Arizona gets bounced by 15th-seeded Princeton
Ryan Langborg banked in a driving layup with 2 minutes to go to give Princeton its first lead and Arizona missed its final seven shots as the 15th-seeded Tigers shocked the No. 2 Wildcats 5955 in a South region first-round game on Thursday in Sacramento, California.
Princeton (22-8) finished on a 9-0 run and overcame a 12-point second-half deficit, posting an upset reminiscent of its 1996 first-round victory over defending champion UCLA. Pac-12 tournament champion Arizona (28-7) bowed out after scoring only four points in the final 8:05 to finish with a season-low point total.
Langborg gave Princeton a 56-55 lead at the 2:03 mark, and the score was still the same when Arizona called timeout with 50.4 seconds left. Azuolas Tubelis missed a shot in the lane, and Princeton’s Caden Pierce was fouled with 21.7 seconds left, making both free throws.
The Wildcats’ last gasp ended with two missed 3-point attempts before Tosan Evbuomwan sealed the victory with a free throw with 3.0 seconds to go.
Evbuomwan led Princeton with 15 points, seven rebounds and four assists. Tubelis had 22 points, while Oumar Ballo posted a double-double with 13 points and 12 rebounds for Arizona.
Princeton advances to play in Saturday’s second round against seventh-seeded Missouri, which beat Utah State 76-65.
After clinging to a 31-30 halftime lead, the Wildcats tightened their defense, which allowed them to turn up the pace of the game for a while. Arizona expanded its advantage to 12 with 11:46 to go, but the Tigers clawed back despite going only 4-of-25 on 3-pointers for the game.
Princeton played pick-your-poison defense, intent on stopping transition, packing the paint and double-teaming most entry passes. While Tubelis and Ballo still managed to get their numbers, Arizona managed just eight fast-break points and two second-chance points. Arizona’s guards were reluctant to shoot and nearly invisible in the half-court game, including
a three-point, four-turnover effort from point guard Kerr Kriisa.
Arizona went to its strength early, as Tubelis and Ballo combined to score the team’s first 11 points — and 22 of the first 27 — as the Wildcats eventually built a 31-22 first-half lead. But Arizona failed to score for almost the final 4 minutes of the half, while Princeton closed with an 8-0 run to make it 31-30 at the break.
Arizona also lost as a No. 2 seed in 1993 to Santa Clara.
Blake Peters made three 3-pointers to finish with nine points for Princeton. Langborg and Keeshawn Kellman (4-for-4 shooting) each tallied eight.
Furman 68, Virginia 67: JP Pegues’ 3-pointer with 2.4 seconds left lifted 13th-seeded Furman to a victory over fourth-seeded Virginia in the first round of the South Region in Orlando, Florida.
Pegues’ historic shot from the right wing gave the Paladins their first NCAA Tournament victory since 1974 after rallying from a four-point deficit in the final 19 seconds.
The Paladins (28-7), who are playing in their first NCAA Tournament since 1980, will face fifth-seeded San Diego State in the second round on Saturday.
Jalen Slawson had 19 points, 10 rebounds and four assists, while Marcus Foster added 14 points. Pegues and Mike Bothwell finished with 11 points apiece for Furman, which won for the 15th time in its past 16 games.