The Tigers lost their seventh straight non-league game last night at Davidson, but compared to some of the other losses this season, this one wasn’t so bad. Then again, this is Princeton we’re talking about. Davidson is no slouch — especially at home — but we’re not supposed to be saying “That wasn’t so bad…” after Tiger losses to non-major conference opponents.

Choose your explanation
With the loss it became official: the 2005-06 Tigers will finish the season with the school’s worst non-league record since the creation of the Ivy League. And unless things turn around in a fairly dramatic way, this team stands a very good chance of compiling the worst Ivy League record in school history as well. There are theories galore about Princeton’s dramatic demise in the last 12 months. As with most things in life, answers are rarely absolute and things almost always are more nuanced than people like to believe.

Explanation A: This is a young, inexperienced team
When ESPN.com’s Andy Katz spoke with Joe Scott nearly two months ago, Scott basically plead youth. Yet the Tiger frosh have logged a total of 519 minutes this season — out of a team total of 3,025. That’s not exactly the youth movement Scott claimed in the Katz piece. Injuries have definitely played a role to some extent, but Mike Strittmatter is the only freshman currently getting major minutes of late. Granted, there’s the inexperience factor, too. Most of the non-freshmen weren’t exactly proven veterans going into the season. Outside of Scott Greenman, Noah Savage, and Luke Owings, none of these players had seen substantial minutes prior to this season. Eight different players have made their first collegiate start this season, and that number will become nine if and when Alex Okafor gets his shot at starting. However, of the team’s top four scorers, three were starters last season, so the inexperience is primarily in the supporting cast, which makes it tougher to use this as an excuse.

Explanation B: This is not a talented team.
It’s hard to gauge the talent level of the roster, because of the inexperience of the vast majority of the players. Harrison Schaen was impressive as a freshman two years ago, but he was given limited run and a very specific — and limited — role. While we might not have expected Schaen to struggle this much in a more prominent role this season, it’s certainly shocking to see him relegated to a bit part. Losing the senior captain Greenman for four games and most of two other contests also didn’t help. With Max Schafer leaving the program, Scott had to start unrecruited Kevin Steuerer in Greenman’s place. And with Matt Sargeant sidelined for most of the season, Princeton has been searching for a replacement at shooting guard. Last night Scott started former JV player Justin Conway in the middle and moved Savage alongside Greenman. Now neither Steurer nor Conway embarrassed himself on the court — both even had their moments of production — but neither one is a starting-caliber player in the Ivy League, let alone at Princeton. However, Kyle Koncz has had a breakout season as a three-point threat and Edwin Buffmire has looked good at times lately, so some of the previously unproven guys have turned out to be decently talented.

Explanation C: This team’s personnel is a poor fit for its schemes
It’s hard to believe that even toward the end of John Thompson III’s time at Princeton, there was still a debate over whether he had in fact made significant alterations to the traditional Tiger attack. Scott is clearly running a very different system from what the players ran under Thompson. Whereas Thompson looked for specialization in recruits, Scott wants interchangeable parts. The problems created by the specialized roster playing the matchup zone have been well-chronicled. But it’s also a problem on offense, with only three players reliably hitting the three-pointer this season. Koncz (39.7 percent), Owings (38.2 percent), and Savage (36.6 percent) are the only guys on the entire roster shooting 35 percent or better from three-point range. You have to go back to 1998-99 to find a Tiger squad that didn’t have at least five regulars at or above 35 percent from the arc. On the other hand, the players should be well-versed in the cutting and passing aspects of the offense, and it’s not like Thompson’s and Scott’s schemes are night-and-day different.

Explanation D: Joe Scott’s handling of the team is to blame.
This one certainly gets the most attention from fans, many of whom have been complaining about Scott’s demeanor and treatment of his players since last season. Assuming the reports are true, it’s unfortunate that the Princeton players aren’t enjoying their experience playing for Joe Scott as much as they could be. If they’re looking to the sideline during games and playing with a fear of their head coach hanging over their every move, then that’s not good. But it’s hard to believe Joe Scott is that much different from the many other demanding, intense coaches in college basketball and even in the Ivy League. We’ve seen this team play well when it finds itself trailing big in the second half, when it seems like they stop playing tentatively and start making plays. Perhaps Scott deserves responsibility for creating an atmosphere of tension and anxiety, but at some point the players need to be able to block this out and play basketball.

The best explanation: It’s some of each.
There have been a number of articles in various publications about Princeton’s struggles this season. Each one seemed to fall into the same trap of looking for a single answer. The team is young. The talent isn’t there. The return to the orthodox system is to blame. Joe Scott is pushing the wrong buttons. Joe Scott didn’t forget how to coach when he left Air Force and Thompson didn’t leave the cupboard as bare as Scott’s supporters tend to believe. From watching this team play, it looks like the Tigers are suffering from an acute lack of confidence. Winning some games would obviously help with that. Scott easing off his players a bit and using a little more positive reinforcement would also be good ideas. And obviously getting inexperienced players more minutes would also help matters. There’s not much that can be done about the team’s lack of a traditional point center at this point. The coaching staff is reportedly high on 2006 big man recruit Zach Finley, but that’s not doing to help the team turn things around this year. It’s up to the coaches and players to find a way to right this ship. Because when it comes down to it, there’s simply no excuse for Princeton to be this bad.