Monmouth Hawks (4-5, 0-0 MAAC) at Princeton Tigers (1-6, 0-0 Ivy)
Tuesday, December 10, 2019 - 8:00 p.m. EST
Jadwin Gymnasium - Princeton, NJ
TV
ESPN+
Play-by-Play: Derek Jones
Analyst: Noah Savage
RADIO
Shore Sports Network 1160/1310AM
Play-by-Play: Eddy Occhipinti
Analyst: Steve Bazaz
SCOUTING THE TIGERS
Princeton comes in off a loss to Drexel, and have just one win to their non-conference credit over Bucknell, but are led by a pair of high-powered scorers in Jaelin Llewellyn (17.4ppg) and Richmond Aririguzoh (13.9ppg). The latter also leads the Tigers in rebounding at just under nine per game.
PRINCETON HEAD COACH MITCH HENDERSON
Mitch Henderson is in his ninth season at the helm of the Tigers, taking the top job at Princeton just 21 days after King Rice took over the Monmouth program in the spring of 2011. He has 149 wins to his credit and has taken his teams to four national postseason tournaments.
PRINCETON AT HOME
Princeton is 0-2 at home this season, with losses to Lafayette and Arizona State, both by single digits. Last season, the Tigers went 7-5 at home.
HAWKS ON THE ROAD
Monmouth is 1-4 in true road games this season, beating Lehigh and falling to Hofstra before dropping three high-major contests.
RICE AND HENDERSON MATCH UP
Today's head coaches have both been at the helm of their respective institutions for eight seasons, playing each other twice with each head man winning at home. Rice and Henderson were named head coaches just 21 days apart, with Rice taking over MU on March 30, 2011 before Henderson secured the Princeton job on April 20, 2011.
AN ALL-TIME NOTE
Monmouth and Princeton have played two of the 12 lowest scoring games in the NCAA shot clock era, including the lowest combined scoring game in NCAA history. MU topped Princeton 41-21 on 12/14/05, with Princeton's 21 points marking as the least ever in the shot clock era until 2008, when George Washington held Saint Louis to just 20 total points. The 1999 matchup between the teams finished with 72 total points, a 37-35 Tigers win, the 12th least points in a game in NCAA history.
TWO GAMES IN DECEMBER
Monmouth will play just twice in December, marking it as the least amount of games in the final month of the calendar in the programs Division I history. It marks the least amount of games the Hawks will play in an regular-season month (November-February) in the King Rice era, and least in a month since November 2002, when MU played just twice. The 2002 season did not begin until November 23, and MU played on 11/23 and 11/30 for the only two games of the calendar month. In comparison, Monmouth had already completed seven games this season by November 23rd.
SCHEDULING QUIRK
Monmouth will play two games in a span of 36 days after opening the season with nine games in 22 days. The Hawks have layoffs of 13 days (11/27-12/10), 11 days (12/10-12/21) and another 12 days (12/21-1/3).
STAY HOT, DEION
In his last four contests, Deion Hammond is averaging 20.5 points, 4.8 rebounds and has three consecutive 20+ point performances in that stretch. He is shooting 44.4% from the field and 92.9% from the free throw line, leading the Hawks in every category during that stretch.
