Princeton upset makes for matchup with Mizzou, but MU takes that lightly at own peril

Princeton players this season wore a bow-tie patch on their jerseys in honor of legendary former coach Pete Carril, who died at 92 last August.

The 15th-seeded Tigers earned an NCAA Tournament berth to travel cross-country to the Golden 1 Center, home of the Sacramento Kings — for whom Carril worked for more than a decade after his retirement from Princeton in 1996.

And they were under the same roof here with the UCLA program that a 13th-seeded Princeton team dethroned 27 years ago in one of the most memorable upsets in NCAA tourney history.

And current Princeton coach Mitch Henderson is a Carril disciple who played on the team that toppled the defending national champion Bruins 43-41.

But even if Carril’s considerable legacy was hovering all around Princeton’s 59-55 upset of second-seeded Arizona on Thursday — setting up a matchup with Mizzou on Saturday — Henderson was determined to dismiss any suggestion there was some mystical force at play for a program whose history also includes a 1965 Final Four.

This team’s feat, just the 11th time a 15 has taken down a 2, was its own and shouldn’t be blithely folded into that past.

“There’s going to be some comparisons from some of you, I’m sure, to Coach Carril,” he said in his opening statement after the Tigers rallied to beat the Wildcats after trailing by 12 in the second half. “I want to be really clear that this group did this.”

He later added: “I’ve been the beneficiary of that (1996) game, along with my teammates, for a long time. But I’m the coach here. My charge, I’m very present about this, is I want that (credit) for them. That’s very, very simple. They did that today.”

They did it by outscoring Arizona in the paint 42-34 and outrebounding the Wildcats 38-37, a perhaps-counterintuitive reflection of Princeton being 12th in the nation in rebounding margin at plus-6.

They did it by blocking six shots and allowing only eight fast-break points — to say nothing of deflections and otherwise clogging up an Arizona team that entered the game fifth in the nation in scoring with 82.7 points a game.

“They didn’t get transition points for the most part,” Henderson said. “We weren’t perfect, but they weren’t getting what they’re really good at.”

So if Mizzou has any inclination to take the other Tigers lightly, all of that should make for a fine point of emphasis for an MU team that also likes to run.

Missouri, which beat Princeton in their only previous matchups in 1957 and 1999, also should be braced for an opponent that sees itself as aligned and tough-minded as Mizzou perceives itself.

Princeton demonstrated just that down 12 midway through the second half … and out of timeouts with 5 minutes and 10 seconds to go … and having been behind the entire game until Ryan Langborg’s three-pointer with 2:03 left gave it a 56-55 lead.

That three was part of a 9-0 run to end the game.

“We are imperfect,” Henderson said, “but a very, very, very tough group.”

Princeton (22-8) is led by Tosan Evbuomwan, a 6–foot-8 center who was the Ivy League player of the year with 15 points a game (the same number he led the team with on Thursday) and 6.5 rebounds … and 83 more assists than anyone else on the team.

Langborg and Matt Allocco also had double-digit scoring averages this season for a program that hadn’t won an NCAA Tournament game since 1998 but now very much sees itself as belonging here.

“To beat a great team like that on this stage is a pretty special feeling,” Allocco said. “But also I can’t say I’m surprised. This team has been so good all year, so gritty.

“On paper, it’s going to look like a big upset. But we believe in each other, and we think we’re a really good team. When we’re at our best, I think we can beat anybody in the country.”

Including Mizzou, which Henderson called a “really, really good” team that will make for “a fun challenge.”

As for getting ready in roughly 48 hours?

That’s one way playing in the Ivy League offers a form of advantage: Three times during the regular season, Princeton played back-to-back games on Friday and Saturday.

“The (extra) day for preparation is quite nice,” Henderson said. “We’ll enjoy an extra few hours.”

Hours in which Princeton will see this as just the opportunity Missouri does. It’s easy to think MU caught a break with this turn of events, but Mizzou would discount Princeton at its own peril.