The Princeton Tigers men's basketball team is the intercollegiate men's basketball program representing Princeton University. The school competes in the Ivy League in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). The Tigers play home basketball games at the Jadwin Gymnasium in Princeton, New Jersey, on the university campus. Princeton has appeared in 25 NCAA tournaments, most recently in 2023. In 1965, the Tigers made the NCAA Final Four, with Bill Bradley being named the Most Outstanding Player. The team is currently coached by former player Mitch Henderson. The team is known for the Princeton offense strategy, perfected under the tenure of former head coach Pete Carril, who coached the team from 1967 to 1996. The Princeton offense has resulted in Princeton leading the nation in scoring defense 20 times since 1976, including every year from 1989 to 2000. As of 2023, the Tigers have amassed 1803 victories, 25 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament appearances (including four consecutive appearances between 1989 and 1992), and 30 Ivy League regular season titles. Their main Ivy League rivalry is with Penn. Eight different Tigers have earned 12 All-American recognitions. Bill Bradley is the only three-time honoree. Numerous Tigers have played professional basketball. The most recent Tiger NBAer was Steve Goodrich. Geoff Petrie was the NBA Rookie of the Year in 1971, while Brian Taylor earned the same honor in the American Basketball Association in 1973. Two of the three Ivy Leaguers to have played in the Olympic games were Tigers. Four of the eight NBA and ABA championships earned by Ivy League players have been earned by Tigers. Three of the five highest NBA career point totals by Ivy League players were by Tigers. Five of the ten Ivy League players selected among the top 25 overall selections in the NBA draft were Tigers.

Coaches

Carril holds the Ivy League record for most career seasons, championships, and wins. Bill Carmody holds the career winning percentage record.

Arenas

Princeton originally played its home games at University Gymnasium until it burned down in 1944. Hobey Baker Memorial Rink served as the interim home court for the 1945–46 and 1946–47 seasons until Dillon Gymnasium was built. The 6,800-seat Jadwin Gymnasium hosted the Tigers for the first time on January 25, 1969, against the Penn Quakers men's basketball team. It continues to be the team's home court.

Ivy League

The Tigers have played against their Ivy League foes for over a century. Through 2017–2018 season

Awards and honors

Bill Bradley has won numerous distinctions as a Princeton Tiger. He is the team's only Rhodes Scholar, and he is the only player to earn NCAA basketball tournament Most Outstanding Player. Other honors earned by Tiger basketball players include: Maddox appeared in the 3x3 basketball competition.

Professional basketball

Princeton NBA players were Bud Palmer, Willem van Breda Kolff, Bradley, Geoff Petrie, John Hummer, Taylor, Ted Manakas, Armond Hill, Mike Kearns and Steve Goodrich. Tosan Evbuomwan is the only active Princeton NBA player. David Blatt, now an Israeli-American, played for Princeton in 1977–81 and then became a professional basketball player and subsequently a coach (most recently, for the Cleveland Cavaliers).

Records

Bradley continues to hold the single-game, single-season, and career total and average points Ivy League records. In addition, he holds the Ivy records for single-game, single-season, and career field goals made as well as single-season, and career free throws made. Other Tiger Ivy League record holders include Howard Levy (1982–85, career field goal percentage), Alan Williams (1986–87, single-season field goal percentage), Brian Earl (1995–99, career three-point field goals made), Spencer Gloger (vs- Ala.-Birmingham, December 18, 1999, single-game three-point field goals made), Sydney Johnson (-vs- Columbia & Cornell, Feb 28 – March 1, 1997, consecutive three-point field goals made; single-game three-point field goals made with no misses), Dave Orlandini (1986–88, career three-point field goal percentage; 1987–88 single-season three-point field goal percentage).

Postseason

Princeton has appeared in 26 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournaments, 7 National Invitation Tournaments (NIT), 2 College Basketball Invitationals (CBI) and 8 Ivy League one-game playoffs.

NCAA Tournaments

NCAA Tournament Seeding History The NCAA began seeding the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament with the 1979 edition. The 64-team field started in 1985, which guaranteed that a championship team had to win six games. The Tigers have a 15–30 record in the NCAA tournament. In 2011 the round of 64 was the second round

NIT

CBI