On a Night of Surprises, Princeton—but Not Kansas—Reaches the Sweet 16 – The Wall Street Journal

On a Night of Astonishments, Princeton—however Not Kansas—Arrives at the Sweet 16

In a night loaded with shocks, Princeton University men’s b-ball group out of nowhere achieved the Sweet 16 out of the 2021 NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Tournament, while the University of Kansas was ousted.

The Big Ten’s Tigers, seeded No. 13 and commanded by counsel Mitch Henderson, obliterated the fourth-seeded University of Oklahoma Sooners, 63-51, in their Round of 32 match-up on Sunday in Indianapolis. The Tigers, who had lost six straight to the Sooners, did not trail after the opening minutes, and extended their lead to as much as 17 in the second half.

The University of Kansas Jayhawks, then again, were dropped from the competition in a stunning 68-66 misfortune to the fifth-seeded University of Creighton Bluejays, likewise on Sunday. The Jayhawks, who had been seeded No. 3 and had been the competition top choices, were driven by mentor Bill Self.

The Bluejays found the middle value of a little more than 60 points per game in the competition, while the Jayhawks balanced 67. Kansas had chosen up an advantage in the main half and kept up it until the last minutes, when Creighton’s Christian Bishop scored the triumphant layup.

The Tigers, then again, figured out how to keep Oklahoma’s offense on a tight leash, permitting just four 3-pointers and 28% shooting from the field. Princeton’s Ryan Schwieger, who scored 20 points and got 10 bounce back, was named the game’s Most Outstanding Player.

The Tigers, who have not achieved the Sweet 16 since 2017, will currently confront the University of Villanova Wildcats on Saturday in the south local. In the event that they win that game, they will advance to the Elite Eight.

The Jayhawks, then again, will head home after a baffling finish to a generally incredible season.

While the outturns of Sunday’s games probably won’t have been the ones fans anticipated, they certainly resulted in a night of noteworthy amazements.