Dartmouth Finishes Homestand With Big One vs. Princeton Saturday

GAME 24
Dartmouth (8-15, 4-5 Ivy League) vs. Princeton (16-6, 7-2 Ivy League)
Date: Saturday, February 11, 2023 – 2 p.m.
Location: Hanover, N.H. – Leede Arena
All-Time Series: Princeton, 159-63
Watch (ESPN+) | Live Stats

Setting the Scene
The Dartmouth men's basketball team will look to rebound from a tough weekend when the Big Green host wrap up their four-game homestand by hosting first-place Princeton on Saturday afternoon in Leede Arena. Opening tipoff is set for 2 p.m. on ESPN+. Dartmouth struggled over both its games last weekend, falling to Brown (73-61) and Yale (72-53).

With five regular season games remaining, the Big Green enter this weekend in sixth place in the Ivy League standings at 4-5, but just one game behind Cornell, Penn and Brown who are tied for third at 5-4. Both games last weekend had similar starts, with tight beginnings before the opponents created separation through the second part of the second halves to create double-figure halftime leads. Dartmouth did have a second-half surge against the Bears to pull as close as seven, but trailed by double figures over the final 18:43 on Saturday against the Bulldogs.

A bright spot last weekend was freshman Jayden Williams, who scored 27 points over the two games, highlighted by a career-high 19-point effort vs. Brown. All 19 points came in the span of 8:20 in the second half in an incredible offensive display. The 19 points were the most by a Dartmouth freshman since Adrease Jackson scored 24 on Feb. 3, 2018 at Columbia. Williams knocked down his first five 3-pointer attempts of the second half, helping the Big Green pull as close as 50-43 with 9:25 still remaining, this after trailing by 17 before Williams' offensive explosion began. It was the third time this season a Dartmouth player has knocked down five or more 3-pointers, with junior Dusan Neskovic going 5-for-6 in the season opener at Fordham and sophomore Cade Haskins finishing 5-for-7 on Nov. 15 at Quinnipiac. Williams finished 5-for-8 on Friday, and went on to add eight points against Yale Saturday.

Neskovic also reached double figures in scoring against Brown, posting 13, while senior Dame Adelekun led Dartmouth with 13 points and nine rebounds vs. Yale. Adelekun scored nine points the night prior, but it came on only six shots (as he was 4-for-6) due to consistent double teaming from the Bears' defense. He also tied for the team lead in assists both games, recording four against Brown and two vs. Yale. The big man has been tied for the team lead in assists six times this season and been first all alone on four occasions.

Dartmouth will be looking to avenge a tough 93-90 overtime loss at Princeton just three weeks ago. The Big Green led by five with less than two minutes remaining, but the Tigers clawed back and forced overtime before creating separation in the final minute of the extra session, as Dartmouth was ever so close to handing Princeton its first home Ivy League loss of the season. Entering this weekend, the Tigers are 4-0 at home in the league and 3-2 on the road.

With a win…
- Dartmouth would stand 5-5 in Ivy League play, marking the first time at .500 or better following 10 league games since 2008-09 (when the Big Green were 6-4).
- The Big Green would snap an eight-game losing steak in the all-time series and win for the first time since a 72-56 victory on Feb. 10, 2018.
- Dartmouth would snap a three-game home losing streak against the Tigers.
- The Big Green would beat Princeton for just the third time in their last 26 tries overall.
- Dartmouth would improve to 9-6 over its last 15 Ivy League games (dating back to the end of last season).
- The Big Green would beat their fourth and final team picked in the preseason top four of the Ivy League poll. Dartmouth has already beaten Penn, Yale and Harvard (predicted first, third and fourth, respectively). The Tigers were picked second.

Last Time Out
HANOVER, N.H. (2/4/23) — Yale ended the first half on a 13-0 run to open a 33-22 halftime lead, and the Bulldogs wouldn't look back as they defeated the Dartmouth men's basketball team, 72-53 on Saturday evening in Leede Arena. A Jackson Munro 3-pointer put the Big Green ahead 22-20, but Dartmouth was held scoreless for the final 7:04 of the first half, facing a Yale team that leads the Ivy League and stood 16th nationally in scoring defense entering the day.

