NCAA Tournament - Princeton stuns Arizona to win first NCAA Tournament game since 1998
Yahoo Sports college basketball writer Nick Bromberg takes you through 15-seed Princeton’s stunning victory over 2-seed Arizona in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
Video Transcript
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NICK BROMBERG: A number 15 seed has beaten a number 2 seed for the third consecutive year in the Men's NCAA Tournament. Princeton came back to beat Arizona 59-55 on Thursday to advance to the second round, thanks to the Wildcats' struggles to score. Arizona took a 49-39 lead with 11 minutes to go but somehow scored just 6 points at the 11-minute mark.
Princeton will face Missouri in the second round on Saturday and did not lead until there were just over two minutes left. The Wildcats had kept the Tigers at bay throughout most of the game, but it's hard to do that when you're not scoring points. Ryan Langborg gave Princeton the lead with two minutes to go, and three made free throws iced the game as Arizona missed five shots and turned the ball over twice in the final two minutes.
The win means Princeton joined Saint Peters and Oral Roberts as recent number 15 seeds to win their first-round games. The Peacocks beat Kentucky a year ago, and Oral Roberts beat Ohio State in 2021. It's also another signature win for a Princeton team that's been most famous for its upset of another Pac-12 team. Princeton beat UCLA 43-41 in the first round in 1996 in one of the most iconic games in modern tournament history.
And this upset's actually bigger by seed. Princeton was a number 13 seed when it beat number 4 UCLA nearly 30 years ago. It's a bracket buster, too. Thanks to Furman's win over Virginia earlier in the day and Princeton's win over Arizona, just 0.06% of brackets in Yahoo's Tourney Pick'em are still perfect.