Arizona basketball shocked by Princeton in huge March Madness upset
The Arizona Wildcats won the Pac-12 Tournament. They went 28-6 in the season entering the NCAA Tournament and were a No. 2 seed in March Madness.
President Joe Biden picked them to win the NCAA Tournament.
And they are now going home after their first game.
No. 15 seed Princeton shocked No. 2 seed Arizona in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Thursday in Sacramento, 59-55.
Princeton ended the game on a 9-0 run. It had its first lead of the game at 56-55 with 50 seconds left.
It is the 11th time a No. 15 seed has beat a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament and the second time it has happened to Arizona, who lost to Steve Nash and Santa Clara in 1993 in just the second time a No. 15 seed lost to a No. 2.
Princeton won despite shooting just 40.6% from the field and 16% from 3-point range. It did hold a 39-37 edge in rebounds.
How big of an upset was it?
Arizona had been a 14.5-point favorite in the game. Almost everyone thought Arizona was going to win in their predictions for the game, with many thinking the Wildcats would also cover that large point spread.
Only one Princeton player scored in double figures: Tosan Evbuomwan had 15 points.
Azuolas Tubelis led Arizona with 22 points. Oumar Ballo added 13.
After Arizona had built a 47-35 lead with 11:50 left in the game, Princeton outscored the Wildcats 24-8 the rest of the way.
Final score: Princeton 59, Arizona 55
No. 15 seeds over No. 2 seeds in NCAA Tournament:
1991 Richmond def. Syracuse 73-69
1993 Santa Clara def. Arizona 64-61
1997 Coppin State def. South Carolina 78-65
2001 Hampton def. Iowa State 58-57
2012 Lehigh def. Duke 75-70
2012 Norfolk State def. Missouri 86-84
2013 Florida Gulf Coast def. Georgetown 78-68
2016 Middle Tennessee def. Michigan State 90-81
2021 Oral Roberts def. Ohio State 75-72
2022 Saint Peter's def. Kentucky 85-79
2023: Princeton def. Arizona 59-55
Arizona vs. Princeton game close late
There's just 3:54 left in the second half in Sacramento and Arizona leads Princeton, 55-52.
Arizona had a 12-point lead at one point in the second half, but Princeton has refused to quit and finds itself down just three.
Score: Arizona 55, Princeton 52 (3:54 left in second half)
Princeton right back in game vs. Arizona
Princeton isn't out of this game yet. After Arizona had built a 47-35 lead with 11:50 left in the game, Princeton has gone on a 13-4 run to pull within 51-48 with 6:22 left in the second half.
The No. 15 seed Tigers are shooting just 39% from the field and 17% from 3-point range, but they only trail the No. 2 seeded Wildcats by three.
Score: Arizona 51, Princeton 48 (6:22 left in second half)
Arizona extends lead vs. Princeton in second half
Arizona has outscored Princeton 12-5 to start the second half to move ahead 43-35 with 12:53 left in the game.
It appears that the Wildcats are starting to wear down the Tigers, who now have three starters with three fouls each.
Princeton also is up to 11 turnovers, compared to eight for Arizona.
Score: Arizona 43, Princeton 35 (12:53 left in second half)
Arizona off to strong start in second half vs. Princeton
The Wildcats have outscored the Tigers 6-2 early in the second half, building a 37-32 lead after going almost five minutes without a point late in the first half and early in the second.
Azuolas Tubelis is up to 16 points for Arizona.
Score: Arizona 37, Princeton 32 (17:33 left in second half)
Scoring drought has Princeton nearly even with Arizona
The first half is in the books in Sacramento and the No. 15 seed Princeton Tigers trail the No. 2 seed Arizona Wildcats, 31-30, thanks to a late 8-0 run.
Tosan Evbuomwan leads Princeton with eight points, while Zach Martini has seven.
Princeton has a 22-17 advantage in rebounding.
Azuolas Tubelis had 14 points in the first half for the Wildcats, who last scored on an Oumar Ballo free throw with 3:50 left in the first half.
Ballo has nine points for Arizona.