Scouting Princeton
Princeton stands 16-6 on the season and all alone in first place in the Ivy League at 7-2 in league play. The Tigers' two league defeats were at Brown (72-70) and at Yale (87-65). Princeton bounced back with home wins over Cornell (89-82) and Columbia (88-66).

Defending Ivy League Player of the Year Tosan Evbuomwan leads Princeton in scoring (14.0) and assists per game (4.6), which is also tops in the league. Evbuomwan's 5.8 rebounds per contest are good for second on the team. Two others average double-digit points in Ryan Langborg (11.8) and Matt Allocco (11.0). As a team, the Tigers are tops in the Ivy League in free throws made per game (12.7), rebound margin (8.0), rebounds per game (39.41) and defensive rebounds per game (29.50). Three different Princeton freshmen have been named Ivy League Rookie of the Week this season, with Deven Austin being the most recent on Monday. Last week, he averaged 11.5 points on 57.1 percent shooting, posting 13 points against Cornell and 10 vs. Columbia. Caden Pierce had received the honor two of the previous three weeks, while Xaivian Lee was the first to win it on Nov. 28. Pierce is Princeton's top rookie scorer for the season, averaging 7.4 points and a team-leading 6.6 rebounds per game.

All-Time Against The Tigers
Princeton leads the all-time series against Dartmouth, 159-63, which includes eight straight wins and wins in 15 of the last 16 meetings. Following their overtime win in January, the Tigers have won 13 straight home games against the Big Green, with Dartmouth's last win at Princeton coming on Feb. 21, 2009 via a 66-63 final. But since that point, Dartmouth has two wins against Princeton, both at home — 78-69 in overtime on Feb. 1, 2014 and 72-56 on Feb. 10, 2018. Over the last three games at Dartmouth, the average margin of victory for Princeton is 2.7. The longtime rivals first met on Dec. 12, 1905, a 37-8 Dartmouth win. Princeton won the next meeting on Jan. 10, 1912 behind a 43-38 final.

Sustained Success
Since last Feb. 17, the Big Green own the third best record in the league in Ivy League regular season games. Dartmouth is 8-6 in that stretch, only trailing Princeton's 12-2 and Yale's 9-5.

Here are the complete records in that time.

Princeton: 12-2
Yale: 9-5
Dartmouth: 8-6
Cornell: 7-6
Penn: 6-7
Brown: 6-7
Harvard: 5-9
Columbia: 1-12

Dame's Dominance
Senior Dame Adelekun enjoyed a performance to remember on Jan. 28 vs. Columbia.

Adelekun truly enjoyed a historic effort in Saturday's win over Columbia, posting 41 points, 10 rebounds, three blocks and two assists. He also drew 14 of the Lions' 25 fouls on the afternoon while shooting 14-of-18 from the floor and 13-of-19 from the free throw line.

Here is a rundown of Adelekun's afternoon:
- Became the sixth Dartmouth player to score 40+ points in a game in program history.
- 41 points tied a Leede Arena record (which was set by Cornell's Matt Morgan in 2019).
- 41 points were the most a Dartmouth player has ever scored in Leede Arena (which opened in 1987). It broke Miles Wright's 39 points scored against LIU Brooklyn on Nov. 29, 2015.
Became the first Big Green player to score 40 points, home or away, since Jim Barton had 48 on Feb. 7, 1987 at Brown.
- Prior to Adelekun, the previous Dartmouth player to score 40 points in a home game was Paul Erland on Jan. 17, 1971 against Holy Cross (he had 44).
- Adelekun's 41 were the most points scored by an Ivy League player since Feb. 8, 2019 when Harvard's Bryce Aiken had 44 against Columbia and Cornell's Matt Morgan scored 41 at Dartmouth.
- Nationally, Adelekun has one of 22 40-point performances in NCAA Division I men's basketball this season (following this weekend's games), and one of just 15 to come in regulation.
- Became the fourth player in the nation to post a 40+ point double-double this season, and the only one to do it in a regulation game.
- One of just two players in the nation to record 40+ points, 10+ rebounds and 3+ blocks this season, and the only to do it in a regulation game.
- Adelekun's 40+ point effort came in the second fewest minutes played.
- Tied for the second fewest missed field goals in a 40-point effort this season.
- Had a second-half sequence that was the No. 4 Play of the Day on ESPN's SportsCenter (Adelekun's second #SCTop10 appearance of the season).

