Princeton looking to make first Elite Eight since 1965 with win over Creighton

PRINCETON, N.J. — The Princeton Tigers look to continue their Cinderella run in the NCAA Tournament on Friday when they take on Creighton in the Sweet 16. 

Students were on spring break during Princeton’s first round upset of Arizona, but they were back on campus Friday night and pumped up for the big game. 

March Madness: NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 and Elite 8 schedule

The Tigers, a No. 15 seed, weren’t supposed to go this far. They defeated the No. 2 seed Arizona in the first round, then beat No. 7 seed Missouri by 15 points in the second round. 

Up next, No. 6 seed Creighton, who just upset Baylor. So does Princeton have a shot? 

“Creighton’s starting five has always been one of the more complete starting fives in college basketball,” said CBS Sports College Basketball Insider Jon Rothstein.

A win Friday would mean Princeton’s first Elite Eight appearance since 1965.

MORE: No stranger to big upsets, Princeton will need another to get to NCAA Tournament Elite 8

New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy’s and First Lady Tammy Murphy’s son is a senior at Princeton. 

“I think Charlie is very excited, but he’s at Princeton. So we are seeing this through the lens of everybody else who’s not at Princeton and I think that we appreciate that,” said Tammy Murphy. 

“I also think that folks realize that this team belongs. You get some of these ‘Holy cow, where did that come from?’ There was a little of that when they beat Arizona, but they dropped the hammer on Missouri,” said Gov. Murphy. 

Students at the campus watch party were already starting to plan for a potential Final Four appearance in Houston.

“We’re gonna fly out there. We’re gonna fly out there. We’ll charter a plane. We’ll do whatever it takes to get there,” freshman Chloe Long said.

“There’s a very strong culture of supporting other students here. And I think especially with this run, like, everyone’s been so excited to see both teams, men’s and women’s teams, in March Madness,” student body president Stephen Daniels said.

Princeton is a 10-point underdog to Creighton. But remember, they were 16-point underdogs against Arizona.