Sunshine Hoops ... And It's Almost Time For TAGD

How was your Thanksgiving? 

Hopefully it was good. TigerBlog's was. It included a woman who came late because she is an obstetrician who had to deliver a baby first. TB made sure to ask her if she'd washed her hands when she was finished. 

TB spent a lot of this weekend watching college football games. There were some crazy moments, none crazier than Alabama's 4th-and-31 touchdown in the final seconds against Auburn to win the Iron Bowl. It's not just that Alabama got a touchdown on the play; it's that somehow the receiver was wide open in the back of the end zone.

What else was there? The Iowa-Nebraska game was likewise nuts, especially the last two minutes, especially the fact that Iowa won the game on a last second field goal after Nebraska's clock operator didn't start the clock for 12 seconds a few plays earlier. What the heck? 

By the way, that game featured Tom McCarthy and Ross Tucker on the call on television. They are great together. 

And there was Washington-Washington State. With its entire season on the line and a chance to play to get into the College Football Playoff, Washington went for it in a tie game with 1:11 left from its own 29 and ran a perfect reverse for 26 yards, setting up the game-winning field goal.

Now that the holiday weekend is over, it's time to look ahead to TAGD — Tiger Athletics Give Day, which is now in Year 10. It comes up tomorrow and is a 24-hour fundraising challenge that has become a staple of the Princeton calendar.

TigerBlog will have more tomorrow about TAGD. For now, you can click HERE to get to the TAGD website, but only gifts given on the 24 hours of Nov. 28 will count. 

The Princeton women's basketball team really showed you something on its trip to Florida for the holiday weekend. And, ironically enough, Carla Berube's team may have shown more about itself in the game it lost as opposed to the game it won.

If you didn't pay attention, Princeton played a pair of ranked teams in Fort Myers, first against No. 20 Oklahoma on Thanksgiving Day and then against No. 19 Indiana Saturday. Princeton went wire-to-wire to take down 77-63 against the Sooners before falling to Indiana 72-63.

So why was the Indiana came perhaps the more impressive of the two? It's simple. 

Princeton came into that game already with a Top 20 win. Being assured of a split was already a big accomplishment.

The Tigers then got down quickly against Indiana, falling behind 16-11 after one and then being outscored 25-13 in the second to make it 41-24 at the break. The deficit was pushed to 20 early in the third quarter. 

At that point, you're definitely thinking that this was it. Take the split and head home.

Ah, but not these Tigers. They never gave up, and in fact they clawed their way all the way back within six in the fourth quarter. 

Remember, this is against a team that is ranked 19th nationally, a team whose 28-4 record a year ago include a one-point loss to NCAA runner up Iowa.

Yes, Princeton fell short by nine in the end. Yes, Princeton was impressive again.

The game against Oklahoma was a thing of beauty. Princeton never trailed in that one, getting out to a 17-3 lead in the first quarter. The lead was only seven at the half at 38-31, but Princeton put its foot down again in the third quarter, making it a 16-point lead heading into the fourth.

As a reminder, in case you forgot in the last few paragraphs, this came against a team that entered the week in the Top 20.

Keep in mind, Princeton also played UCLA to a three-point game in Pauley Pavilion. That's a UCLA team that is ranked second in the country.

These aren't results that happen accidentally.

Madison St. Rose had 35 in the two games. Kaitlyn Chen had 36. Ellie Mitchell had 34 — rebounds, that is, and TigerBlog will be back later in the week to talk about Princeton's amazing rebounding duo.

Next up for the women's basketball team is a home game Wednesday against Seton Hall. While Princeton was in the Florida sunshine, the Pirates weren't exactly in need of their winter coats; they were in the Bahamas, where they lost to Southern Cal and beat East Carolina. 

Seton Hall also has a loss at Columbia and a win over Rutgers as part of its 4-2 record (the other wins are Iona and Bryant).

And once again, it's a reminder that tomorrow is TAGD. 

TigerBlog will thank everyone who has so generously supported Princeton Athletics all these years as part of the giving challenge. He'll have more on all of that, especially on what the investment is all about, tomorrow.