Probable starters
ARIZONA
G Kerr Kriisa (6-3 junior)
G Courtney Ramey (6-3 senior)
F Cedric Henderson (6-6 senior)
F Azuolas Tubelis (6-11 junior)
C Oumar Ballo (7-0 junior)
PRINCETON G Matt Allocco (6-4 junior)
G Ryan Langborg (6-4 senior)
F Caden Pierce (6-6 freshman)
F Tosan Evbuomwan (6-8 senior)
C Keeshawn Kellman (6-9 senior)
How they match up
How they got here: Princeton went 10-4 in the Ivy League to finish in a first-place tie with Yale, then beat Penn and Yale at home in the Ivy League Madness (tournament) to capture the conference’s automatic NCAA Tournament bid. Tosan Evbuomwan had 21 points on 8-for-14 shooting to lead the Tigers in scoring, while Caden Pierce had a double-double of 12 points and 10 rebounds.
Arizona went 14-6 in the Pac-12 to finish in a tie for second with USC, then beat Stanford, ASU and UCLA to win the Pac-12 Tournament in Las Vegas and capture the Pac-12’s automatic bid. The NCAA Selection Committee rated Arizona the No. 7 team overall and put Princeton at 61.
Series history: Arizona has faced Princeton only once before, beating the Tigers 54-41 at McKale Center in the 1985-86 Fiesta Bowl Classic.
Princeton forward Keeshawn Kellman (32) works on his hook as the Tigers get ready to face Arizona in the first round of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament in Sacramento, Calif.
Princeton overview: The Tigers aren’t quite the grind-it-out famous backdoor-cutting team they became known for under legendary former coach Pete Carril. Nor are they the typically undersized low-major Division I team. Instead, they are efficient and tough inside with big men Evbuomwan and Keeshawn Kellman. Princeton ranks ninth nationally in defensive rebounding percentage (22.8) and shoots 2-pointers at a 53.5% rate, ranking 52nd nationally. With a mostly man-to-man attack, they’re tough defensively inside, too, ranking No. 54 in 2-point percentage defense (47.2). Offensively, Princeton shoots 3-pointers 40.7% of the time and converts long-range shots at a mediocre 34.0% rate.
While Evbuomwan is a gifted passer inside, Matt Allocco is a scoring-minded point guard who demands defenses’ respect. Allocco shoots nearly half his shots from beyond the arc, making 3-pointers at a 40.7% rate.
When he takes the ball himself, Evbuomwan shoots 54.2% from 2-point range and draws an average of 5.5 fouls per 40 minutes — but only converts free-throws at a 64.4% rate. Kellman shoots 58.8% from 2-point range and 64.6% from the line. As a team, the Tigers hit only 71.3% of their free throws, ranking 205th in Division I.
At 6-6, Pierce is the Tigers’ leading rebounder and their fourth-leading scorer. He also takes most of his shots from 3-point range, hitting them 33.9% of the time.
He said it
“They’ve got guys that can go get their own buckets, but they still make a good living off guys knocking down the 3-point shots and being unselfish, sharing the basketball and movement. (Evbuomwan) is unique. I’ve seen the Princeton way of doing things when I was at Cornell (as an assistant), and he fits the mold that Princeton has always had, where a lot off their offense kind of runs through a forward.
“(Pierce) is an athlete, an elite rebounder. He’s kind of unassuming. All of a sudden, he’s sneaky in there and he gets a lot of rebounds, scores and moves well off of basketball. He’s active.
“They’re a scrappy team. They’re gonna compete. I don’t think they will come in and be overwhelmed by it.”
— UA assistant coach Steve Robinson, who scouted the Tigers
Princeton forward Tosan Evbuomwan (20) drives to the basket against Yale forward Isaiah Kelly during the second half of the Ivy League championship game, Sunday, March 12, 2023, in Princeton, N.J. Princeton won 74-65.
Key players
PRINCETON — Tosan Evbuomwan
The Tigers’ “point-center” is equally adept at kicking the ball out or taking it inside, where he’s often fouled or gets a buck. The Ivy’s MVP in 2021-22, Evbuomwan was named Most Outstanding Player during the Ivy League tournament after he averaged 21 points on 54.8% shooting along with 5.5 rebounds and 4.0 assists.
