READY FOR THE MADNESS: Princeton University men’s basketball player Blake Peters dribbles upcourt in a game earlier this season. Last Saturday, senior guard Peters scored a career-high 25 points to help Princeton defeat Penn 95-71 and clinch the final spot in the upcoming Ivy Madness postseason tournament. The Tigers, now 19-10 overall and 8-6 Ivy, are seeded fourth in Ivy Madness and will face top-seeded Yale (20-7 overall, 13-1 Ivy) in a semifinal contest on March 15 in Providence, R.I. The victor will advance to the final on March 16 to play for the league’s automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

By Bill Alden

It was Senior Day for Blake Peters as the Princeton University men’s basketball team hosted Penn last Saturday afternoon and he wanted to make sure it wasn’t his last game in a Princeton uniform.

With a win over the rival Quakers clinching the final spot in the upcoming Ivy Madness postseason tournament without the need for results in other games to go their way, Peters and the Tigers were determined to take care of business.

“We knew what was going on throughout the league so we knew the stakes of the game,” said star guard Peters who was honored in a pregame ceremony along with classmates Philip Byriel and Darius Gakwasi. “You always want to be playing your best basketball at this time of the year.”

Peters ended up playing one of his best games at Princeton, pouring in a career-high 25 points as the Tigers cruised to a 95-71 victory over Penn before a crowd of 3,649 at Jadwin Gym. Princeton, now 19-10 overall and 8-6 Ivy, is seeded fourth in Ivy Madness and will face top-seeded Yale (20-7 overall, 13-1 Ivy) in a semifinal contest on March 15 in Providence, R.I. The victor will advance to the final on March 16 to play for the league’s automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.

“I did my best Zach Martini impression from last year,” said Peters, referring to one of last year’s senior stars who hit a key three-pointer in a 79-77 win over Cornell on his Senior Night last March. “When you have the guy to my right (Xaivian Lee) passing me the ball and making plays, it is easy. Him and Cade [Pierce] both. We are very close the three of us, I am just really happy that I got the opportunity to play with them. You just have to find the spots and Xaivian will find you. That is what happened.”

For Peters, saving his best for his last in his final appearance in Jadwin was something he will never forget.

“I had three dreams going up – Princeton, Michigan and Stanford and only one of them wanted me,” said Peters a 6’1, 192-pound native of Evanston, Ill. who shot 9-of-14 from the floor in the win, including 7 of 12 from 3-point range and became the seventh player in program history to make 200 career 3-pointers. “As I have told so many people, this place has changed my life. The program has changed my life. It has been the greatest honor to represent Princeton. I hope the way I practice, the way I play is a direct reflection of how I feel about this place. I have emotions but I will save the tears for another day, hopefully after three more games. I am really happy with how the four years have gone.”

Lee, for his part, sensed that Peters was primed for a big performance against the Quakers.

“I told him he was going to go for his career high before the game, I said I feel it,” said Lee. “He came out and just absolutely made shots as usual. It is nice in a game like this where we need to get going a little bit and I think we did a great job. That carries momentum into next weekend obviously. Blake is so consistent, not just his shooting but everything else too. It is real easy to win when he is playing like that and it makes my job a whole lot easier.”

Princeton head coach Mitch Henderson credited Peters with exemplifying what the Tiger program stands for.

“You realize after you have coached for a long time that you are blessed or fortunate, it is a gift to coach people like Blake,” said Henderson. “Every single day, he is Princeton basketball. He gives us everything he has got, he personifies us. He is locked in all of the time. There is never any body language ever. He had to deal with a lot this season and he has always been consistent. I benched him to start the season, I brought him into the game, I started him. I am so humbled and honored to be his coach.”

Henderson is honored to be making a return trip to Ivy Madness in a roller-coaster campaign that saw the Tigers lose six of 10 Ivy games heading into Saturday.

