Sweet 16 Cinderellas: #15 Princeton Tigers
Just sixteen remain in the NCAA Tournament, and the Princeton Tigers out of the Ivy League are still standing. To get you up to speed on who this team is, we profile the Tigers and how they found such a high level of success in 2022-23.
Head Coach: Mitch Henderson
It took 12 seasons, but Princeton head coach Mitch Henderson got himself to his second Big Dance and notched the first program win in the NCAA Tournament since 1998. His teams have consistently ranked in the upper echelon of Division I when it comes to both three-point shooting percentage and three-pointers attempted. This year’s team is an anomaly as they rank outside the top 200 in three-point percentage, and coach Henderson may have found a better formula to success based on his roster construction. More on that later.
Star Player: Tosan Evbuomwan
There are not many players in college basketball who deserve the national spotlight more than Tosan Evbuomwan. He was one of Princeton’s top three scorers a season ago, along with Ethan Wright and Jaelin Llewellyn. Wright and Llewellyn each entered the transfer portal in the offseason and ended up at Colorado and Michigan, respectively. Evbuomwan chose to stay, and he is reaping the benefits now. The England native is the center of Princeton’s offense and displays post moves and passing, which can seriously frustrate the opposing defense.
Strength: Frontcourt Ability
Between Evbuomwan and teammates Keeshawn Kellman and Caden Pierce, the Tigers have the frontcourt ability to keep up with high-major programs. Size and ability in the paint can often be a disadvantage when it comes to Cinderellas, but this Princeton team has skillful bigs that can get you a bucket down low if shots aren’t falling. This trio of bigs – specifically Evbuomwan – will face their biggest test against Creighton’s defensive stalwart in big man Ryan Kalkbrenner on Thursday night.
Weakness: Forcing Turnovers
Princeton has gotten incredibly lucky to run into Arizona and Missouri on dreadful shooting nights because it’s the only way they can consistently get stops. The Tigers are horrendous at forcing turnovers, ranking in the bottom 15 nationally and dead last in the Ivy League. Suppose they are going to make it any deeper into the NCAA Tournament. In that case, they’ll need to force some disruption on the defensive end to get the points off turnovers teams desperately need to keep Cinderella runs alive.
Buy Or Sell The Final Four Odds? (+2000)
As exciting as it would be to see the Tigers make a run to the Final Four, we don’t see it in the cards. The metrics just have the rest of the region far higher ranked than Princeton, and it would take an incredible stretch of 80 minutes for them to reach Houston. This price isn’t rich enough for our blood.
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