The 2023 NCAA Tournament is beginning to look like the New Jersey invitational. Perhaps that's a bit of a stretch, but Princeton has already made it to the Sweet 16 and fellow New Jersey school Fairleigh Dickinson can join the Tigers if the Knights can beat Florida Atlantic Sunday.
Fairleigh Dickinson is a win over Florida Atlantic away from joining Princeton in the Sweet 16, which is one of the craziest New Jersey tweets ever tweeted.
— Rich Eisen (@richeisen) March 19, 2023
That may not be hugely difficult for 16th-seeded Fairleigh Dickinson because the Knights have already beaten No. 1 seeded Purdue. That Friday night victory was only the second time in NCAA tournament history that a 16 had defeated a 1.
Princeton is already there after punishing Missouri 78-63. The 15th-seeded Tigers have beaten second-seeded Arizona in addition to 7th seeded Mizzou.
Princeton has advanced to the Sweet 16 for the first time in tournament history. The Tigers last made it to the regional semifinal in 1967, and this is the furthest they have gone since then. Princeton is the first Ivy League team to win its second-round matchup since Cornell accomplished the feat.
Princeton took charge of the game against Missouri early in the game and never allowed Missouri to believe that it could get back in the game and give the victors a fight. Ryan Langborg led the way with 22 points for Princeton, while Blake Peters came off the bench and scored 17 points. He was 5 of 8 from beyond the arc and also made 2 free throws.
The Knights should be brimming with confidence when they take on Florida Atlantic. Sean Moore scored 19 points to lead FDU to its upset of Purdue, and he was joined by Demetre Roberts and Cameron Tweedy, who scored 12 and 10 points, respectively. If FDU is going to be successful, it will have to contain guard Johnell Davis, who leads Florida Atlantic with an average of 13.5 points per game.
Follow Us
Subscribe