How Sweet It Was

From the time his team had finished off Missouri last Saturday to reach the NCAA Sweet 16 until tip-off Friday night in Louisville, Princeton head men's basketball coach Mitch Henderson gave a master class on how to represent an institution. 

He was humble. He gave full credit to his players, to his mentors, to the spirit and pride that define the University. He mentioned the great fan support. He talked about how much the team had changed since his playing days in the 1990s. His love of all things Princeton, and not just basketball, was obvious.

There is no grade Henderson can get other than an A+ for how he handled success. 

He also did a masterful job guiding his team through March. His composure and maturity as a coach were obvious, and his team fed off of that. The Tigers maintained their own poise, soaked up every minute and every experience there was to be had and then went out on the biggest stage in their sport and competed as hard as they could.  

And then? March showed that it could be cruel. With each hurdle cleared, the bar gets raised. With each win, the next one becomes even tougher. Any bad stretch and that's the end of it.

Despite it coming to an end, what a run for @PrincetonMBB 👏 pic.twitter.com/twO7eSzCYA

— CBS Sports (@CBSSports) March 25, 2023

And it doesn't matter if you're the 15 seed who has already won two massive games in the NCAA tournament. When the end comes, you're not ready for it and you don't like it one bit. It leaves you wanting more and wondering what might have been.

The end came for Princeton Friday night in Louisville, where the Tigers fell 86-75 to sixth-seeded Creighton. Princeton had fallen behind early but rallied in the first half to go up 38-34, and at that point, Princeton was dripping with confidence. The team wanted it. The crowd certainly did, especially the Tiger fans who had converged on the KFC Yum! Center from all over.

Princeton was ahead and playing with momentum. San Diego State had already taken down No. 1 Alabama.

Everyone anywhere in Orange and Black had two words floating through their head: Final Four. The only problem is that Creighton had the same thoughts. And Creighton had a 7-1 big man named Ryan Kalkbrenner who was nearly impossible to stop, especially on a night when another Blue Jay, Baylor Scheierman, shot 5 for 7 from three-point range.

Just like that, it was Creighton who was headed to Sunday's Elite Eight game against San Diego State, and it was Princeton who was headed home. That's how this tournament works.

Of course, if you recall, this was the same Princeton team that lost a 19-point lead on its home court against Yale back on Feb. 18. When Princeton walked off the Jadwin Gym floor that night, who saw this coming? 

Who would have imagined that Princeton's next loss would be in the Sweet 16? The Sweet 16, for Pete's sake. 

Ah, and speaking of Pete, Princeton did this in the first year after the passing of Pete Carril, it's Hall of Fame coach. This team didn't play anywhere near the style that Carril's teams did, but they did play with a bow tie patch on their uniforms out of respect for the late coach, a man many of the members of this team got to know and a man who meant so much to so many of the people in the crowd last weekend in Sacramento and on this night in Kentucky.

Carril used to say that he hoped his team would "give a good account of itself." By any metric, this team did.

Amazingly, Princeton built a 19-point lead against Harvard in the game after the loss to Yale and then had to hold on to win 58-56. Then it was a 19-point deficit against Penn in the regular season finale that Princeton overcame to earn a share of the league championship.

The next challenge was getting a third win over Penn, which Princeton did. Then it was to beat its nemesis Yale to get into the NCAA tournament, which it did.

From there, it was the small matter of No. 2 Arizona and No. 7 Missouri, both of whom Princeton sent home last weekend. It was an extraordinary performance by a team that kept getting better and peaked at the absolute right time.

Ryan Langborg, a senior, scored 52 points in three NCAA games, improving from eight to 22 to 26 against Creighton. Tosan Evbuowman, another senior, had 48 points, 22 rebounds and 18 assists in his three NCAA games.

Just typing that is surreal. Three NCAA games. Princeton had three NCAA games. 

It's a 68-team tournament. It ends with a loss for 67 of those teams. When it comes, it stings. 

And when that sting wears off, you're left to remember what you just accomplished, or, if you're a fan, what you just witnessed. And what you saw from the 2022-23 Princeton men's basketball team is one of the greatest accomplishments in the history of Tiger Athletics. 

This is a team that will never be forgotten. 

Thanks for the magical March, Tigers.