Princeton vs. UCLA

The NCAA Tournament is the annual sporting event that probably most enthralls the nation. This is because it last for a month and involves so many teams from different parts of the nation. Every geographical corner of the US is represented. The tournament establishes the nation's #1 team in collegiate basketball and provides for some spectacular moments along the way. Every year, upsets occur which forever cement the victors in the minds of the public as Cinderella, even if this title is only carried until the next round. Since the establishment of the 64 team field in 1985, the odds of phenomenal upsets has gone up dramatically. And, every year, it can be assured that early round upsets will occur.

By the time that the field narrows to 16 teams, the upsets fade away and the true champion, the nation's best team rises from the pack. The final four and championship game upsets, like 1983 and 1985, can be examined retrospectively in a different light than they were perceived at the time. Both N.C. State and Villanova, while pulling off mighty upsets, were certainly expertly coached and had the talent of a national champion. In short, they could beat any team in the nation on a given night. But, for the early round upset teams of the last 30 years, their victories were one shot deals and they certainly did not possess the talent to win if they were matched against the same team the following night.

There are just too many of these "Upset U's" to discuss. It is a testament to the excitement of NCAA Tournament. So, I have chosen one upset that epitomizes many. It happened on March 14, 1996 in Indianapolis, IN. It is significant because it involved the defending national champion in the first round of the tournament. UCLA, champions of the Pac 10 conference, were the 4th seed in the Southeast Region with a 23-8 record. Princeton, which had suffered a series of first round heartbreaking losses from 1989 to 1992 at the hands of Georgetown, Arkansas, Villanova and Syracuse, were 10 point underdogs as the 13th seed.

Princeton had barely made the tournament in '96. They had been routed in the season's last game against Penn, which tied them with the Quakers for the Ivy League title. The two teams squared off on a neutral site for a tie-breaker game five days before the start of the NCAA tournament. The game went into overtime with Princeton pulling it out. Following the game, Pete Carril, Princeton's longtime coach, wrote "I am retiring" on the blackboard in the team's locker room. For Carril, there would be one more game remaining in his Princeton career.

From the Associated Press:

Princeton wrecked any ideas UCLA might have had of repeating, and ruined more than one person's office pool. Running a supposedly outdated offense that slowed the tempo to a crawl, the Tigers made the Bruins play Princeton basketball Thursday night and pulled off a shocking 43-41 win in the NCAA Southeast Regional at Indianapolis.

Princeton came into the tournament with a recent history of close calls- close calls, but all losses. This time though, the Tigers completed the job by scoring the game's final nine points, capped by a backdoor layup by Gabe Lewullis with 3.9 seconds left that jumped right out of the pages of the team's playbook.

The unlikely victory was an emotional one for Princeton and its coach Pete Carril, who announced his retirement last week after winning the Ivy League title.

"You have a game like this and we win, and maybe if we play UCLA 100 times, they would win 99 times," Carril said. "But tonight, we did."

Saturday, the Tigers will get a chance to do it again. Next up is Mississippi State, a 58-51 winner over Virginia Commonwealth. The Bulldogs' practice today undoubtedly included defending backdoor cuts.

With the score tied 41-41, Lewullis got Charles O'Bannon to buy a stutter-step fake, took a pass from Steve Goodrich, and scored in traffic (video). UCLA, 11 times the national champion, called timeout, and officials reset the clock from 1.3 seconds to 2.2 despite Carril's protests.

The Bruins had one final try, but Toby Bailey's jumper from the baseline was an airball at the buzzer. O'Bannon made no excuses for falling for Lewullis' deke.

"It was my fault, unfortunately," O'Bannon said. "It's over and done with. I'm looking forward to next year."

Princeton wound up with the lowest winning point total in the tournament since the NCAA adopted the shot clock in 1985.

Sydney Johnson finished with 11 points for Princeton, and Lewullis added 10. Bailey led the Bruins with 13 and Kris Johnson had 10.

It was the first time a defending champion lost in the first round since Richmond beat Indiana 72-69 in 1988.

Magic in March: The night Princeton believed in miracles

By Dan Wewers

Princetonian Senior Writer

This article originally ran on March 15, 1996, after men's basketball defeated defending national champion UCLA 43-41 in the first round of the NCAA tournament.

INDIANAPOLIS — You could sense it spreading throughout the arena last night in Indianapolis. Belief. Belief in miracles.

Belief in the improbable. Belief in the impossible — an incredible 43-41 Princeton victory over the defending national champion UCLA (23-8) last night at the RCA Dome in Indianapolis before a crowd of 31,569. The upset was perhaps the greatest Princeton victory under men's basketball head coach Pete Carril.

The Tigers (22-6 overall) advance to the second round of the NCAA tournament's Southeast Region. They face Mississippi State (23-7), who defeated Virginia Commonwealth, 58-51, last night, at 7:10 p.m. Saturday.

"This marks a big step for our team," junior captain Sydney Johnson said. "We just proved to ourselves that we can beat people. (Carril) was talking earlier and said, 'It doesn't matter if I believe . . . It matters if you believe.'"

Upset fever.

This belief- this upset fever- was contagious. It took hold of Princeton after the opening five minutes, when senior forward Chris Doyal drained his team's first three-pointer. It then took hold of the crowd, first the Princeton supporters, then the MIssissippi State fans, and then the entire arena. By the game's end, it had taken hold of UCLA.

Down, 41-34, with five minutes, 38 seconds remaining, things looked grim for the Tigers. Princeton had battled to a 19-18 halftime deficit and kept it close through most of the second half, as Princeton somehow managed to capitalize on UCLA's mistakes. At the 10:34 mark, the score was tied, 31-31. But a 10-3 UCLA run gave the Bruins a seven-point lead and forced a Carril timeout.

Johnson came out of the break at 5:38 and drained a long-range three pointer to cut the lead to four. Sophomore center Steve Goodrich grabbed a rebound and dropped in a basket. Belief grew. With 2:58 remaining, Johnson added a layup to tie the score at 41 and put the crowd in hysteria.

The teams exchanged possessions without scoring until 21 seconds remained, when Princeton held possesion of the ball and had the opportunity to take the final shot.

Freshman forward Gabe Lewullis took it — and made it. Goodrich fed Lewullis on a cut through the middle and Lewullis converted. Mass pandemonium. A backdoor play — Princeton's most classic maneuver to win Princeton's biggest game.

It was not over, by any means. But that belief in miracles was overflowing. With 2.2 seconds left, junior guard Cameron Dollar inbounded to sophomore guard Toby Bailey, who dribbled around the left baseline and missed his shot long.

The game was over. The miracle had come true. Princeton 43, UCLA 41. All those years of Carril coming up just a few points short were erased. Do you believe in miracles? After last night, you gotta believe.

On campus, the celebration was immediate and dramatic. Crowds of students gathered at the 'Street,' chanting and singing the alma mater. When a Ryder truck drove through Prospect Avenue, ecstatic Tiger fans grabbed hold of the still-moving vehicle. Even an hour after the game ended, throngs of Tiger supporters were still milling around outside the clubs.