After 16-seed Fairleigh Dickinson beat 1-seed Purdue to make history last night, you thought there would’ve been a break in the NCAA Tournament barrage of upsets. But that didn’t happen on Saturday, as not only another 1 seed went down in Kansas to Arkansas, but the Princeton Tigers of the Ivy League made some more noise.
put more mid-majors in the tournament put more mid-majors in the tournament put more mid-majors in the tournament put more mid-majors in the tournament put more mid-majors in the tournament put more mid-majors in the tournament put more mid-majors in the tournament
— Jason Krech (@JasonKrech) March 19, 2023
The Tigers do have some history in the NCAA Tournament but not in the past six decades. The program made it all the way to the Final 4 in 1965, while 1967 was the last time they made it to the second weekend of the Big Dance. As a conference, the last time an Ivy League team made it this far was Cornell in 2010.
princeton tigers for no reason pic.twitter.com/xdQMothpSV
— entitled (@PythonBro) March 18, 2023
But Princeton has cracked the program glass ceiling, with two incredibly impressive performances in the NCAA Tournament. The first was a 59-55 upset over Arizona in the Round of 64, followed by an utter blowout over 7-seed Missouri today. The Tigers were one of the most impressive offensive units in the country heading into this game but their defense was a weak point. It was something that Princeton exploited early and often, led by point/forward Tosan Evbuomwan.
Tosan Evbuomwan is know for his offense, but what a sensational job he's doing defending All-SEC forward Kobe Brown.
— Jerry Carino (@NJHoopsHaven) March 18, 2023
It's incredible how much Princeton's defense has improved over the course of the season.
He finished with nine points, nine rebounds, and five assists, but the game star was Ryan Langborg, who finished with a game-high 22 points with four made three-pointers. Missouri was outclassed from start to finish, trailing by as many as 21 points in the second half en route to a 78-63 win.
LIGHT THE BEAM TO THE SWEET 16!#MakeShots 🐯🏀 | #MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/9HmujyD8e4
— Princeton Men’s Basketball (@PrincetonMBB) March 19, 2023
This makes it the third time season a 15-seed goes to the Sweet 16, joining Oral Roberts and Saint Peters. The Peacocks actually won another game to make history as the first-ever 15 to make it to the Elite 8. Princeton has the chance to join them next week, taking on the winner of Creighton and Baylor.
Turns out that the “Princeton offense” remains as potent as ever, something that a couple of higher seeds in the NCAA Tournament had to find out the hard way.