1998–99 Princeton Tigers men's basketball team

The 1998–99 Princeton Tigers men's basketball team represented the Princeton University

Princeton University

Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....

in intercollegiate college basketball

College basketball

College basketball most often refers to the USA basketball competitive governance structure established by the National Collegiate Athletic Association . Basketball in the NCAA is divided into three divisions: Division I, Division II and Division III....

during the 1998–99 NCAA Division I men's basketball season

1998–99 NCAA Division I men's basketball season

The 1998–99 NCAA Division I men's basketball season concluded in the 64-team 1999 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament whose finals were held at Tropicana Field in . The Connecticut Huskies earned their first national championship by defeating the Duke Blue Devils 77–74 on March 29, 1999...

. The head coach

Head coach

A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches...

was Bill Carmody

Bill Carmody

Bill Carmody is an American men's college basketball coach.Since 2000, he has been the head coach of the Northwestern Wildcats at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois.-Early life and education:...

and the team co-captain

Captain (sports)

In team sports, a captain is a title given to a member of the team. The title is frequently honorary, but in some cases the captain may have significant responsibility for strategy and teamwork while the game is in progress on the field...

s were Brian Earl and Gabe Lewullis. The team played its home games in the Jadwin Gymnasium

Jadwin Gymnasium

The L. Stockwell Jadwin Gymnasium is a 6,854-seat multi-purpose arena in Princeton, New Jersey. The arena opened in 1969. It is home to the Princeton University Tigers basketball team...

on the University campus in Princeton, New Jersey

Princeton, New Jersey

Princeton is a community located in Mercer County, New Jersey, United States. It is best known as the location of Princeton University, which has been sited in the community since 1756...

, and was the runner-up of the Ivy League

Ivy League

The Ivy League is an athletic conference comprising eight private institutions of higher education in the Northeastern United States. The conference name is also commonly used to refer to those eight schools as a group...

. The team earned an invitation to the 32-team 1999 National Invitation Tournament

1999 National Invitation Tournament

-Semifinals & Finals:*Third Place - Xavier 106, Oregon 75...

.

Using the Princeton offense

Princeton offense

The Princeton offense is an offensive basketball strategy which emphasizes constant motion, passing, back-door cuts, and disciplined teamwork. It was used and perfected at Princeton University by Pete Carril, though its roots may be traced back to Franklin “Cappy” Cappon, who coached Princeton...

, the team had a midseason eleven-game winning streak and posted a 22-8 overall record and a 11-3 conference record. Although the team failed to secure an invitation to the 1999 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament

1999 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament

The 1999 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament involved 64 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. It began on March 11, 1999, and ended with the championship game on March 29 at Tropicana Field in St....

, the team defeated several entrants in the tournament including the and conference foe as well as wins on back-to-back nights against and to win the 8-team Rainbow Classic held in . , the 27-point comeback from 13–40 with 15:11 remaining to win 50–49 over Penn on February 9, 1999 remains the fifth-largest comeback and fourth-largest second-half comeback in NCAA history. That game's 9–33 half time deficit comeback remains the second-largest comeback. In the National Invitation Tournament

National Invitation Tournament

The National Invitation Tournament is a men's college basketball tournament operated by the National Collegiate Athletic Association. There are two NIT events each season. The first, played in November and known as the Dick's Sporting Goods NIT Season Tip-Off , was founded in 1985...

the team defeated the 54–47 at home on March 10, 1998 and the 61–58 on March 15 at Reynolds Coliseum

Reynolds Coliseum

William Neal Reynolds Coliseum is a multi-purpose arena located in Raleigh, North Carolina on the North Carolina State University campus. The arena was built to host a variety of events, including agricultural expositions and NC State basketball games...

in before losing to the at Cincinnati Gardens

Cincinnati Gardens

The Cincinnati Gardens is an indoor sports and entertainment arena located in Cincinnati, Ohio, that opened in 1949. The 25,000 square foot brick and limestone building, whose entrance is decorated with six three-dimensional carved athletic figures, was modeled after Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto,...

on March 17 by a 65–58 score.

The team was led by All-Ivy League first team selections Lewullis and Earl, who won the Ivy League Men's Basketball Player of the Year

Ivy League Men's Basketball Player of the Year

The Ivy League Men's Basketball Player of the Year is a basketball award given to the Ivy League's most outstanding player. The award was first given following the 1974–75 season. There have been five players honored on two occasions: Craig Robinson, Kit Mueller, Jerome Allen, Ugonna Onyekwe and...

, as well as Ivy League Men's Basketball Rookie of the Year Chris Young. The team won the eleventh of twelve consecutive national statistical championships in scoring

Point (basketball)

Points in basketball are used to keep track of the score in a game. Points can be accumulated by making field goals or free throws ....

defense with a 52.7 points allowed average. Earl ended his Princeton career as the Ivy League's all-time three point field goal with 281, surpassing Matt Maloney

Matt Maloney

This article is about the basketball player. For the baseball player, see Matt Maloney .Matthew M. "Matt" Maloney is a retired American professional basketball player...

's 244. The total continues to be the all time record. He also achieved a 90.9% free throw percentage in conference games to earn the Ivy League statistical championship.

See also