Column: Princeton was never going to get ranked this soon, and that’s OK

In which I work out all my thoughts about where Princeton belonged (or belongs?) in the Associated Press Top 25 poll.

From left to right, Matt Allocco, Caden Pierce and Mitch Henderson speak with the media after a win. (Photo by Adam Zielonka)

After his team beat Northeastern Nov. 25, Princeton coach Mitch Henderson was asked if he knew the last time the Tigers started a season 6-0.

“97-98, yeah,” Henderson said. “I want to not talk about that if you don’t mind. It’s ancient history.”

Of course he knew – Henderson was a senior captain on that team. This was two years after the Tigers upset UCLA in a 13-versus-4 game in the NCAA Tournament, and Pete Carril retired from the most successful coaching run in Ivy League history. That year’s team ended up winning its first seven games before an eight-point loss at North Carolina.

What Henderson didn’t know on Nov. 25 was that Princeton would blow past that mark and win its first nine games, including a buzzer-beater to stun Furman the next week. The last Princeton team to start a season 9-0 was in 1919-20.

But back to 1997-98. That Princeton team holds another distinction in program history: the last team to crack the Associated Press Top 25 poll. This year’s Tigers just had a realistic chance of hitting that milestone, too, but now I realize it was never meant to be.