Brown men's hoops hopes 50th time a charm at Jadwin Saturday

There is home-court advantage. And then there is this.

It is a known fact that teams play better at home. Aided by the support of the crowd and familiar rims, some teams are nearly unbeatable at home.

When men's basketball takes the floor Saturday against Brown, it will have more than the normal advantages. It will have history — and a history like no other — on its side.

Brown has never won at Princeton. The Bears are 0-49 lifetime on the road against the Tigers — the longest such streak of its kind in the nation. Only Clemson, which has lost 46 straight at North Carolina, comes close.

Coaches and players will say it does not matter. History has nothing to do with the present. But it still never ceases to amaze.

Brown has beaten the Tigers in Rhode Island. The Bears have also won an Ivy League title — only Harvard has never accomplished that. And many times Brown has come within seconds of victory over a host Tiger team, but the Bears have never overcome their Princeton jinx.

ESPN Classic?

It all began in 1929. Fresh off a win over North Carolina and a 16-14 squeaker over Temple, the "varsity cagers" — as they were in called in the 'Prince' — defeated Brown, 27-14. From then on the rules, the scores, the players and the coaches have all changed. As long as the game has taken place in Princeton, however, the result has been the same.

The Bears have had several near-wins. In 1975, when Penn was headed to the NCAA tournament for the sixth straight time, it took clutch free throws from Armond Hill '85 — currently the head coach at Columbia — to give Princeton a 61-57 victory.

In the mid-1980s, the two teams played two consecutive close games at Jadwin Gym. And the Bears were downed twice by the heroics of Aaron Belz '87.

In 1985, the second half of the game saw six ties and four lead changes. Belz came off the bench and nailed a right-side jumper with 42 seconds remaining, knotting the score at 56-56. Then center Howard Levy '85 — now an assistant coach with the Tigers — hit a layup with one second remaining to clinch the win, 58-56. John Thompson III '88, also a Princeton assistant, led the Tigers with 14 points.

In 1986, the Bears seemed destined for a win. They came into Jadwin with the conference lead and would eventually win the title. Princeton would finish a meager 7-7 in Ivy play.

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But the night after Yale had captured its first-ever win at Princeton, Belz once again broke Brown's back. Nicknamed "Hondo" after famous Celtics sixth man John Havlicek, he did his namesake proud by stealing the ball from Brown's Mike Waitkus to clinch the win. Belz also scored eight of the Tigers' last 12 points.

Another current assistant, Joe Scott '87, was the hero of that game. His two free throws sealed the 54-53 win.

Then in 1993, Brown almost pulled off a comeback rivaling Princeton's 'Palestra Miracle' last year at Penn. The Bears fell behind by 21 points as Princeton went 16 for 22 from the field in the first half. Then the Tigers went stone cold. They went 8:30 without a field goal and ended up shooting 3 of 18 in the second half. With one minute remaining, the Bears tied the score, 56-56.

Guard Chris Yetman '94, who led the Tigers with 17 points, saved the streak. He scored the final four points of the game on free throws for a 60-56 win.

This season's Tigers (17-9 overall, 9-2 Ivy League) were victorious in the first meeting this season Feb. 4 in Providence, R.I. Princeton, led by sophomore forward Ray Robins' 23 points, shot 60 percent from the field and cruised to a 76-60 victory.

Saturday's game could very well be insignificant in the Ivy League title race. Brown (8-17, 4-8) is currently in sixth place, and Princeton needs Penn (18-7, 11-0) to lose to have any shot at a share of the title. It is, however, Senior Night. Forward Mason Rocca will play his last home game, and it is likely the Princeton fans will be out in force to send him off.

The Bears, on the other hand, would love to send Rocca out on a losing note. But to do it, they'll have to overcome more than just the Tigers. They'll have to defeat history as well.