Score: Arizona 31, Princeton 30 (halftime)
Princeton closes gap on 6-1 run vs. Arizona
Well, that was fast.
Princeton has gone on a 6-1 run to pull within 31-28 with 2:17 left in the first half.
Score: Arizona 31, Princeton 28 (2:17 left in first half)
Arizona up to 8-point lead vs. Princeton
The Wildcats have their biggest lead of the first half with 3:58 remaining in the half, at 30-22.
Kerr Kriisa connected on a 3-pointer to give Arizona that advantage. Arizona is 3-for-7 on 3-pointers in the game.
Princeton is just 2-for-10.
Arizona is also shooting 13-for-25 from the field, while Princeton is at 10-for-25.
Score: Arizona 30, Princeton 22 (3:58 left in first half)
Tubelis, Ballo shining for Wildcats
Azuolas Tubelis and Oumar Ballo now have 17 of Arizona's 20 points in the game, providing a big advantage for the Wildcats inside, who have just one other player in the scoring column.
Seven Princeton players have scored, but none have more than three points.
Score: Arizona 20, Princeton 16 (7:39 left in first half)
Princeton stays close vs. Arizona midway through first half
We're almost halfway through the first half and Princeton is staying close to the Wildcats.
The Tigers have scored four straight points to pull within 14-10 with 11 minutes left in the first half in a slow first nine minutes that hasn't seen many points on the scoreboard.
How's this for balanced scoring? Five Princeton players have scored two points each to account for all of the Tigers' points.
Kylan Boswell is the lone Arizona player not named Azuolas Tubelis or Oumar Ballo to score, having made a 3-pointer shortly after checking into the game.
Score: Arizona 14, Princeton 10 (11:00 minutes left in first half)
Arizona out to early lead vs. Princeton
The Wildcats have jumped out to an early 11-6 lead on the Tigers at the first break in the game, with 14:55 left in the first half.
The Wildcats' big men are off to impressive starts, with Azuolas Tubelis with seven points and Oumar Ballo with four points in the early going, accounting for all of Arizona's points.
Arizona is 5-for-10 from the field, while Princeton is 3-for-9.
Arizona has a big advantage on the inside with Tubelis and Ballo and will look to exploit that advantage all game.
The Wildcats have done a good job of doing that in the early going.
Score: Arizona 11, Princeton 6 (14:55 left in first half)
Pregame Arizona vs. Princeton reading
More:President Biden picks Arizona Wildcats to win men's March Madness NCAA Tournament bracket
More:Princeton vs. Arizona schedule, TV channel: How to watch NCAA Tournament first-round game
More:Princeton vs. Arizona picks, predictions: Who wins NCAA Tournament first-round game?
More:Princeton vs. Arizona odds: NCAA Tournament game point spread, moneyline, over/under
NCAA Tournament game picks, predictions
Thursday's NCAA Tournament game picks: West Virginia vs. Maryland | Furman vs. Virginia | Utah State vs. Missouri | Howard vs. Kansas | Charleston vs. San Diego State | Princeton vs. Arizona | Illinois vs. Arkansas | Auburn vs. Iowa | Oral Roberts vs. Duke | Colgate vs. Texas | Boise State vs. Northwestern | No. Kentucky vs. Houston | Louisiana vs. Tennessee | Penn State vs. Texas A&M | UNC Asheville vs. UCLA
Friday's NCAA Tournament game picks: USC vs. Michigan State | Kennesaw State vs. Xavier | UC Santa Barbara vs. Baylor | VCU vs. Saint Mary's | Vermont vs. Marquette | North Carolina State vs. Creighton | Iona vs. UConn | Providence vs. Kentucky | Drake vs. Miami | Grand Canyon vs. Gonzaga | Florida Atlantic vs. Memphis | Montana State vs. Kansas State | Kent State vs. Indiana
Reach Jeremy Cluff at jeremy.cluff@arizonarepublic.com. Follow him on Twitter @Jeremy_Cluff.
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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Princeton shocks Arizona basketball in March Madness upset
