This time it was one of the most legendary giant killers in tournament history conjuring up some new magic a quarter century later.
When Princeton knocked out defending-champion UCLA in 1996, I was heartbroken as a Bruin fan. I could not speak to my father for days as a UCLA die-hard. When the Tigers toppled Final Four favorite Arizona on Thursday afternoon, it brought instant gratification to much of the college basketball world.
With the first round matchup taking place in Sacramento--right in the middle of Bruin country--Arizona had a much larger following in the stands, than the Princeton faithful that had to trek across the country. The second half saw Tiger fans and anyone filing in for the remainder of the afternoon’s games quickly show why the Wildcats are despised by so many fan bases.
Princeton used a run of 7-0 to close the gap to 51-43 in the second half, then a 9-0 run to hold Arizona scoreless over the final 4:21, en route to the 59-55 stunner. The Wildcats’ largest lead was 12 at 47-35 in the second half. The game’s first lead change was when Princeton went ahead 56-55 with 2:03 remaining.
This was when I told my Wise Guys Sports Show co-host Mike Martinez that Arizona would start pulling away while on the phone preparing for this weekend’s return episode.
In their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2017, Princeton picked up their first victory in the extravaganza since defeating UNLV in 1998. The Tigers will forever be known for the UCLA upset, where current head coach Mitch Henderson was the starting point guard on that team.
This marks the 11th time in tournament history since the field expanded to 64 teams in 1985 that a 15 took down a 2. Arizona is the first school to fall victim twice, losing to Santa Clara in the first round back in 1993. For the third-consecutive season a 15-seed has advanced to the round of 32. The Tigers will look to follow in the footsteps of the Saint Peter's Peacocks from just a year ago, and reach the Sweet 16. Oral Roberts shocked Ohio State in the 2021 Covid bubble’s first round.
The issue is that Princeton has to go up against my favorite team in this year’s field, the Missouri Tigers on Saturday. A Mizzou win would be ideal, but could I really take issue with Princeton making a Cinderella run after taking down one of my two least-favorite programs in all of college basketball?
Lest the Tigers forget that they too were a 15-over-2 victim themselves in 2012 to Norfolk State, which was the only time two 2-seeds fell in the same tournament (Duke against Lehigh).
Yes, there are a few teams I hate more than Ohio State, but in basketball only. Kentucky’s inevitable early-round disappointment is on the horizon, which will make this the greatest NCAA Tournament of my lifetime.
While most aspects of the game were close, the two categories that ended up costing Arizona were the two they should have dominated in. The Tigers had eight steals to the Wildcats’ five, while Princeton accounted for six blocks to a single one for Arizona.
Three of those blocks came in the final two minutes, once the game was within one possession.
Couple this upset with Furman taking down Virginia just hours before, and the first round of the 2023 tournament could be well on their way to seeing a record number of double-digit seeds playing into and past this weekend.
I just hope that Marquette, UCLA or Houston do not follow suit, as I had the Cavaliers in the Final Four. Sometimes the busted bracket is the best bracket.
-JC24
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