LOUISVILLE, Ky. – All good things must come to an end.
That includes the Princeton men’s basketball team’s magical March.
The Tigers’ bid to reach the Elite Eight fell short after an 86-75 setback to hot-shooting Creighton at the KFC Yum! Center on Friday night in the South Regional semifinals.
Ryan Kalkbrenner scored 22 points, Baylor Scheierman finished with 21 and the Blue Jays (24-12) shot 58.2%
Seniors Tosan Evbuomwan and Ryan Langborg did their best to keep Princeton (23-9) in it against the Blue Jays’ blistering attack. Evbuomwan finished with 24 points, six rebounds and nine assists and Langborg scored a career-high 26.
Creighton led, 47-43, following a torrid opening 20 minutes in which both teams shot over 50%. Backed by Baylor Scheierman’s 13 points on a perfect 5-of-5 (three 3s), the Blue Jays connected at 62.1% and 50% from beyond the arc.
Evbuomwan had 15 points, four rebounds and six assists in the first half, and despite Creighton’s hot shooting, Princeton was ahead, 38-35, before the Big East school closed with a 12-5 push.
Down Goes No. 1 (All Of Them)
Fifth-seeded San Diego State rallied from a nine-point deficit in the second half to knock out top overall seed Alabama, 71-64, in the night’s first game.
Darrion Trammell scored 21 points and the Aztecs (30-6) blocked eight shots as part of a defensive effort that held the Crimson Tide (31-6) to 3-of-27 on 3-point tries. From the time it trailed by nine, San Diego State out-scored Alabama, 32-16.
Projected top-five NBA pick Brandon Miller was limited to nine points on 3-for-16 from the field.
With Miami knocking off Houston in the Midwest Region, this is the first time that a No. 1 seed has failed to reach the Elite 8.
By the time Princeton-Creighton tipped off at 9:22 EST, there were more No. 15 seeds left than No. 1 seeds.
Source: Berkshire mont
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