NEWARK – The juices started flowing for Princeton coach Mitch Henderson well before game time as the Tigers’ bus pulled into the Prudential Center for Saturday’s meeting with Rutgers.
“The security guard was sniffing the bus and asking, ‘What team do we have here?’” Henderson said.
When the guard heard it was Princeton, “the man goes, boo!” said Henderson. “I like that kind of thing.”
It was a taste of things to come. Nearly 10,000 Rutgers fans turned the Rock into the RAC for two hours during the Never Forget Tribute Classic, an electrifying backdrop to a glittering, high-level college basketball showcase that was decided only when Princeton star Caden Pierce responded to the go-ahead signal Ace Bailey 3-pointer by backing up Jordan Derkack and rolling in the game-winning layup with 4 seconds left.
December 21, 2024; Newark, New Jersey, USA; Princeton Tigers guard Jack Scott (9) and Rutgers Scarlet Knights center Zach Martini (99) battle for rebounds during the first half at Prudential Center. Mandatory credits: Tom Horak-Imagn images
Princeton prevailed 83-82 to top the Scarlet Knights for the second straight season, but the biggest winner was the Jersey Hoops community. Pierce and point guard Xaivian Lee (21 points, 11 assists, 6 rebounds, 3 steals) were a hair better than Rutgers’ NBA Draft-bound studs, Dylan Harper (22 points, 5 rebounds, 3 steals) and Bailey (15 points, 12 boards) in a match full of highlights and sharp elbows.
“This is just New Jersey basketball,” said Pierce, who finished with 21 points and 14 rebounds. “I’m hardly new to it, but for the past two years this game has been electric. They are mainly Rutgers fans, but we are up for that challenge.”
There will be a movement among some on the Rutgers side to once again drop Princeton from the schedule, as Eddie Jordan did in 2013. Scarlet Knights coach Steve Pikiell will likely oppose that move, and he should.
The once fierce rivalry doesn’t bring out the passions the way Rutgers-Seton Hall does; the number of Princeton fans was only about 500, which is a huge disservice to these Tigers. But these were some seriously entertaining hoops exported to the country via Fox Sports 1, and if Rutgers gets this right, it will help them into Big Ten play, starting with a visit from a Wisconsin team from Wisconsin early January that is similar in style.
“We play them anytime, anywhere,” Pkiell said of the future of the series.
Mitch Henderson throws a few elbows
The snarky guard wasn’t the only one injecting some spice into proceedings on Saturday. Henderson was downright salty afterward. He has long maintained that Princeton’s position in the Jersey hardwood ecosystem was equal to that of high majors Rutgers and Seton Hall, and that sticks in his mind whenever anyone suggests otherwise.
“I talked to some of you before the game, it was all Harper-Bailey, Harper-Bailey,” Henderson told reporters. “I wanted to talk about Lee and Pierce, Lee and Pierce, but those weren’t the questions. I can talk about it now. They were great.”
This wasn’t your dad’s Princeton-Rutgers game, where the Tigers led Pete Carril’s offense until the defense fell asleep, using a system no one else was using, with the final score in the 50s, and a bunch nice college players without real players. professional prospects.
These were four NBA prospects putting on a show. The faces will change, but Princeton’s commitment to a high-octane offense under Mitch Henderson won’t. And Rutgers has grown so big as a program that it should no longer be the most perennially successful program in New Jersey — the Eddie Jordan era is long in the past.
Responding to a question about what this result says about Ivy League basketball, Henderson threw an elbow.
“What’s Ivy League basketball,” he said, looking as if he’d just eaten a lemon. “We just beat Rutgers twice.”
When another reporter asked if Princeton claims to be the Garden State’s premier program, Henderson responded, “You said yesterday that this is the premier program: Rutgers.” Yes, I feel that way too: this (Princeton) is the most important program.”
It’s hard to dispute the results, but Princeton fans need to do their part, too. They only seem to be interested in Ivy League play and that’s a slap in the face to guys as talented and tough as Lee and Pierce.
“I like a big crowd, whether it’s a home crowd, an away crowd or a neutral crowd,” Lee said. “Honestly, we might as well play it at their house, but any environment like this is great.”
‘Fun to look at, fun to experience’
Rutgers has big work to do. The Scarlet Knights’ margin for error is shrinking, and in reality, getting into the NCAA Tournament is now likely a 50/50 proposition. That is obviously unacceptable for a team with two players like Harper and Bailey.
Running away from Princeton is not the answer. Playing better – and especially playing harder – is. The Tigers put Rutgers on the boards. That’s attitude, not planning.
“When you play against highly touted guys, it’s easy to get up for a game like this,” Lee said. “I like to play against the best, with the best.”
Between the crossovers, the step-backs and the expert lock-picking of whatever the opposing defense threw at them, Lee and Harper gave everyone their money’s worth on Saturday.
“It’s fun to watch, fun to be a part of,” Pierce said. “They both play back and forth at a high level. They are incredibly talented.”
The next logical step in the series is to move it to campus locations where it once thrived. Reading between the lines in conversations with the coaches, it seems like something akin to a 2-for-1 is in the air, even if it’s not quite on the table yet, with the first leg in Piscataway.
That would be nice. But this was fun too.
If you don’t agree, you’re watching the wrong sport. Also: check your pulse.
Jerry Carino has covered the New Jersey sports scene since 1996 and college basketball since 2003. Contact him at [email protected].
This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Rutgers-Princeton basketball was great theater. Let’s keep doing it