History? Or Heartbreak?

TigerBlog was talking to Kit Mueller after Princeton's men's lacrosse game at Cornell Saturday afternoon.

Mueller's son, Cooper, is a sophomore on the team. 

After that conversation, TB got onto the bus for the ride back to Princeton. Along the way, he watched the Ivy League women's basketball tournament final between Harvard and Columbia. 

During the game, the idea of a three-bid Ivy came up frequently. Would the league really get three teams in the NCAA tournament? 

That wouldn't be decided until the Selection Show, which was still 24 hours away. And that took TB back to Kit Mueller — and back 34 years. 

Mueller's senior year at Princeton was 1990-91, when he won his second-straight Ivy League Player of the Year award. Princeton went 14-0 in the league that year and made it into the national top 20. 

When it came time for the Selection Show, Mueller invited TB to watch the NCAA draw with him and his teammates. Even now, all this time later, it remains one of the more vivid memories TB has related to Princeton Athletics. 

And that's why he smiled a bit as he rode along on the bus from Ithaca. 

There is really nothing like a Selection Show for an NCAA tournament. In most of the rest of the world of sports, you realize the moment you reach the playoffs. You also probably have a good sense of whom you will play and where. 

Not in the NCAA. 

Nope. Some teams get automatic bids. Others sweat out at-large bids. None of them know their seed, opponent or location.

You find out when everyone else does. For all of the time and energy put into "bracketology," none of that matters until the show.

There's a committee that chooses the field, and then it gets revealed to the world at a certain time on a certain platform, depending on the sport. 

That's why you see teams react with such joy when their name comes up. They can't help it.  

It also doesn't end happily for everyone. Someone has to the last team or teams left out by the committee. It's a helpless feeling.

Since that night back in 1991, TB has watched more of these shows than he can remember. He's seen them with teams that had automatic bids, teams that were pretty sure they were getting an at-large bid and teams that were hoping they would. It's not a happy place to be when it doesn't fall your way. 

All of this takes TB to last night's women's Selection Show. Would Princeton be in? 

Depending on which pre-tournament preview you liked, Princeton would either be the last team in or the first team out. 

So what happened? 

First of all, nobody wants to hear the commentators talk about anything at all. Just announce the brackets. 

For Princeton to get in, Colorado and Virginia Tech had to not be called. And each time a bracket was revealed, especially in the area of where the last time would be seeded, the tension would build. TB thought the games in College Park would be a good landing spot, but the 12 and 13 seeds went elsewhere. 

Still no Princeton. Still no Colorado. Still no Virginia Tech. 

Harvard? The Crimson had the automatic bid and a 10 seed. Their opponent will be Michigan State. Columbia? The Lions will play Washington in an 11 vs. 11 First Four matchup. 

And now half the bracket was gone. But a 10 and an 11 for the Ivy League? That was a good sign. Harvarad as a 10? Princeton had two wins over the Crimson. 

Okay, now what? History? Or heartbreak? 

As the show went to commercial, it showed a group of teams who were having watch parties, waiting to hear their names. Was it a sign that Princeton was among them and the other two weren't? 

The next 13 seed was Montana State, at Ohio State. Would the 5-12 game be Princeton? Tennessee was the 5. And the 12 ... South Florida. 

More drama. More angst. More nerves. 

 Okay. Maybe the 6-11 game? Michigan, the No. 6. 

And then? 

There they were. The Princeton Tigers!!!! In an 11 vs. 11 game, against Iowa State.

Has TB ever used exclamation points before? They're certainly justified here. 

There are three Ivy League women's basketball teams in the NCAA tournament. It's a first, and it's historic. 

Princeton lost a tough one to Harvard in the Ivy semifinals 70-67 after an other-worldly night by Harmoni Turner, who went for 44 points. That had to be a long bus ride home for the team.

And yet, two days later, that anxiety and sadness turned to pure joy. 

Princeton is back in the NCAA tournament. Maybe the Tigers had to sweat this one out a bit more than some of the others, but hey — the outcome is what matters. 

Time for more Madness.