PRINCETON GAMEDAY
WHO: No. 15Princeton (23-8) vs. No. 6Creighton (23-12)
WHEN: Friday, 9 p.m., KFC Yum! Center, Louisville, Ky.
TV/ RADIO: TBS (Ian Eagle, Jim Spanarkel)/ Princeton Sports Network (Derek Jones, Noah Savage); Westwood One (Tom McCarthy, Jordan Cornette)
LAST TIME OUT: Princeton def. Missouri, 78-63; Creighton def. Baylor, 85-76
STREAK: Princeton W6; Creighton W2
SERIES HISTORY: Creighton leads, 1-0. The Blue Jays won the only meeting, 63-54, on Dec. 29, 1961in Omaha, Neb. Creighton has faced Ivy League opposition twice under 12th-year coach Greg McDermott, defeating Yale (2017) and Brown (2021).
COMMON OPPONENTS: Creighton lost to Arizona, 81-79, in the Maui Invitational final on Nov. 23; Princeton def. Arizona, 59-55, in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
THE OTHER GAME: No. 1seed Alabama (31-5) plays No. 5seed San Diego State (29-6) in the first game on Friday for a spot in the Elite Eight.
PRINCETON PLAYER TO WATCH:
Tosan Evbuomwan gets many of the headlines, but freshman Caden Pierce is a star in the making. The 6-foot-6 forward is coming off nine points and 16rebounds in the second-round win over Missouri. The Ivy Rookie of the Year has a doubledouble in three of the last five games and double-digit rebounds in four of them. His relentless rebounding is a big reason why the Tigers rank among the top-15nationally in rebounds per game (39.4) and rebounding margin (+6.8). Princeton has 31second-chance points in the tournament against just four for the opponents.
CREIGHTON PLAYER TO WATCH:
Ryan Kalkbrenner, the 7-foot-1center, is a player Princeton simply has not seen this season. Not only does he average a team-best 15.7points while hauling down 6.2rebounds, but he was a First Team All-Big East, the Big East Defensive Player of the Year and is a finalist for Naismith Defensive Player of the Year. You wonder if Creighton may try the gigantic Kalkbrenner on the 6-foot-8Evbuomwan. Kalkbrenner went for 31points and was 11-of-14from the floor in the Blue Jays’ first-round win over N.C. State.