The Bells Must Ring - A Rutgers Basketball History Blog: Rutgers 61

Rutgers Daily Targum - December 18, 1968

After the St. Louis game on December 12th, Rutgers was scheduled to play at Delaware two days later, but the game was cancelled by the Blue Hens because their team had been decimated by the flu which had been very bad that month. Next up was the annual clash with Princeton on Tuesday, December 17th at the Rutgers Gym. It's fair to say that in those days that the two biggest games on the schedule were Princeton and Army. Princeton because of the historic connection and the proximity of the two schools, Army because of a coach named Bobby Knight.

Rutgers Daily Targum - December 16, 1968

Rutgers Daily Targum - December 17, 1968

While the lost Delaware game deprived Rutgers of a winnable game, Bob Greacen remembers that the cancellation "gave us more time to prepare for Princeton, who was really good and had beaten us badly the year before. The last victory over the Tigers in New Brunswick had been during the 1953-54 season. This year's team was led by [Geoff] Petrie and [John] Hummer, both of whom would become NBA first round picks, and they were coached by Pete Carril known for his bow ties and his annoyingly slow style of play." While Princeton was only 2-2 at the time, they finished 19-7 and went undefeated in the Ivy League winning the conference championship and an NCAA bid.

Newark Star Ledger - December 17, 1968

Courtesy of Jack Penhall

Trenton Evening Times - December 18, 1968

As Bob Greacen remembered, Princeton "had humiliated us the year before on their court and we were ready for them. We played really well, our #4 defense bothered them, and we were up by 15 with eight minutes to play. Brittelle was brilliant scoring 21 against his 6'10" rival Thomforde. They made a furious comeback and tied the game with less than a minute to play. I made one of two free throws and we survived a last-second desperation shot and won 61-60."