ARIZONA — Pelle Larsson
Evbuomwan’s ability to pass and score figures to make life rougher defensively for UA’s Oumar Ballo and Azuolas Tubelis, so it might be up to the Wildcats’ versatile wing defender to help out. He is coming off a strong performance on both sides of the ball in the Pac-12 Tournament, shooting 55% while helping keep both USC and UCLA under 40% from the field.
Sidelines
Carril’s cosmos
Princeton may have traveled the farthest of any NCAA team to its first-round date, some 2,018 miles, but the Tigers couldn’t feel more at home in one sense.
Not only did legendary former coach Pete Carril finish his career by spending the better part of two decades with the Sacramento Kings, but the local NBA team has Tiger blood throughout its history.
Former Princeton player Geoff Petrie was the Kings’ GM from 1994-2013, twice winning the NBA Executive of the Year Award. Carril, who died in August 2022 at 92, served as an assistant coach with the Kings from 1996-2002, 2003-2006 and 2008-2011.
Under their watch, Princeton coach Mitch Henderson was invited to a predraft workout after finishing up as a Tiger player in 1998, joining Jason Williams and Larry Hughes.
“It was a long time ago, but you could feel the energy and the support of the Kings back then,” Henderson said.
There’s still Tiger blood in Sac now. Today, former Princeton football player Monte McNair is the current GM and President of Basketball Operations of the Kings.
Lloyd’s protégé
UA coach Tommy Lloyd has his own personal tie to the Kings, who are sharing their Golden 1 Center home for the NCAA Sacramento pod games this weekend.
He recruited and mentored Kings standout Domantas Sabonis at Gonzaga.
“We’re incredibly close with him and his family,” Lloyd said. “Domas is like a little brother. We had great relationships with his parents and his siblings. In the time we get together, it’s a lot of fun.”
When Sabonis appeared on the way out of Indiana last season, Lloyd said he selfishly hoped he would wind up in Phoenix but found things worked out pretty well.
“When it came to going to Sacramento, I think everyone took a step back. You just trusted Domas would make the best of it,” Lloyd said. “Obviously it’s been an incredible fit. I know Coach (Mike) Brown a little bit as well. The way he’s utilized Domas, the way he’s played, I think it’s special. It’s so much fun to turn on the TV and watch him play the way he does every day because he brings it.
“I think he’s a great fit for this community. I think he’s lucky to have Sacramento, and I think Sacramento’s lucky to have him.”
NIL vs Ivy degree
Unable to take athletic scholarships under Ivy League rules, Princeton players theoretically gained a chance to at least make some money under the name, image and likeness rules that went into effect in 2021.
Except, the way Henderson explained it, there aren’t exactly NIL collectives being formed to funnel the Tigers some cash.
But there is always that Ivy League education to sell.
“Instead of the collective, we talk about the things that we think matter the most for a young kid’s development,” Henderson said. “We want them to be the best versions of themselves.
“NIL, of course, it’s the hot topic. We’re less engaged in that process than were in what’s really going to be reality for the kid. We want him to have a personal relationship with his professors, we want him to engage with his or her alums on campus.
“I think at Princeton, we are the best undergraduate institution in the country. I’m very biased. We aim to find guys that have great character and are going to commit to all the different levels of being at the school.
Numbers game
0 — Arizona losses in four previous NCAA Tournament games in Sacramento (two first-weekend games in 1994 and 1998)
13 — Arizona’s rank among NCAA Tournament teams in average age, weighted by minutes played (21.49), according to analyst John Gasaway. UA guard Kylan Boswell is the youngest player in the tournament at age 17.
17 — Arizona wins in 24 NCAA Tournament games as a No. 2 seed.
21 — Arizona wins in 32 first-round NCAA Tournament games.
Arizona center Oumar Ballo, who said he will play this week in the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament despite a broken left hand, hits a half-court shot in practice Wednesday, March 15, 2023, the day before Arizona's first-round matchup with Princeton in Sacramento, California. Video by Bruce Pascoe/Arizona Daily Star
The NCAA tournaments are set to tip off — with the UA men's team facing Princeton Thursday and the Arizona women's team against West Virginia …
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