Academy grad Mitch Henderson leads Princeton to upset win

SACRAMENTO — Princeton’s win over second-seeded Arizona was a bigger upset than its win over defending champion UCLA 27 years earlier, but there was no victory leap by Mitch Henderson this time.

Henderson is a 1994 Culver Military graduate.

Entering the opening round of the NCAA men’s basketball tournament on Thursday, the odds were slim for the 15th-seeded Tigers, coached by Henderson, to make it past Arizona in the first round.

In fact, only 10 teams seeded No. 15 had ever beaten a No. 2 seed. According to the NCAA March

Madness Bracket Challenge, more people picked Arizona to win the championship (4.73%) than Princeton to defeat Arizona in the first round (4.13%). But the odds didn’t stop Henderson’s Princeton team from upsetting the Wildcats 59-55.

Princeton trailed just 31-30 at halftime and needed to play its best ball in the second half to pull off the upset. They did just that, out rebounding Arizona 9-7, and edging the Wildcats in blocked shots 6-1. Arizona opened a 47-35 lead with just under 12 minutes remaining. Slowly but surely, Henderson’s squad closed the gap. Then the Princeton defense took over, holding Arizona to one basket in the final 4:50 to play.

The win comes 27 years after 13th-seeded Princeton defeated UCLA 43-41 in the opening round of the 1996 tournament. Henderson was playing point guard for Princeton that day, and the win sent Henderson flying into the air with exuberance. The picture remains one of the most iconic photos in Princeton sports history. As the final buzzer went off, people may have expected Henderson to re-create the iconic image, but instead, Henderson walked calmly down the sideline to shake hands with the Arizona team.