Balanced Scoring
Through 23 games, eight different Big Green players have led the team in scoring. Here is a rundown.

Dame Adelekun: 7 - vs. Vermont (12/6), at Boston University (12/13), at South Florida (12/16), vs. Cornell (1/1), at Brown (1/7), vs. Columbia (1/28), vs. Yale (2/4)
Ryan Cornish: 6 - at UTSA (11/27), vs. Grambling State (11/28), vs. CSU Bakersfield (12/3), vs. Penn (1/14), at Harvard (1/16), at Princeton (1/21)
Brandon Mitchell-Day: 2 - vs. Bryant (11/11), vs. Incarnate Word (11/25)
Cade Haskins: 2 - at Quinnipiac (11/15), at Central Connecticut State (12/9)
Dusan Neskovic: 2 - at Fordham (11/7), at Yale (1/6)
Jayden Williams: 2 - vs. NVU-Johnson (11/30), vs. Brown (2/3)
Jaren Johnson: 1 - at UMass (12/20)
Robert McRae III: 1 - vs. MCLA (11/12)

What A Weekend!
The Big Green had a statement weekend in mid-January when they beat preseason Ivy League favorite Penn at home on Saturday, Jan. 14 before topping Harvard on the road two days later on Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

Against the Quakers, the Big Green trailed by as many as 13 in the second half (52-39), but from that point forward, Dartmouth outscored the Quakers 36-19 over the final 15 minutes of action. It marked the first time the Big Green overcame a double-figure deficit since an 11-point comeback against Brown on Jan. 8, 2022. Penn was 0-of-13 from 3-point range in the second half. Offensively, sophomore Ryan Cornish scored nine of his team-high 14 points in the second half while freshman Brandon Mitchell-Day provided a spark, in the second half and all game. He finished with 10 points and a huge block with 34 seconds remaining and Dartmouth up by one, which helped seal the win. Freshman Jackson Munro nearly posted his first-career double-double, finishing with nine points and eight rebounds in just 13:34 of action.

On Monday at Harvard, Dartmouth got out to a 12-2 start and would never trail in a 60-59 win. Cornish again led the Big Green in scoring, this time with 16, including 3-of-4 shooting from three. In the span of 1:39 early in the second half, he completed a 4-point play then knocked down a nearly half-court shot with the shot clock winding down. Including a 3-point play not long before, he scored 10 points in the span of 2:53. Senior Dame Adelekun scored eight of Dartmouth's first 10 points, finishing with 14 — good for his seventh straight game in double figures. Mitchell-Day also scored 11 points, all coming in the first half to help the Big Green open a 34-26 halftime advantage. Mitchell-Day was honored on Tuesday with Ivy League Rookie of the Week honors, Dartmouth's first Rookie of the Week honoree since Taurus Samuels on Jan. 21, 2019. The win marked Dartmouth's second straight against Harvard for the first time since 1998-99. It's the first time since 1995-96 winning back-to-back in Cambridge. Monday was also the first Big Green win of fewer than seven points against Harvard in 18 years.

Road Win Over Defending Ivy Tournament Champs
Dartmouth won at defending Ivy League Tournament Champion Yale on Jan. 6, 81-77, for the Big Green's first victory against the Bulldogs since 2015 and first at Yale since 2014. The win snapped Dartmouth's 12-game losing streak in the series. It was also the Bulldogs' first home loss this season. Junior Dusan Neskovic led the way with a career-high 24 points. It marked the most points scored by any player at Yale this season (home or away) and second most this season overall (behind Kentucky's Oscar Tshiebwe, who scored 28). The 24 marked the most points by an opponent at Yale since Princeton's Tosan Evbuomwan had 26 on Feb. 19, 2022.

