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Princeton feeling 'surreal' after stunning No. 2 seed Arizona in win that wasn't surprise to Tigers
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- Princeton feeling 'surreal' after stunning No. 2 seed Arizona in win that wasn't surprise to Tigers
Time to party like it's 1996.
Tosan Evbuomwan scored 15 and the No. 15 seed Princeton dominated inside, upsetting second-seeded Arizona 59-55 in the first round Thursday and throwing the South region into chaos.
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Maybe this wasn't exactly like when the Tigers pulled off a memorable upset UCLA in 1996, when they were seeded 14th and beat the third-seeded and defending champion Bruins 43-41. There was more offense and given how common upsets are now, it probably didn't shock as many people. But it's still a big deal. And it's the just the second tournament win for Princeton since that game. The Tigers beat UNLV in the first round in 1998.
Asked what famed Princeton coach Pete Carril, who died last August , would think of the win, current Tigers coach Mitch Henderson said, "I remember when that (UCLA) win happened, he had lost a lot of first-round games. These games are very difficult to win.
"He would be very proud of the group. He wouldn't want any attention to be brought other than what these guys did. They played to win."
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Princeton guard Matt Allocco described the win as "pretty surreal."
"To beat a great team like that on this stage is a pretty special feeling," Allocco said. "But also I can't say I'm surprised. This team has been so good all year, so gritty. On paper, it's going to look like a big upset. But we believe in each other and we think we're a really good team."
"Maybe an upset on paper and the country, but not to us," Henderson added. "I agree with (Matt: We think of ourselves, and we have historically, as a national program."
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As tends to happen this time of year, it was madness at the end.
Arizona turned the ball over twice in the final 2:10, but was trailing by just one, 56-55, with 50 seconds to play and the ball out on the baseline. Azuolas Tubelis missed a tough look in the paint, and Princeton grabbed the rebound. On the other end, Caden Pierce hit two free throws to give Princeton a 58-55 edge.
The Wildcats still had a chance. But two 3-point attempts, one from Courtney Ramey and the other from Kerr Kriisa, missed badly, and Princeton iced it with another free throw with three seconds to play.
The Tigers are looking to become just the second Ivy League team to make the Sweet 16 since the tournament expanded in 1985. Cornell made the Sweet 16 in 2010 with defeats of Temple and Wisconsin. On Saturday, the Tigers will take on seventh-seeded Missouri, which won 76-65 over 10th-seeded Utah State.
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On Thursday, Arizona did not score for the final 4:43 of the game, missing its last seven field goals and making just two of its final 11 attempts, with four turnovers in the final 6:10.
In perhaps the most shocking stat of the day, Princeton finished with six blocks while Arizona, one of the biggest and best defensive teams in the Pac-12, swatted away just one shot. The Tigers also outscored the Wildcats 42-34 in the paint.
"Obviously we were giving up a lot of size this game," said Pierce, who grabbed eight rebounds and scored six points. "But, I mean, we have a lot of heart in our program. When things weren't going our way, we were down 10 with eight or so minutes to go, we always were believing, we always kept saying we're going to win the game."
It's the third year in a row that a No. 15 seed has won in the first round.
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Arizona made history, too, but in a worse category, becoming the first No. 2 seed to lose twice since the tournament expanded in 1985. It also happened in 1993 when the Wildcats lost to Santa Clara and a point guard named Steve Nash.
Arizona coach Tommy Lloyd, in just his second season, was blunt afterward: "If you wanna do great things in life, you gotta be willing to step in some dog (expletive) once in awhile," he said. "That's what we did today."
Lloyd vowed that the loss would "not be a step back, isn't going to be a setback" for a program that just won its second conference tournament title in as many seasons last week. Lloyd said that despite the loss to Princeton, he loves the direction of the program.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Princeton stuns Arizona in NCAA Tournament but wasn't surprise to Tigers
