Big Green Travel to Princeton for MLK Day Matchup

GAME 15
Dartmouth (4-10, 0-1 Ivy League) at Princeton (13-1, 1-0 Ivy League)
Date: Monday, January 15, 2023 – 2 p.m.
Location: Princeton, N.J. – Jadwin Gymnasium
All-Time Series: Princeton, 159-64

Setting the Scene
Following an Ivy League opening defeat at Penn last Saturday, the Dartmouth men's basketball team returns to action after more than a week as the Big Green travel to Princeton face the 13-1 Tigers. Opening tipoff inside Jadwin Gymnasium is set for 2 p.m. After Monday's Martin Luther King Jr. Day game, Dartmouth will be home for four straight games, with its next road game 26 days later at Harvard. The Big Green will be facing a Tigers' team on Monday that is coming off a Sweet 16 appearance last season, with Dartmouth finishing 1-1 against Princeton in 2023 via an overtime loss and home victory.

The Big Green will look to bounce back from a tough 80-51 loss at Penn in the Ivy League opener for both sides. The teams were even just over four minutes into the game, but after a defensive start, the Quakers caught fire. They scored 37 points in one span of 8:20 to turn a 9-4 Penn lead into a 46-17 advantage. At one point, the Quakers knocked down nine straight 3-pointers and 15-of-16 field goals. Penn first year Tyler Perkins scored all 19 of his points in the first half. The Big Green responded in the second to pull as close as 17 with 15:37 on the clock. That gave Dartmouth a 16-4 run bridging the end of the first and beginning of the second. However, that's as close as the Big Green would come.

Dartmouth's starters scored just 20 points, with 13 of them coming from sophomore Jayden Williams. Junior Ryan Cornish came up big off the bench, scoring a season-high 17 points on 6-of-11 shooting, including 3-of-6 from 3-point range. Cornish and Williams combined to shoot 10-of-19 from the floor and 6-of-13 from behind the arc. The rest of the team was 6-of-21 and 3-of-18.

The Big Green have struggled on the road this season, standing 0-8 compared to 4-2 at home. Dartmouth won two big Ivy League games last season at Yale and Harvard, along with a slim 93-90 overtime defeat at Princeton. A Brandon Mitchell-Day 3-pointer put Dartmouth ahead, 76-71, in the final two minutes of regulation, but the Tigers rallied to force overtime. The Big Green avenged the loss with an 83-76 home win on Feb. 11. After that game, Princeton lost just one more game on its way to the Sweet 16.

Dartmouth was the only Ivy League team to outscore Princeton last season, holding a four-point edge on the year (173-169). This season, the Tigers currently stand 13-1 and are 26th in the most recent NCAA Net Rankings. Their only loss has come at Saint Joseph's and they're riding a nine-game home winning streak dating back to last season.

With a win...
- The Big Green would beat Princeton for a second straight time for the first time since February of 2007 when they won on the road, 45-44 and at home, 53-43.
- Dartmouth would snap a 14-game losing streak at Princeton and win at Princeton for the first time since Feb. 21, 2009 — a 66-63 victory.
- The Big Green would improve to 1-1 in the Ivy League for a third straight season and fourth time in five seasons.
- Dartmouth head coach David McLaughlin would win his 250th career game as a collegiate head coach (including his time at Stonehill).
- Dartmouth would win its first road game of the season and snap a 11-game road losing streak dating back to last season; the Big Green's last road win came on Monday, Jan. 16 at Harvard.

Last Time Out
PHILADELPHIA (1/6/24) — Penn scored 37 points in the span of 8:20 in the first half to turn a 9-4 Quakers' lead into a 46-17 advantage, a deficit the Dartmouth men's basketball team couldn't overtime in an 80-51 defeat on Saturday afternoon inside the Palestra. The Big Green responded from Penn's run with a 16-4 run of their own, bridging the end of the first half and beginning of the second, but Dartmouth couldn't get any closer than 17.

Scouting Princeton
Princeton stands 13-1 on the season, standing 9-0 before its first loss, 74-70 at Saint Joseph's on Dec. 10. The Tigers have responded with four straight victories, including an 89-58 Ivy League opening win at home against Harvard. In Princeton's 9-0 start was a win against Rutgers, then victories over Hofstra, Duquesne, Monmouth, Old Dominion, Northeastern, Bucknell, Furman and Drexel.

Sophomore Xaivian Lee has been a sensation, standing third in the Ivy League in scoring (18.1). Caden Pierce is second on the Tigers in scoring (14.4), followed by Matt Allocco (13.1). Pierce's 9.1 rebounds per game lead the Ivy League, and he's had six double-doubles, which is good for second in the league and 26th in the nation. Lee leads the team in assists (50). As a team, Princeton stands fifth nationally in free throw percentage (79.5), sixth in winning percentage (92.9), eighth in 3-pointers per game (10.9), ninth in 3-point attempts per game (29.6), 11th in fewest turnovers per game (9.4) and 14th in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.66) (all rankings after games Wednesday, Jan. 10).