The effort came against a Yale defense that entered tops in the Ivy League and seventh nationally in scoring defense coming in (56.9). The Bulldogs were also seventh in scoring margin (+18.4) and eighth in rebound margin (+9.9). Dartmouth ended up outrebounding Yale, 37-36, becoming just the third team this season to outrebound the Bulldogs (along with Hawaii and Kentucky).

Da Na Na, Da Na Na
Dartmouth men's basketball has found itself on ESPN SportsCenter Top 10 three times this season.

- Most recently, Dame Adelekun's sequence vs. Columbia on Jan. 28 when he had an emphatic dunk on one end, and seconds later, even more emphatic block on the other, made No. 4.
- Adelekun's block vs. Cornell on New Year's Day made the cut at No. 10. It was an impressive play in which he essentially caught the ball as the shot was going up (rather than swatting it away).
- The first #SCTop10 play came on Dec. 13 at Boston University via a Jaren Johnson chase down block.

3-Point Prowess
Dartmouth knocked down double-figure 3-pointers in three of the first four games of the season (11 at Fordham, 10 vs. Bryant and 13 against MCLA). That made it seven times in eight games with 10+ treys dating back to the end of 2021-22. (The Big Green had nine at Quinnipiac in game four.) It marked the first time the Big Green had double-digit made threes in their first three games of the season since 2018-19.

Dartmouth made 13 treys in consecutive games vs. NVU-Johnson and CSU Bakersfield. The 26 made threes were the most since the start of the 2021-22 season at Georgetown (16) and hosting NVU-Lyndon (14). It was also the first time with 13+ made threes consecutively since those two contests.

Block Party
Dartmouth's 4.1 blocks per game are second in the Ivy League and 82nd in the nation, owning 95 blocks in 23 games. Individually, senior Dame Adelekun's 42 blocks and 1.91 blocks per contest are tops in the league (and 40th and 35th in the nation, respectively). He's had three or more blocks six times, including a career high in back-to-back games — four at Central Connecticut State then five at Boston University.

The four blocks at CCSU marked the most for a Big Green player since Chris Knight had four on Feb. 8, 2019, at home vs. Cornell. The five at BU were the most since Jan. 17, 2015, when Gabas Maldunas had five against NJIT. In the first 5:21 of the second half, Adelekun posted nine points, four rebounds, four blocks and an assist in an incredible stretch of basketball. Going back to the first half, the Ivy League leader in blocks had all of his career-high five rejections in the span of 10:04 of game action.

Dominant Defense
In Dartmouth's weekend sweep of Penn and Harvard (Jan. 14 and 16), the Big Green defense impressed against some of the Ivy League's top scorers. Entering the weekend, the top three scorers were Penn's Jordan Dingle (24.2 entering Saturday), Harvard's Chris Ledlum (19.5 entering Monday's game) and Penn's Clark Slajchert (17.1 entering Saturday). Dingle's 24.2 points per game were also second nationally. The Big Green held the three to a combined 29 points — 31.8 points fewer than their scoring averages entering (which was 60.8). Dingle was held to a season-low 14 points, breaking a streak of 13 straight games scoring 20+ points. Slajchert was held to eight points while Ledlum was held to seven points (which tied a season low). Ledlum scored Harvard's first seven points of the game, but was held scoreless for the remainder of the contest. Foul trouble played a role, but even so, was held scoreless for the final 11:43 of his time on the court.

Follow Along
Saturday's game will be streamed on ESPN+ with Bob Lipman and former Dartmouth head coach Dave Faucher on the call. There will also be an audio broadcast on DartmouthSports.com with Justin McIsaac and Bill Murphy on the call.

What's Ahead?
Following this weekend, the Big Green hit the road for three straight games, traveling to Cornell next Friday (Feb. 17) and Cornell on Saturday (Feb. 18).

Schedules