# 1964–65 Princeton Tigers men's basketball team

The 1964–65 Princeton Tigers men's basketball team represented Princeton University in intercollegiate college basketball during the 1964–65 NCAA University Division men's basketball season. Butch van Breda Kolff served as head coach and the team captain was Bill Bradley. The team played its home games in the Dillon Gymnasium in Princeton, New Jersey. The team was the champion of the Ivy League, earning an invitation to the 23-team 1965 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament.
The team posted a 23–6 overall record and a 13–1 conference record. The team won its NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament East region first round contest against the Penn State Nittany Lions by a 60–58 margin at The Palestra on March 8, 1965. Then in the East Regional at Cole Field House in College Park, Maryland, the team defeated NC State 66–48 on March 12 and Providence 109–69 on March 13. Then on March 19 in the national semifinal at the Memorial Coliseum Portland, Oregon, the team was defeated by the Cazzie Russell-led Michigan Wolverines 93–76 before beating the Wichita State Shockers 118–82 the following night. Bill Bradley earned the NCAA basketball tournament Most Outstanding Player award.
Bradley, who for third consecutive season led the conference in scoring with a 28.8 points per game average in conference games, was a first team All-Ivy League selection. In addition, Bradley was a repeat consensus first team 1965 NCAA Men's Basketball All-American selection by numerous panels: First team (Associated Press, United Press International, National Association of Basketball Coaches, United States Basketball Writers Association, Sporting News, Converse, NEA, Helms Foundation). Bradley also won a Rhodes Scholarship and was a territorial first round selection in the 1965 NBA draft by the New York Knicks. Bradley surpassed Arthur Loeb (1921–22 and 1922–23) and Cyril Haas (1915–16 and 1916–17) as the school's only three-time men's basketball All-American selection. Over the course of the season, Bradley won the national statistical championship for free throw percentage (88.6%, 273–308).
As a result of his performance against Wichita State in the final four, Bradley holds the following NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament records: single-game points scored in a final four (58), single-game field goals made in a final four (22), single-year two-game points scored in a final four (87), and single-year two-game field goals made in a final four (34). Additionally, Bradley formerly held the final four single-game free throw percentage record of 93.3% (minimum 10 made, 14–15), which was broken on March 23, 1972, and single-year two-game free throw percentage record 95.0% (minimum 12 made, 19–20), which was broken in 1972.
The team's performance against Wichita State established the current final four victory margin record (36) and the final four single-team single-half points scored record (65, tied). The team's performance formerly held two other final four records: single-half two-team points scored (108, broken March 25, 1972) and single-year two-game field goals made (78, broken in 1977).
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. His career points, career average, career field goals achieved in 1965 surpassed Tony Lavelli (1949), Chet Forte (1957) and Ernie Beck (1953), respectively. His single-game points record surpassed Lavelli's 52 set on February 26, 1949. His 1965 career 87.6% free throw percentage, which surpassed Gus Broberg's 1941 mark of 85.8%, stood as the Ivy League record until it was eclipsed by Joe Hieser in 1968.