All-Time Against the Tigers
Dartmouth's 83-76 home win over Princeton last Feb. 11 snapped an eight-game losing streak and pulled the Big Green within 159-64 in the all-time series. The Tigers have still won 15 of the last 17 meetings. Prior to last season, the Big Green's previous two wins were Feb. 10, 2018 (72-56) and Feb. 21, 2009 (66-63), both at Dartmouth. 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.

Taking Down the (BU) Terriers
Dartmouth beat Boston University, 63-54, on Wednesday, Dec. 13.

- The Big Green held the Terriers to their fewest points in the all-time series since a 64-53 Dartmouth win on Jan. 27, 1962 —19 games ago.
- Junior Romeo Myrthil was the story offensively for the Big Green, scoring a career-high 18 points on just seven field goal attempts (making five). He was 3-of-4 from 3-point range, including two 3-pointers as part of Dartmouth's 9-0 run to turn a 39-39 tie into a 48-39 lead. Thursday (Dec. 14) was Myrthil's birthday, but his home country of Sweden is six hours ahead of the Eastern time zone, so Myrthil's career performance came on his birthday… in Sweden.
- Dartmouth's 54 points allowed marked a season best.
- The win snapped Dartmouth's three-game losing streak against the Terriers and marked only the Big Green's second victory in their last six tries in the series.

Double Trouble
Sophomore Brandon Mitchell-Day has two double-doubles this season.

- at Vermont (Nov. 29): 10 points, 10 rebounds
- at Saint Louis (Nov. 25): 17 points, 10 rebounds

At Vermont on Nov. 29, Mitchell-Day recorded his second straight double-double, becoming the first Dartmouth player to do so since Chris Knight in February of 2020. Knight actually did so in three straight games, posting 27 points and 13 rebounds vs. Princeton (Feb. 22), 17 and 13 at Cornell (Feb. 28) and 19 and 10 at Columbia (Feb. 29).

Granite State Supremacy
On Wednesday, Dec. 6, Dartmouth took as much as a 23-point second-half lead over UNH, easily cruising past the Wildcats, 76-64. Sophomore Jayden Williams led the offense with a career-high 28 points, knocking down eight 3-pointers on just 10 attempts; it marked Dartmouth's fifth straight game with a 20-point scorer.

The win came over a UNH team that entered 6-3 and without the Big Green's top two scorers due to injury, senior Dusan Neskovic and sophomore Brandon Mitchell-Day. Williams' eight 3-pointers were just one from tying a program record and tied for the fifth most made threes in the nation this season. It was the most made triples by a Dartmouth player since Brendan Barry knocked down eight on Dec. 14, 2018 against Boston University. Williams also set career highs in rebounds (5), assists (4) and blocks (2) to help him earn Ivy League Player of the Week honors.

As a team, the Big Green knocked down a season-high 14 3-pointers. Dartmouth did not turn the ball over until 5:41 into the second half, finishing with just five, which were its fewest since also having five on Dec. 19, 2021 at Cal. UNH had just seven turnovers, as both teams took care of the basketball. The Big Green finished with 19 assists, a season high and most since last season's finale vs. Harvard.

Block Party
The Big Green tallied nine blocks on Dec. 2 at UAlbany, their most since Dec. 21, 2013 when they also had nine against Longwood. Juniors Nikola Dimitrijevic and Romeo Myrthil each posted a career-high four blocks, while senior Jaren Johnson recorded the other.

20-Point Notables...
- Senior Dusan Neskovic became the first Big Green player with 20 points in back-to-back road games since Brendan Barry in February of 2022. Barry had 25 at Yale (Feb. 4) followed by 21 at Brown (Feb. 5).
- Prior to Neskovic, the previous time a Big Green player scored 20 in back-to-back non-conference road games since Alex Barnett in 2008. Barnett scored 28 at Providence (Nov. 18) and 32 at Vermont (Dec. 2).
- As a team, the Big Green had a 20-point scorer in three of the first four games of the season (Neskovic 23 at Duke, sophomore Brandon Mitchell-Day 20 vs. Westfield State and Neskovic 24 at Saint Louis), the first time that's happened since the 2008-09 season. That year, Barnett had all the 20-point games, posting 28 at Providence, 24 vs. Colgate and 24 against Furman.
- Dartmouth had a 20-point scorer in five consecutive games (vs. Westfield State, at Saint Louis, at Vermont, at UAlbany and vs. New Hampshire). It marked the first time since at least the turn of the century that the Big Green have had a 20-point scorer in six of the first seven games of the season.
- Against New Hampshire (Dec. 6), Jayden Williams' 28 points marked a season high for a Dartmouth player and the most by a Big Green player since Dame Adelekun scored 41 last Jan. 28 against Columbia.

