Princeton no longer on outside looking in, eyes another upset

Two years ago, Mitch Henderson was coaching a Princeton team that was basically on sabbatical.

The Ivy League had called off sports again amid the pandemic as other leagues and the NCAA pushed ahead, so the Tigers blended in with other hoops junkies and watched March Madness like fans. Henderson ordered pizzas and smoothies, gathered the Tigers at their on-campus gym, and they watched tournament games on the big screen.

“That was fun and we got to do something,” Henderson said. “It really brought us closer.”

Princeton’s bonding period over a season of Zooms and tournament watch parties fueled the Tigers’ growth into this season’s brainy basketball bullies of March. See ya, Arizona. Maybe next year, Missouri.

Oh, and that’s not the delivery driver this week dropping pizzas off at Jadwin Gym. That was Phil Murphy, the governor of New Jersey, who made a cameo appearance at a practice before the Tigers left for their first Sweet 16 since 1967. Murphy raised his arm with the rest of the Tigers and coaching staff and broke the huddle on the three count with “together!”

“I don’t think any of us have had a governor roll into practice,” Tigers standout Ryan Langborg said. “That was a really cool experience. But at the same time, it was just another day at the office.” The cubicle is getting cramped. Politicians, professors, media hordes, anyone who can snag a spot has popped by the gym to glean insights on how the 15th-seeded Tigers have pulled this off. Ousting second-seeded Arizona by four points looked every bit an upset; blowing out Missouri by 15 in the second round did not.

“Things are going to be different as much as I try to keep it normal,” Henderson said. “At Princeton, we don’t get this that often. I love that they’re getting a chance to feel like celebrities.”

Up next, Princeton’s biggest game since the 1967 team that boasted three All-ivy League firstteam players lost to North Carolina in the Sweet 16, when only 23 teams were in the tournament.

The Tigers are 9½-point underdogs to No. 6 seed Creighton tonight in Louisville, Ky. Still, Princeton has yet to be overwhelmed by the big stage. Missouri lost as a 6½-point favorite and Arizona was a 13½-point favorite.

Henderson recalled some advice former Wisconsin coach Bo Ryan once offered about the tournament.

“All you’ve got to do is win six games in a row,” Henderson said. “It is a bit of a math thing.”

RANDALL BENTON/ASSOCIATED PRESS Princeton guard Ryan Langborg (left) and forward Caden Pierce celebrate a 78-63 victory over Missouri in the second round of the NCAA Tournament on Saturday in Sacramento, Calif. The 15th-seeded Tigers face sixth-seeded Creighton tonight in the Sweet 16.