1999–2000 Princeton Tigers men's basketball team

The 1999–2000 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 1999–2000 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. 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 Mason Rocca

Mason Rocca

Richard Mason Rocca is an Italian-American professional basketball player. His father is of Italian descent...

and Chris Young. 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 2000 National Invitation Tournament

2000 National Invitation Tournament

-Semifinals & Finals:*Third Place - Penn State 74, N.C. State 72...

.

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 recovered from a 1–4 start and posted a 19-11 overall record and a 11-3 conference record. On December 18, 1999 against , Spencer Gloger made 10 three point field goals in a singe game to tie 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 current Ivy League record with a total that continues to stand as the highest total by an Ivy League player against a non-league foe. 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 lost its first round contest against the at Bryce Jordan Center

Bryce Jordan Center

Bryce Jordan Center is a 15,261-seat multi-purpose arena in University Park, Pennsylvania. The arena opened in 1995 and is the largest such venue between Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. It replaced Rec Hall as the home to the Penn State University Nittany Lions men's and women's basketball team, the...

on March 15 by a 55–41 score.

The team was led by All-Ivy League first team selection Chris Young. The team won the twelfth 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 54.6 points allowed average. Young led the Ivy League in field goal percentage

Field goal percentage

Field goal percentage in basketball is the ratio of field goals made to field goals attempted. Its abbreviation is FG%. Three-point field goals are included in this percentage. Instead of using scales of 0 to 100%, the scale .000 to 1.000 is commonly used. A higher field goal percentage denotes...

with a 55.3% average in conference games. He also led the conference in blocked shots with 90, which continues to be the second highest single-season total in league history.

This was the last season as coach for Carmody who gave way to John Thompson III

John Thompson III

John Thompson III is the current head coach of the men's basketball team at Georgetown University. He grew up in Washington, D.C. and was named first team All-Metro by The Washington Post while playing for Gonzaga College High School in 1984. Thompson was hired on April 20, 2004 to replace Craig...

the following year. Carmody helped Princeton achieve a 76.1% (210–66) winning percentage for the decade of the 1990s, which was the eighth best in the nation. Carmody retired with the Ivy League's all-time highest winning percentage in all games (78.6%, 92–25), surpassing Butch van Breda Kolff's 76.9% mark, and in conference games (89.3%, 50–6), surpassing Chuck Daly

Chuck Daly

Charles Jerome "Chuck" Daly was an American basketball head coach. He led the Detroit Pistons to consecutive National Basketball Association Championships in 1989 and 1990, and the Dream Team to the men's basketball gold medal at the 1992 Summer Olympics. He had a 14-year NBA coaching...

's 88.1% mark.

See also