McRae III and Myrthil Named Captains
Dartmouth head men's basketball coach David McLaughlin announced that senior Robert McRae III and junior Romeo Myrthil will serve as the Big Green's team captains in 2023-24. The two will look to lead an experienced group that features seven returning players who led the team in scoring at least once this past season.

McRae emerged as a junior, especially in Ivy League play when he became a regular in the Big Green rotation. After appearing in two games as a sophomore, he played in 24 as a junior, starting once and averaging 2.5 points and 1.8 rebounds. His impact on the defensive end of the floor was also strong, along with his impact on the game in intangible ways. Three games into the season, McRae scored a career-high 18 points in just 15 minutes against MCLA, shooting 5-of-7 from the floor and 5-of-6 from the free throw line. He later made his first-career start at UMass and filled up the box score with nine points, seven rebounds, three steals and an assist. In Ivy League play, McRae scored nine points in a mid-February weekend — four at Cornell and five at Columbia.

Myrthil averaged 3.6 points and 2.0 rebounds as a junior in 25 games, starting eight times. Like McRae, Myrthil's impact came at both ends of the floor and in ways not always evident in the box score. Offensively, he reached double-figure points on three occasions, including a career-high 12 in a home win over Princeton and 11 both against CSU Bakersfield and at South Florida. For the season, Myrthil shot 42.7 percent from the floor (32-of-75) and 36.6 percent from 3-point range (15-of-41). After starting the first eight games of the season, Myrthil came off the bench in game nine and he responded with 27 points over the next three games (11 points against CSU Bakersfield followed by nine vs. Vermont and seven at CCSU).

History in Cameron Indoor Stadium
In the season opener at Duke on Monday, Nov. 6, the Big Green were led by junior Dusan Neskovic, who scored 23 points for a second straight season opener (also 23 last Nov. 7 at Fordham). He scored 15 of those points in the second half at Duke, shooting 7-of-11 over the final 20 minutes. Neskovic finished 11-of-19 for the game, which included knocking down a second-half 3-pointer.
- Neskovic's 23 points were the most scored by a Duke opponent in the Blue Devils' home opener since Davidson's De'Mon Brooks scored 24 on Nov. 8, 2013.
- It was also the most scored by any non-conference opponent at Duke's Cameron Indoor Stadium since Kevon Harris of Stephen F. Austin had 26 on Nov. 26, 2019.

Scoring Output
Seven different Big Green players have led the team in scoring this season.

Dusan Neskovic: 6 - at Duke (11/6), at Saint Louis (11/25), at Vermont (11/29), vs. UAlbany (12/2), at Sacred Heart (12/21), at Vanderbilt (tied) (12/30)
Jaren Johnson: 2 - vs. UMass Lowell (11/10), at Le Moyne (tied) (12/16)
Brandon Mitchell-Day: 2 - vs. Westfield State (11/15), at Vanderbilt (tied) (12/30)
Ryan Cornish: 2 - vs. Marist (12/9), at Penn (1/6)
Jayden Williams: 1 - vs. New Hampshire (12/6)
Romeo Myrthil: 1 - vs. Boston University (12/13)
Connor Christensen: 1 - vs. Thomas College (12/18)
Nikola Dimitrijevic: 1 - at Le Moyne (tied) (12/16)

Preseason Poll Released
The Ivy League Men's Basketball Preseason Poll was released on Tuesday, Oct. 17, which saw the Dartmouth men's basketball team come in seventh. Yale was picked as the preseason favorite with 124 points (14 first-place votes) followed closely by Princeton with 110 points (two first-place votes). Cornell came in third with 80 points followed by Brown (77), Penn (68), Harvard (66), Dartmouth (28) and Columbia (23).

Sustained Success
Since Feb. 17, 2022, the Big Green are tied for the fourth best record in the league in Ivy League games (regular season or postseason).

Princeton: 17-5
Yale: 16-6
Penn: 11-9
Dartmouth: 10-10
Cornell: 10-10
Brown: 8-11
Harvard: 7-13
Columbia: 2-17

International Experience
Four members of the Big Green hail from outside of the United States — Dusan Neskovic (Bosnia and Herzegovina), Romeo Myrthil (Sweden), Nikola Dimitrijevic (Serbia) and Ben Brown (England). Neskovic is the first Big Green player from Banja Luka since Vedad Osmanovic '02, who scored 697 points. The four international players are tied with the 2021-22 team for the most international players on a Dartmouth men's basketball roster.

Follow Along
Monday's game can be seen live on ESPN+.

What's Ahead?
After Monday's contest, the Big Green return home for the next four games, beginning vs. Yale next Saturday, Jan. 20 at 2 p.m.

Schedules