## Schedule and results

The team posted a 23–6 (13–1 Ivy League) record.
| Date time, TV | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site city, state |
| Regular season ||||||
| Dec 2, 1964* | Lafayette | W 83–74 | 1–0 | Dillon Gym Princeton, New Jersey |
| Dec 5, 1964* | at Army | W 64–60 | 2–0 | Gillis Field House West Point, New York |
| Dec 8, 1964* | at Villanova | L 60–61 $^{OT}$ | 2–1 | Villanova Field House Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| Dec 11, 1964* | Colgate | W 81–53 | 3–1 | Dillon Gym Princeton, New Jersey |
| Dec 12, 1964* | Navy | W 77–67 | 4–1 | Dillon Gym Princeton, New Jersey |
| Dec 14, 1964* | at Rutgers | W 92–79 | 5–1 | College Avenue Gymnasium Piscataway, New Jersey |
| Dec 17, 1964* | at No. 10 Saint Louis | L 71–90 | 5–2 | Kiel Auditorium St. Louis, Missouri |
| Dec 28, 1964* | vs. Syracuse ECAC Holiday Classic | W 79–69 | 6–2 | Madison Square Garden New York, New York |
| Dec 30, 1964* | vs. No. 1 Michigan ECAC Holiday Classic | L 78–80 | 6–3 | Madison Square Garden New York, New York |
| Jan 2, 1965* | at Cincinnati | L 69–71 | 6–4 | Armory Fieldhouse Cincinnati, Ohio |
| Jan 8, 1965 | Yale | W 57–56 | 7–4 (1–0) | Dillon Gym Princeton, New Jersey |
| Jan 9, 1965 | Brown | W 80–58 | 8–4 (2–0) | Dillon Gym Princeton, New Jersey |
| Jan 15, 1965 | at Columbia | W 78–68 | 9–4 (3–0) | University Gymnasium New York, New York |
| Jan 16, 1965 | at Cornell | L 69–70 | 9–5 (3–1) | Barton Hall Ithaca, New York |
| Jan 30, 1965 | at Penn | W 83–72 | 10–5 (4–1) | The Palestra Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| Feb 5, 1965 | at Brown | W 69–49 | 11–5 (5–1) | Marvel Gymnasium Providence, Rhode Island |
| Feb 6, 1965 | at Yale | W 67–62 | 12–5 (6–1) | John J. Lee Amphitheater New Haven, Connecticut |
| Feb 12, 1965 | Harvard | W 76–55 | 13–5 (7–1) | Dillon Gym Princeton, New Jersey |
| Feb 13, 1965 | Dartmouth | W 103–64 | 14–5 (8–1) | Dillon Gym Princeton, New Jersey |
| Feb 19, 1965 | at Dartmouth | W 83–57 | 15–5 (9–1) | Alumni Gym Hanover, New Hampshire |
| Feb 20, 1965 | at Harvard | W 82–72 | 16–5 (10–1) | Lavietes Pavilion Cambridge, Massachusetts |
| Feb 26, 1965 | Columbia | W 93–60 | 17–5 (11–1) | Dillon Gym Princeton, New Jersey |
| Feb 27, 1965 | Cornell | W 107–84 | 18–5 (12–1) | Dillon Gym Princeton, New Jersey |
| Mar 3, 1965 | Penn | W 81–71 | 19–5 (13–1) | Dillon Gym Princeton, New Jersey |
| NCAA tournament ||||||
| Mar 8, 1965* | vs. Penn State First round | W 60–58 | 20–5 | The Palestra Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| Mar 12, 1965* | vs. NC State Regional Semifinal – Sweet Sixteen | W 66–48 | 21–5 | Cole Fieldhouse College Park, Maryland |
| Mar 13, 1965* | vs. No. 4 Providence Regional final – Elite Eight | W 109–69 | 22–5 | Cole Fieldhouse College Park, Maryland |
| Mar 19, 1965* | vs. No. 1 Michigan National Semifinal – Final Four | L 76–93 | 22–6 | Memorial Coliseum Portland, Oregon |
| Mar 20, 1965* | vs. Wichita State National Consolation | W 118–82 | 23–6 | Memorial Coliseum Portland, Oregon |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. ||||||

## NCAA tournament

The team advanced to the 1965 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament Final four.
    3/8/65 in Philadelphia, Pa.: Princeton 60, Penn State 58
East Regional
    3/12/65 in College Park, Md.: Princeton 66, N.C. State 48
    3/13/65 in College Park, Md.: Princeton 109, Providence 69
Final Four
    3/19/65 in Portland, Ore.: Michigan 93, Princeton 76
    3/20/65 in Portland, Ore.: Princeton 118, Wichita State 82

## Awards and honors

* Bill Bradley
** NCAA basketball tournament Most Outstanding Player
** Ivy League Scoring Champion
** First Team All-Ivy League
** 1965 NCAA Men's Basketball All-American (consensus)
** All-East
* Gary Walters
** Honorable Mention All-Ivy League
* Ed Hummer
** Honorable Mention All-Ivy League

## Team players drafted into the NBA

Two players from this team were selected in the NBA draft.
| Year | Round | Pick | Player | NBA Club |
| 1965 | 1 | 2 | Bill Bradley | New York Knicks |
| 1967 | 6 | 17 | Ed Hummer | Boston Celtics |
Future Major League Baseball (MLB) executive Larry Lucchino was a reserve on the team.