The returning members of the Princeton men’s basketball team were so heartbroken a year ago that they could barely bring themselves to watch the NCAA Tournament.
Mitch Henderson has felt that pain before as both a player and the the coach.
That’s what made Saturday night so sweet.
So. Very. Sweet.
Not only did Princeton reach the Sweet 16 for the first time since the tournament expanded to 64 teams in 1985 after some near misses, but did it with a confidence and swagger far greater than the No. 15 seed it was given by the NCAA selection committee.
Princeton 78, Missouri 63.
Let that sink in.
“The world looks at it as two upsets, but I keep feeling like we’re supposed to be here,” senior star Tosan Evbuomwan said. “We have a lot of confidence in each other and what we’re doing. There’s definitely no let up with this group.”
There’s nothing fluky about this group. Now winners of six straight, the Tigers have seemingly been in survival mode since they coughed up an 18-point lead with eight-and-half-minutes to go against Yale back on Feb. 18.
They’ve talked openly about how that was a turning point to the season. Henderson has said how that defeat really opened them up in a painful way.
They either had to learn from it or let it sink a promising season.
“We were able to refocus the day after at practice and going forward with (the) games,” Evbuomwan said. “All those games were big games, but that kind of gives us confidence going into each game here. Obviously, this is the biggest stage but we were able to get it done. We have confidence in each other to show out and have a good performance.”
In just a short amount of time, this is a totally different team. It went through a six-game stretch from late January through February where it allowed 81.1 points over seven Ivy League games.
Since then, its allowing just 63 points per game, and in the the two tournament wins over high-major opposition, Arizona and Missouri, that number drops to 59.
“Good old-fashioned-tough-nosed defense,” Henderson called it.
This also isn’t your father’s Princeton Offense of death by 1,000 backdoor cuts, but with Evbuomwan as the sun and all the other players in his orbit, the Tigers have controlled the tempo.
There was nothing Missouri could do on Sunday that they weren’t ready for. They dissected the pressure, passed through the zone and Ryan Langborg and Blake Peters kept banging down 3-point shots. They out-rebounded the SEC school, 44-30, and grabbed 16 offensive boards.
It was a butt kicking.
“We’re going to be us and the best version of us we felt like could beat the best version of them,” Henderson said. “Yes, we’re going to the Sweet 16, but this is a really unique group. I think in the tournament, each group has a special life, and this one has a really special life.”
By the time Princeton pushed the lead to 20 late in the second half, the orange and black in the Sacramento crowd let it know exactly where it was headed.
See you in Louisville.
The clock isn’t anywhere near midnight.
For more Princeton hoops coverage, follow Kyle on Twitter @kj_franko and reach him at kfranko@trentonian.com
Source: Berkshire mont
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