15th-seeded Princeton beats Missouri 78-63 to reach Sweet 16

SACRAMENTO,Calif. (AP) — As the final minute ticked off the clock, thePrinceton fans started chanting “Sweet 16! Sweet 16!” and coachMitch Henderson cleared the bench with the victory easily inhand.

This upsetwas no small-school fluke against a more heralded team. It was athoroughly dominating performance that sent Princeton to a place ithadn’t been in more than a half-century.

Blake Petersmade five 3-pointers in the second half andPrinceton shocked another powerconference teamto reach the NCAA Tournament regionalsemifinals for the first time in 56 years by beating Missouri 78-63on Saturday.

“The worldlooks at us as two upsets,” forward Tosan Evbuomwan said. “But Ifeel like we’re supposed to be here. We have a lot of confidence inone another, what we’re doing. There’s definitely no letup withthis group.”

The No. 15seeded Princeton (23-8) followed upa first-round winoverPac-12 tournament champion Arizona by overwhelming seventh-seededMissouri (25-10) of the Southeastern Conference from the start.

The IvyLeague school known forgiving powerhouses scares andoccasionally pulling off upsetsa generation ago hasreached theround of 16 for the first time since 1967 when only23 teams even made the tournament.

“I have nowords for you,” Peters said. “We have such an unbelievable section(of fans) here. I have the best teammates in the world. I love eachand every one of them. when we go out and believe in each other,anything is possible. I know it’s cliche, but anything ispossible.”

Princetonwill play the winner of Sunday’s game between Baylor and Creightonin the Sweet 16 in Louisville, Kentucky, on Friday night.

The Tigerswill be the second Ivy League school to make the Sweet 16 in thepast 43 tournaments, joining Cornell in 2010. No team from theacademically prestigious league that doesn’t give athleticscholarships has gone further since Penn made the Final Four in1979.

“I’ve alwaysdreamed of playing deep into the tournament,” said Henderson, aplayer on Princeton’s teams in 1996 and ’98 that won first-roundgames. “As a player, got to the second round a couple times. Nevergot beyond it.”

This marksthe third straight year a team seeded 15th made it to the Sweet 16,following Oral Roberts in 2021 and fellow New Jersey school SaintPeter’s last year. The only other time a 15 seed made it this farcame in 2013 when Florida Gulf Coast did it.

Ryan Langborgled Princeton with 22 points and Peters added 17.

DeAndreGholston scored 19 points and Noah Carter added 14 for Missouri,which was seeking its first berth in the Sweet 16 since 2009.

“We were ableto get the lead one time,” coach Dennis Gates said. “We held thelead for 30 seconds in the entire game. Every time we got the leador when they had the lead, we cut it to six, they came back downand did what a good team would do: Make a shot or make a play.”

Princetonshowed no signs of being outclassed against another powerconference team, controlling the play from the start. KeeshawnKellman had two dunks and a blocked shot in a span of 16 secondsmidway through the half.

Princetonbuilt the lead to 10 points on a corner 3 by Zach Martini and wentup 33-19 on a drive by Evbuomwan.

Missouriresponded by scoring the final seven points of the half to go intothe break down seven.

Every timeMissouri threatened early in the second half, Princeton had ananswer withPeters hitting five 3-pointers.The fourth gave Princeton a 62-43 lead and Missouri neverthreatened after that.

“Blake Petershas been making shots coming off the bench for us for weeks,”Henderson said. “This is a very, very confident group. We are sothrilled to be going to the Sweet 16. It is an absolute pleasurebeing around these guys. They just grit their teeth and they doit.”

BIGPICTURE

Princeton:Princeton was more than a match physically with Missouri with a44-30 rebounding edge and 16 offensive rebounds that led to 19second-chance points. Caden Pierce led the way with 16rebounds.

“They’replaying absolutely fearless,” Henderson said. “They’re unafraid ofanyone.”

Missouri:Coach Dennis Gates’ first season at Missouri was a successful onewith 25 wins but still had a disappointing finish.

UP NEXT

Princetonwill look for its first Elite Eight appearance since 1965 when BillBradley was the star.