Cinderella story: Princeton punches ticket to Sweet 16 with another upset over Missouri

The Princeton Tigers traveled almost 3,000 miles from New Jersey for this fated trip to Sacramento. They came in as longshots, but longshots are the ones who create March Madness.

The Tigers made themselves feel at home in this NCAA Tournament sub-regional. They started by bouncing No. 2 seed Arizona, which expected a Final Four run. Then, on a glorious Saturday afternoon, they beat the breaks off a Missouri squad that didn’t expect its season to end so emphatically, and certainly not to a mid-major program, for Pete’s sake.

No. 15 seed Princeton continued its Cinderella story and punched its ticket to the Sweet 16 with another upset victory, beating No. 7 Missouri 78-63 at Golden 1 Center.

Conclusion: None of this was a fluke. None of it was luck. The better team won, largely because Princeton played the right way with the extra pass and the box-outs, outhustling bigger-brand programs to earn the support of the Sacramento crowd.

“They’re playing absolutely fearless,” Princeton coach Mitch Henderson said. “They’re unafraid of anyone.”

De’Andre Gholston scored 19 points to lead Missouri (25-10). Noah Carter had 14.

Ryan Langborg scored a game-high 22 points for Princeton (23-8), which made 12 3-pointers. These Tigers of the Ivy League outrebounded the Tigers of the SEC 44-30 and outscored them 19-2 on second-chance points.

“This is a very, very confident group,” Henderson said, his voice shot, his eyes teary and red. “We are so thrilled to be going to the Sweet 16. It is an absolute pleasure being around these guys. They just grit their teeth and they do it.”

The grit led to a lot of glee for Tigers players and coaches who were pleased to learn later that they delivered the biggest margin of victory for a No. 15 seed in tournament history. And to think that these Tigers needed to win their Ivy League tournament just to secure an automatic NCAA bid.

Princeton’s bench was directly across from a jubilant throng of fans in a sea of Tigers orange. This included old timers in block P sweaters who followed the team when Pete Carril coached the program for 30 years, ending in 1996.

Carril capped his Hall of Fame career with a long assistant coaching stint with the Sacramento Kings, a topic of interest this weekend for Princeton as players wear patches of the beloved coach who died in August at 92.

Henderson played for Carril, playing a paramount role the last time the Tigers shook up the tournament in 1996, beating defending champion UCLA. Henderson said every team has its own special journey. This group, he said, will remember theirs, which will continue in the Sweet 16 for the first time since the NCAA expanded to a 64-team tournament in 1985.

Henderson said his weary yet proud group would fly back home shortly after the game, no doubt returning as hoops heroes.

“I told them at halftime, ‘We’re going to get on that flight,’” Henderson said. “We were up seven at half. We had coughed up seven points. I said, ‘You know we’re going to get on that flight, no matter what. When we get on that flight, we’re going to be us.’ We felt like the best version of us could beat the best version of them.

“They did it. Yes, we’re going to the Sweet 16. This is a really unique group. I think in the tournament, each group has a special life. This one has a really special life.”

The last time Princeton won two NCAA tournament games was in 1967, when a freshman named Geoff Petrie was part of Carril’s program. Petrie is an all-time Princeton great, the No. 8 overall pick in the 1970 NBA draft by the Portland Trail Blazers. Decades later, as the Kings’ president of basketball operations, Petrie constructed a team that made eight consecutive playoff appearances, with Carril on his bench.

Another Princeton-Kings connection: Current Kings general manager Monte McNair, a Princeton alumnus who has celebrated his alma mater’s run at Golden 1. He graduated in 2006, the last time the Kings made the playoffs. That drought will end this season.

Today’s Princeton Tigers headliners aim to make more history, doing it in their own unique way. Princeton has no five-star recruits. It has no transfers coming or going. The NCAA Transfer Portal is not a topic on campus because the Tigers do not engage in it. There are no fifth-year seniors. Henderson reminded Friday that his five seniors have a thesis project due in less than two weeks. The NCAA Tournament offers no extensions for school projects.

Princeton didn’t play during the COVID year three seasons ago while most everyone else across the country did, and that was the start of this current journey, players and coaches said.

Langborg is a 6-foot-4 senior guard from San Diego who will not forget Golden 1. He led his high school team to a CIF state championship in the NBA venue in 2019. He scored 11 early points against Missouri to lead a fearless attack.

Tosan Evbuomwan is a 6-8 senior forward from England, a superb passer, a capable ball handler, and, if you ask anyone in Tigers gear, a fine teammate. He had nine points, nine rebounds and five assists.

“Unreal, obviously,” Evbuomwan said. “It’s just an unreal feeling to do this with my guys, my teammates and coaching staff.”

Blake Peters is a 6-1 sophomore guard from Illinois who had 17 points for Princeton, including five 3-pointers. He’s also fluent in Chinese.

“Blake, he’s an absolute driller,” Henderson said. “He wants to be secretary of state. He’s absolutely unflappable. You get my vote.”

Henderson would also vote that Princeton fans on site and from across the globe inspired his team. He said the orange-clad crowd across from him included “more than a handful of guys I played with, multiple players I’ve coached, family, friends” and more.

“We really drew on the strength of our fans this weekend,” Henderson said. “Princeton, I don’t think anybody does it quite like Princeton.”