For the third year in a row, a No. 15 seed is headed to the Sweet 16. For the second year in a row, that No. 15 hails from the state of New Jersey. Following in the footsteps of Oral Roberts in 2021 and Saint Peter’s in 2022, Princeton has won its first two NCAA Tournament games.
On Thursday, the Tigers scored a massive upset with a 59-55 win over No. 2 Arizona. On Saturday, Princeton met up with Missouri.
And it wasn’t much of a contest.
While the bracket-busting win over Arizona was a tense, back-and-forth game, Princeton dominated Missouri. The Ivy League Tigers routed their SEC counterparts, winning 78-63.
15-SEED PRINCETON IS GOING TO THE SWEET 16! THE LARGEST MARGIN OF VICTORY BY A 15-SEED! #MarchMadness 🏀🐯🤓 pic.twitter.com/bCoRT8f7Yd
— The Comeback (@thecomeback) March 19, 2023
College basketball fans were impressed by Princeton’s dominant performance.
Princeton could beat the 95-96 Bulls
pic.twitter.com/QbdaFRUZK9— RoundBall Podcast (@roundballpod) March 18, 2023
Brains > Ball
Princeton is spankings these Ballas 😩
Go Ivy! 🙌🏿— Marcellus Wiley 🧢 (@marcelluswiley) March 18, 2023
Normally if someone from Princeton is beating up on the SEC this badly it’s a Republican senator dismantling the Securities and Exchange Commission
— Rodger Sherman (@rodger) March 18, 2023
It’s so weird, but seeing a No. 15 seed dominate its opponent en route to a Sweet 16 appearance isn’t even that stunning anymore. Princeton was the better team in each game.
— Nicole Auerbach (@NicoleAuerbach) March 18, 2023
Saint peters last year
princeton and fairleligh dickinson this year
NJ basketball is at an all time high— Big Game Bengal (@BengalYouTube) March 18, 2023
These Princeton kids don't play like a 15th seed
— Robert Littal BSO (@BSO) March 19, 2023
Princeton is the first Ivy League team to reach the Sweet 16 since Cornell in 2010. The last Ivy League team to go beyond that was Penn in 1979. To understand how much the game of basketball has changed since then, that Penn team ultimately reached the Final Four and lost to Magic Johnson’s Michigan State team.
The Tigers are the fourth No. 15 seed to reach the Sweet 16. They join Florida Gulf Coast (2013), Oral Roberts (2021) and Saint Peter’s (2022). Florida Gulf Coast and Oral Roberts both lost in the Sweet 16, while Saint Peter’s made the Elite Eight.
So, Princeton isn’t heading into completely uncharted waters, but few programs in its position have reached these levels.
