Princeton Basketball: 3 keys to beating Creighton in Sweet 16 matchup

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Princeton Basketball Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports /

March is all about underdog stories; one of the best this season has been the fifteen-seeded Princeton Tigers.

After a stunning 59-55 upset over the two-seeded Arizona Wildcats, Princeton continued to prove the nation wrong, taking down the seven-seeded Missouri Tigers 78-63.

The Princeton Tigers, led by head coach Mitch Henderson, ended the season as Ivy League regular season co-champions sharing the title with Yale. Both programs would meet again in the conference tournament championship game, but the Tigers were victorious 74-65, earning themselves the fifteen-seed in the south region of the big dance.

This historic run for Princeton has given the program its first Sweet Sixteen appearance since 1967. The Tigers were last in the tournament in 2017, they were eliminated in the opening round 60-58 by the Notre Dame Fighting Irish.

Next up for Princeton is the six-seeded Creighton Bluejays, led by head coach Doug McDermott.

The Bluejays finished third in the Big East this season behind the Marquette Golden Eagles and Xavier Musketeers.

They managed to dominate the first two rounds against NC State and Baylor to advance to the Sweet Sixteen, where they will meet an unexpected opponent in Princeton. Last time out, sophomore guard Ryan Nembhard dropped 30 points and shot 66.7 percent from behind the arc.

The Bluejays have an advantage over most teams in the nation because they have a starting five, all averaging double figures. This makes it very challenging for their opponents because any player can have a breakout performance on any given night.

The Princeton Tigers will have their hands full on Friday night when it comes to stopping a potent Creighton offense that averages a combined 74.4 points per game. That said, let’s take a look at three keys to beating the Creighton Bluejays in a Sweet Sixteen matchup.