“It is not the path that we thought we would take this season but we are 19-10 and we are in the Ivy League tournament,” said Henderson, who has guided Princeton to seven appearances in Ivy Madness in the eight seasons it has been held. “We know very well what it is like to be the one seed in this tournament. We are looking forward to getting up there. The Ivy League does a great job of making it feel like a tournament atmosphere which it is. We know what that tournament feels like but we know what the one after that feels like even more. There is great incentive. I am just really happy that we get a chance to prepare for it.”

In dominating Penn, the Tigers posted their 13th straight win over the Quakers and tied the all-time series with their longtime rivals at 126-126.

“It is players, really good players and guys that listen; there have been a lot of close games with these guys,” said Henderson, who notched his 251st win at Princeton to pass Franklin “Cappy” Cappon for second place all-time in program history, trailing only Pete Carril’s total of 514.

“In 1905 that series was last tied. It wasn’t that important when I got here or having a streak. There is no love lost between these two programs and certainly not for me. I lost to them four times. I think rivalries are really important to acknowledge and talk about and that is what is has been like for us.”

For Peters, going 9-0 against Penn is an important achievement.

“It starts with our associate head coach Brett McConnell, he puts a great scout together,” said Peters, reflecting on the streak. “Through my four years, there had been core sets that they have run. He just drills it in us so there is that. But as coach says, it is also the players. We watched a video before the game today with some of the big plays we have had throughout the years against them with guys like Keeshawn Kellman, Tosan Evbuomwan, Ryan Langborg, and Matt Allocco. When you have a lineup like that for two and three years, that definitely helps. It is a full team effort, players and staff.”

Lee accomplished a milestone of his own in the win, producing his second career triple-double as he tallied 23 points, 12 assists, and 10 rebounds.

“I knew I was close, I needed a couple of rebounds, I needed a couple of assists,” said Lee, who is the only player in program history with a recorded triple-double. “I was trying to play as usual and then whatever happens, happens.”

Building on the performance against Penn, Lee believes Princeton can make some good things happen in Ivy Madness.

“I am excited, it is a lot different when you are going in without anything to lose,” said Lee, referring to the 2024 event which saw top-seeded Princeton fall 90-81 to fourth-seeded Brown in the semifinal round. “It is a very different experience than coming into the tournament last year. I am happy to be the hunter, not the hunted. Coming in as underdogs, I think that takes a lot of the pressure off. We can just go out there and hoop. We are going to prepare for that super bowl and give it our best shot. We expect to win two games.”

Peters, for his part, is excited for round three with the Bulldogs.

“This is the best Yale team that we have seen,” said Peters of the Bulldogs who topped the Tigers 77-70 and 84-57 in two regular season meetings. “It is going to take a pretty big effort from me, Xaivian, Cade, and the rest of the guys. We are fully prepared for that. We are excited, we don’t back down from a challenge despite what some of the scores have been in the past couple of weeks. We are fully locked in and ready to embrace that.”

Henderson believes the way the Tigers played in the win over Penn was a big step forward as they head into the postseason.

“The main thing is that you want to be playing great basketball for 70 possessions, we made real big progress on that front today,” said Henderson. “That is what I am most happy about. Our tails were between our legs a bit last Sunday (after a 102-70 loss at Cornell) but now we can focus on Yale. We have a great familiarity with them. It is taking care of the ball. It is an 11:00 tip so it is be wide awake at 11. We will be ready, these guys will know what to do. They just have to be themselves.”

Despite the inconsistency displayed by the Tigers this winter, Henderson believes the Tigers are in the right frame of mind to do some damage in Providence.

“The main thing about us, one-through-15 is being all on the same page,” said Henderson. “That has been our challenge all season, we made some progress about that this week with some off-court stuff, some good conversations. It is a really good Yale team, so that is the focus. It is trying to find the right mix all season. I think we are on it now. It is go time. I say bring your heater, your fastball. It is time to play.”