Sacramento, Calif. — Blake Peters made five three-pointers in the second half and Princeton shocked another energy conference team to reach the regional semifinals of the NCAA tournament for the first time in 56 years by defeating Missouri 78-63 on Saturday.
Followed No. 15 seed Princeton (23-8) Winning the first round over Pac-12 Champion Arizona by dominating 10th seed Missouri (25-10) from the SEC from the start.
This Ivy League school is known for Giving terror to the forces and pulling the occasional turmoil a generation ago Round of 16 For the first time since 1967 when only 23 teams reached the tournament.
Princeton will play the winner of Sunday’s game between Baylor and Creighton at the Sweet 16 in Louisville, Kentucky, Friday night.
The Tigers will be the second Ivy League school to make the Sweet 16 in the past 43 leagues, joining Cornell in 2010. No prestigious academic non-athletic scholarship team has gone this far since Penn reached the Final Four in 1979.
Fans who took the cross-country trip to California started chanting “Sweet 16! Sweet 16!” in the closing minute.
This is the third year in a row that a 15th seed team has made it to the Sweet 16, following Oral Roberts in 2021 and fellow NJ school Saint Peter’s last year. The only other time a 15th seed has gotten that far came in 2012 when Florida’s Gulf Coast did it.
Ryan Langborg led Princeton with 22 points and Peters added 17 points.
DeAndre Gholston scored 19 points and Noah Carter added 14 for Missouri, which was seeking its first Sweet 16 finish since 2009.
Princeton showed no signs of being outdone against another powerhouse team, dominating play from the start. Keshawn Kellman hit a layup in the second half and grabbed a rebound within 16 seconds midway through the half.
Princeton built the lead to 10 points on a 3 layup by Zach Martini and went up 33-19 on an effort by Ivobomoan.
Missouri responded by scoring the last seven points of the half to go to a seven-time tiebreaker.
Every time Missouri threatened on the restart, Princeton had an answer with Peters hit five three-pointers. The fourth gave Princeton a 62-43 lead and never threatened Missouri after that.
The Big Picture
PRINCETON: Princeton was a more than physical match-up with Missouri with a 44-30 scoring record and 16 offensive rebounds that led to 19 second chance points. Caden Pearce led the way with 16 rebounds.
Missouri: Coach Dennis Gates’ first season at Missouri was successful with 25 victories but still had a disappointing finish.
the next
Princeton will be looking for its first Elite Eight appearance since 1965 when Bill Bradley was the star.
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