La Mirada, CA | La Mirada High School | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | 185 lb (84 kg) | Dec 13, 2015 | |
Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 71 | ||||||
| Richmond Aririguzoh #110 PF | Trenton, NJ | Trenton Catholic Academy | 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) | 205 lb (93 kg) | Mar 20, 2016 | |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 59 | ||||||
| Jose Morales PG | Fort Lauderdale, FL | Cardinal Gibbons High School | 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) | 160 lb (73 kg) | Sep 22, 2014 | |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: NR | ||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: | ||||||
Sources:
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2017 recruiting class
| US college sports recruiting information for 2017 recruits | ||||||
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| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date | |
| Jerome Desrosiers #68 PF | Montreal, QE | Northfield-Mt. Hermon School | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) | 215 lb (98 kg) | Jun 7, 2016 | |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 73 | ||||||
| Elijah Barnes PF | Middletown, NJ | Mater Dei High School | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) | 180 lb (82 kg) | Jun 28, 2016 | |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: NR | ||||||
| Ryan Schwieger SG | Matthews, SC | Weddington High School | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) | N/A | Aug 22, 2016 | |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: NR | ||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: | ||||||
Sources:
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Roster
| 2016–17 Princeton Tigers men's basketball team | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Schedule and results
| Date time, TV | Rank# | Opponent# | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Non-conference regular season | |||||||||||
| 11/14/2016* 10:00 pm, ESPN2 | at BYU College Hoops Tip-Off Marathon | L 73–82 | 0–1 | Marriott Center (15,926) Provo, UT | |||||||
| 11/20/2016* 2:00 pm | at Lehigh | L 67–76 | 0–2 | Stabler Arena (1,388) Bethlehem, PA | |||||||
| 11/23/2016* 7:00 pm | at Lafayette | W 71–55 | 1–2 | Kirby Sports Center (1,077) Easton, PA | |||||||
| 11/25/2016* 7:00 pm | Rowan | W 108–46 | 2–2 | Jadwin Gymnasium (1,559) Princeton, NJ | |||||||
| 11/29/2016* 7:00 pm, MASN | at VCU | L 70–81 | 2–3 | Siegel Center (7,637) Richmond, VA | |||||||
| 12/06/2016* 7:00 pm, FS1 | vs. California Pearl Harbor Basketball Invitational | L 51–62 | 2–4 | Bloch Arena (4,024) Honolulu, HI | |||||||
| 12/07/2016* 9:30 pm, FS1 | vs. Hawaii Pearl Harbor Basketball Invitational | W 75–62 | 3–4 | Bloch Arena (4,024) Honolulu, HI | |||||||
| 12/10/2016* 2:00 pm, ESPN3 | at Liberty | W 67–64 | 4–4 | Vines Center (2,510) Lynchburg, VA | |||||||
| 12/14/2016* 5:00 pm, ESPNU | Saint Joseph's | L 68–76 | 4–5 | Jadwin Gymnasium (2,360) Princeton, NJ | |||||||
| 12/20/2016* 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | at Monmouth | L 90–96 | 4–6 | OceanFirst Bank Center (3,530) West Long Branch, NJ | |||||||
| 12/22/2016* 7:00 pm | at Bucknell | W 72–70 | 5–6 | Sojka Pavilion (3,216) Lewisburg, PA | |||||||
| 12/28/2016* 5:00 pm | Hampton | W 77–49 | 6–6 | Jadwin Gymnasium (1,838) Princeton, NJ | |||||||
| 12/31/2016* 1:00 pm | Cal Poly | W 81–52 | 7–6 | Jadwin Gymnasium (2,022) Princeton, NJ | |||||||
| Ivy League regular Season | |||||||||||
| 01/07/2017 8:00 pm | Penn Rivalry | W 61–52 | 8–6 (1–0) | Jadwin Gymnasium (2,814) Princeton, NJ | |||||||
| 01/13/2017 8:00 pm | Brown | W 97–66 | 9–6 (2–0) | Jadwin Gymnasium (1,735) Princeton, NJ | |||||||
| 01/14/2017 7:00 pm | Yale | W 66–58 | 10–6 (3–0) | Jadwin Gymnasium (2,262) Princeton, NJ | |||||||
