# 1987–88 Princeton Tigers men's basketball team

The 1987–88 Princeton Tigers men's basketball team represented Princeton University in intercollegiate college basketball during the 1987–88 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The head coach was Pete Carril and the team captain was John Thompson III. The team played its home games in the Jadwin Gymnasium on the University campus in Princeton, New Jersey. The team finished third in the Ivy League, earning no postseason invitation to either the 1988 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament or the 1988 National Invitation Tournament. The team posted a 17–9 overall record and a 9–5 conference record.
The team was led by first team All-Ivy League selection Bob Scrabis. During the season, Bill Bradley was inducted into the College Sports Information Directors of America Academic All-America Hall of Fame. Using the Princeton offense, the team set the current National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I single-season three-point field goal field goal percentage record (minimum 200 made) with 49.2% shooting (211 of 429). In addition to leading the nation in three-point field goal percentage, the team led the nation in three-point field goals made per game (8.12). The subsequent twelve consecutive teams would highlight defense and lead the nation.
That season Princeton established Ivy League standards for career, single-season and single-game three-point field goal shooting. Dave Orlandini (51.3%) and Tim Neff (51.2%) ended their careers with what continue to be the two highest career three-point field goal percentages in Ivy League history. Orlandini also posted the current single-season record with 54.5% shooting. In addition, On December 16, 1987, against the Seton Hall Pirates, Orlandini made all five of his three-point attempts, which set the Ivy League single-game record for most made without a miss. Scrabis matched this record on March 4, 1988, against Columbia. These stood as unsurpassed as the Ivy League record until future Princeton Tigers head coach Sydney Johnson made all six for Princeton on February 28, 1997, but Orlandini's performance continues to be the league record for non-conference games. In addition, Kit Mueller shot 58.9% on his field goals to earn the first of three Ivy League statistical championships for field goal percentage.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site city, state |
| Non-conference regular season ||||||
| Nov, 1987* | Franklin & Marshall College | W 62–47 | 1–0 | Jadwin Gymnasium (657) Princeton, NJ |
| Dec 2, 1987* | La Salle | L 62–63 | 1–1 | Jadwin Gymnasium (1,100) Princeton, NJ |
| Dec 5, 1987* | Rutgers | W 69–49 | 2–1 | Jadwin Gymnasium (1,375) Princeton, NJ |
| Dec 9, 1987* | Lehigh | W 95–82 | 3–1 | Jadwin Gymnasium (991) Princeton, NJ |
| Dec 12, 1987* | at Utah | L 55–59 | 3–2 | Jon M. Huntsman Center (10,017) Salt Lake City, UT |
| Dec 15, 1987* | Seton Hall | W 61–59 | 4–2 | Jadwin Gymnasium (1,521) Princeton, NJ |
| Dec 19, 1987* | at Davidson | L 45–47 | 4–3 | Johnston Gym (1,886) Davidson, North Carolina |
| Dec 28, 1987* | vs. San Francisco Connecticut Mutual Classic | W 62–42 | 5–3 | Hartford Civic Center (12,103) Hartford, Connecticut |
| Dec 29, 1987* | vs. Connecticut Connecticut Mutual Classic | L 46–49 | 5–4 | Hartford Civic Center (10,839) Hartford, Connecticut |
| Jan 5, 1988* | Delaware | W 78–63 | 6–4 | Jadwin Gymnasium (464) Princeton, NJ |
| Jan 9, 1988* | at Fordham | W 66–59 | 7–4 | Rose Hill Gymnasium (6,573) Bronx, New York |
| Jan , 1988* | Washington & Jefferson | W 82–44 | 8–4 | Jadwin Gymnasium Princeton, NJ |
| Ivy League ||||||
| Jan 25, 1988 | Brown | W 72–60 | 9–4 (1–0) | Jadwin Gymnasium (1,368) Princeton, NJ |
| Jan 30, 1988 | Yale | W 52–46 | 10–4 (2–0) | Jadwin Gymnasium (2,135) Princeton, NJ |
| Feb 5, 1988 | at Cornell | L 55–60 | 10–5 (2–1) | Barton Hall (2,500) Ithaca, New York |
| Feb 6, 1988 | at Columbia | W 69–47 | 11–5 (3–1) | Levien Gymnasium (1,745) New York, New York |
| Feb 9, 1988 | at Pennsylvania | W 60–57 | 12–5 (4–1) | Palestra (6,297) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| Feb 12, 1988 | Dartmouth | W 66–43 | 13–5 (5–1) | Jadwin Gymnasium (4,127) Princeton, NJ |
| Feb 13, 1988 | Harvard | L 51–52 | 13–6 (5–2) | Jadwin Gymnasium (2,427) Princeton, NJ |
| Feb 19, 1988 | at Yale | L 60–61 | 13–7 (5–3) | Payne Whitney Gymnasium (1,230) New Haven, Connecticut |
| Feb 20, 1988 | at Brown | L 67–68 | 13–8 (5–4) | Marvel Gymnasium (623) Providence, Rhode Island |
| Feb 26, 1988 | at Harvard | W 59–54 | 14–8 (6–4) | Lavietes Pavilion (1,200) Boston, Massachusetts |
| Feb 27, 1988 | at Dartmouth | L 67–79 | 14–9 (6–5) | Leede Arena (2,120) Hanover, New Hampshire |
| Mar 1, 1988 | Pennsylvania | W 67–65 | 15–9 (7–5) | Jadwin Gymnasium Princeton, NJ |
| Mar 4, 1988 | Columbia | W 73–52 | 16–9 (8–5) | Jadwin Gymnasium Princeton, NJ |
| Mar 5, 1988 | Cornell | W 79–58 | 17–9 (9–5) | Jadwin Gymnasium Princeton, NJ |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. E=East. All times are in Eastern Time. ||||||