1979–80 Princeton Tigers men's basketball team
The 1979–80 Princeton Tigers men's basketball team represented Princeton University in intercollegiate college basketball during the 1979–80 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The head coach was Pete Carril and the team captain was John W. Rogers, Jr..[1] The team played its home games in the Jadwin Gymnasium on the University campus in Princeton, New Jersey. The team was the co-champion of the Ivy League, but lost a one-game playoff and failed to earn an invitation to either the 1980 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament or the 1980 National Invitation Tournament.[2]
1979–80 Princeton Tigers men's basketball | |
---|---|
Ivy League Co-Champion | |
Ivy League one-game playoff, Lost | |
Conference | Ivy League |
1979–80 record | 15–15 (11–4, 1st-t Ivy) |
Head coach | Pete Carril |
Captain | John W. Rogers, Jr. |
Home arena | Jadwin Gymnasium |
The team played a schedule that included eventual national champion Louisville, other members of the 48-team NCAA tournament field such as #3 seed St. John's, #4 seed Duke and #8 Villanova as well as the Big Ten Conference's Michigan State and the Big East Conference's Seton Hall.[1][3] The team recovered from a slow start in which it lost its first five and eleven of its first thirteen games to post a 15–15 overall record and an 11–4 conference record.[1] After splitting the regular season series one win apiece on home game victories and finishing tied with identical 11–3 conference records, Princeton and Penn Penn faced each other in a March 4, 1980, one-game Ivy League playoff game. Princeton lost the game which was held at the Kirby Sports Center at Lafayette College in Easton, Pennsylvania, by a 50–49 margin, thus giving Penn the Ivy League Championship and an invitation to the NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament. Princeton would avenge this loss the following year when the two teams finished tied for the conference regular season title again.[1][2][4] The team was led by first team All-Ivy League selection Randy Melville.[5]
References
- "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. IvyLeagueSports.com. p. 30.
- "1980 Men's College Basketball Bracket". CBS Sports. Retrieved October 4, 2010.
- 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.
- 2009–10 Ivy League Basketball Media Guide. IvyLeagueSports.com. p. 36.