| 02/03/2017 7:00 pm | at Dartmouth | W 69–64 | 11–6 (4–0) | Leede Arena (862) Hanover, NH | |||||||
| 02/04/2017 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | at Harvard | W 57–56 | 12–6 (5–0) | Lavietes Pavilion (2,195) Cambridge, MA | |||||||
| 02/07/2017 7:00 pm | at Penn Rivalry | W 64–49 | 13–6 (6–0) | Palestra (6,215) Philadelphia, PA | |||||||
| 02/10/2017 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | Cornell | W 69–60 | 14–6 (7–0) | Jadwin Gymnasium (2,012) Princeton, NJ | |||||||
| 02/11/2017 6:00 pm | Columbia | W 61–59 | 15–6 (8–0) | Jadwin Gymnasium (2,803) Princeton, NJ | |||||||
| 02/17/2017 8:00 pm, ESPN3 | at Yale | W 71–52 | 16–6 (9–0) | John J. Lee Amphitheater (1,846) New Haven, CT | |||||||
| 02/18/2017 6:30 pm | at Brown | W 66–51 | 17–6 (10–0) | Pizzitola Sports Center (1,498) Providence, RI | |||||||
| 02/24/2017 7:00 pm | at Columbia | W 64–45 | 18–6 (11–0) | Levien Gymnasium New York City, NY | |||||||
| 02/25/2017 6:00 pm, ESPN3 | at Cornell | W 75–60 | 19–6 (12–0) | Newman Arena (1,381) Ithaca, NY | |||||||
| 03/03/2017 5:30 pm, ESPNU | Harvard | W 73–69 | 20–6 (13–0) | Jadwin Gymnasium Princeton, NJ | |||||||
| 03/04/2017 6:00 pm, ESPN3 | Dartmouth | W 85–48 | 21–6 (14–0) | Jadwin Gymnasium (3,087) Princeton, NJ | |||||||
| Ivy League Tournament | |||||||||||
| 03/11/2017 1:30 pm, ESPNU | (1) | vs. (4) Penn Semifinals | W 72–64 OT | 22–6 | Palestra Philadelphia, PA | ||||||
| 03/12/2017 12:00 pm, ESPN2 | (1) | vs. (3) Yale Championship | W 71–59 | 23–6 | Palestra Philadelphia, PA | ||||||
| NCAA tournament | |||||||||||
| 03/16/2017* 12:15 pm, CBS | (12 W) | vs. (5 W) No. 14 Notre Dame First Round | L 58–60 | 23–7 | KeyBank Center (17,806) Buffalo, NY | ||||||
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. W=West Region. All times are in Eastern Time. | |||||||||||
Honors and accomplishments
Mitch Henderson was a unanimous Ivy League Coach of the Year selection.
Senior forward Spencer Weisz was selected as Ivy League Men's Basketball Player of the Year and a unanimous All-Ivy League first team honoree, despite only ranking fourth on Princeton in scoring average.[2] He became the 8th player in Ivy League history to win both the league's Rookie of the Year Award and Player of the Year Award.[3] Weisz also earned honorable mention on the Associated Press All-America team, and was named to the Jewish Sports Review 2016-17 Men's College Basketball All-American First Team.[4][5][6] Weisz led Princeton in rebounds, assists (4.2 per game; 125; 2nd in the league), and steals (1.5 per game; 46; 2nd in the Ivy League), while coming in 2nd in the league in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.6), 5th in 3-point field goals (61) and defensive rebounds (137), and 10th in total rebounds (161).[7][8][3] In December 2016, he tied the Princeton single-game record for assists in a game, with 13 against Liberty.[9] He posted his career high of 26 points in a February 3, 2017, 69–64 victory over Dartmouth.[10] He served again as a co-captain.[11]
Senior Steven Cook was also a unanimous All-Ivy League first team honoree, and was named a third team Academic All-America selection.[2][12] Cook was included on the National Association of Basketball Coaches Division I All‐District 13 first-team. Weisz and Devin Cannady were second team selections.[13]
Myles Stephens was named Ivy League Defensive Player of the Year and an All-Ivy League first team honoree. Stephens was the most outstanding player of the 2017 Ivy League men's basketball tournament, and Cook was also on the All-Tournament team. The tournament was the inaugural Ivy League men's basketball tournament.[14] By virtue of winning the tournament, the team earned Princeton its first NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament invitation since the 2010–11 team did so.[15]