Sacramento, CA – No. 15-seeded Princeton upset no. 2 seed Arizona to highlight the first round of NCAA games held in Sacramento. The Tigers lulled the Wildcats into their slower-paced game, got some backdoor conversions and turned their defense up late in the game. Princeton held Arizona without a field goal in their last seven attempts while they closed the game on a seven-point run for a 59-55 victory. They forced Arizona to four turnovers in the last six minutes of the game and held the Wildcats scoreless over the last four minutes and 43 seconds.
The game was close throughout with Arizona having a 31-30 lead at halftime. They then went on a 16-5 run to take a 47-35 lead on a three-pointer from Kylan Boswell. That’s when things went downhill for the Wildcats. 6-8 Tosan Evbuomwan scored on three straight layups on drives from the high post. From there the Tigers get within three points several times, the last on a Matt Allocco layup that cut the deficit to 53-50. The last time Arizona scored was on a Azuloas Tubelis dunk that gave them a 55-50 lead. Two jumpers from Ryan Langborg (8 points) gave the Tigers a 56-55 lead with 2:05 left. Princeton closed the scoring with three points from the foul line. During Arizona scoreless run at the close of the game they had three turnovers and missed seven straight shots, four by Courtney Ramey.
Evbuomwan led Princeton with 15 points, seven rebounds and four assists, competing well with Tubelis and giving him problems with his quickness in driving to the basket. Tubelis led Arizona with 22 points while 7-0 center Oumar Ballo added 13 points and 12 rebounds. The smaller Tigers battled Arizona evenly on the boards, ending the game with a 38-37 advantage. Princeton won despite shooting 4-of-25 on three-pointers. Arizona was not much better with 3-of-16 shooting from deep.
In the opening game Missouri broke open a close game midway in the second half and topped Utah State 76-65. The Tigers were helped by hot second half shooting from D’Moi Hodge and Kobe Brown. Each hit three second half three-pointers to help Missouri pull away. Brown was particularly impressive, showing a diversified game for a 6-8, 240-pounder. Brown hit 3’s off the dribble, scored inside on post moves and was active throughout the game. He finished with 19 points on 7-of-8 shooting (3-of-4 3’s) and led the team with eight rebounds, Hodge led the team with 23 points, making 5-of-19 from deep. 6-9 forward Taylor Funk led the Aggies with 16 points but shot only 2-of-10 on 3’s. The difference in the game was three-point shooting with Missouri connecting on 10-of-25, and Utah State only making 4-of-24. Missouri and Princeton will play in the first game here on Saturday afternoon.
The night session went according to plan with No. 7-seed Northwestern topping No. 10 Boise State 75-57 and No. 2-seed UCLA easily dismantling UNC Asheville 86-63. The two teams will play in the nightcap on Saturday.
Point guard Boo Buie led Northwestern to their win with 22 points, five rebounds, five assists and only one turnover. The game was close throughout but Northwestern led for the entire game. Boise Stare has never won an NCAA Tournament game. This was their ninth straight loss. They were led by point guard Max Rice with 17 points.
In the nightcap UCLA, playing without starting center Adem Bona, ran away from the start, scoring the first 14 points and things did not get better for the Bulldogs from there. The Bruins had a 21-point halftime lead and expanded it in the second half. UCLA was led with 17 points each from Jaime Jaquez Jr. and freshman Amari Bailey. Bailey has seen an expanded offensive role since Jaylen Clark was lost for the season and he has delivered, both at the Pac-12 Tournament and in today’s game. Point guard Tyger Campbell ran UCLA’s offense efficiently as usual, ending the game with ten assists and only two turnovers.
This article was written by Carl Berman, Managing Partner 6-8of NetScouts Basketball. You can follow us on Facebook, or on twitter.
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