SACRAMENTO, Caif. — Princeton isn’t the first team to outrebound Missouri men’s basketball this season.
MU showed on several occasions that it can overcome a deficit on the glass and make adjustments to win games. Those adaptations helped the Tigers reach the Round of 32 in the NCAA Tournament.
In its matchup against Princeton, however, the No. 15 seed hounded the glass and created second-chance opportunities to keep its Cinderella story alive. Princeton’s work on the boards was too much for MU and ended its season with a 78-63 win Saturday.
Princeton grabbed 16 offensive rebounds, which it turned into 19 key second-chance points and later allowed it to slow the game down and keep the ball on its offensive end. While Missouri also sputtered on offense, it limited its chances to cut into Princeton’s lead with a lackluster effort on the boards.
“I feel like we all got caught ball-watching,” Kobe Brown said. “Shot went up, some people were focused on where the ball was about to come off versus who they were guarding, not letting them get to the ball first. I feel like that hurt us a lot, myself included. That was a big problem I had today.”
The Ivy League champion has been stellar on the glass all season. Princeton ranks 11th in the country in rebounding and also used its ability on the boards to beat No. 2 seed Arizona on Thursday.
In Saturday’s domination of MU, Caden Pierce led Princeton with 16 rebounds, including seven offensive boards, flying across the paint for a tip-in late in the final period that put Princeton up by 20.
“We’ve got terrific players,” Princeton coach Mitch Henderson said. “Caden Pierce, 16 rebounds, he’s a freshman. And, I mean, Zach Martini, Tosan (Evbuomwan), we’ve made (rebounding) a huge priority. Keeshawn (Kellman). And they’re playing absolutely fearless. They’re unafraid of anyone.”
Princeton was also able to add to its lead by penetrating the paint off the dribble, maintaining its energy in the interior in response to MU runs. After Missouri ended the first half on a 7-0 run, Princeton ignited its own run to start the final period, which included a wide-open dunk by Kellman.
Late in the first half, Missouri switched to zone to try and fill the gaps Princeton was exploiting. But the Ivy League Tigers were fearless.
Rather than opting to pass around MU’s zone on one possession, Ryan Langborg curved through Missouri’s defense and converted a tough layup. On Princeton’s next possession, it raced down the floor, not allowing MU to get set defensively and allowing Evbuomwan to score an easy layup.
Princeton put on a clinic in the paint from the opening tip. It took a 5-3 lead after Kellman grabbed an offensive rebound, leading to a 3 by Langborg.
“We were in our zone, and it’s kind of hard to match up and get rebounds out of that, but gotta give credit to them,” MU forward Noah Carter said. “They definitely outworked us on the boards.”
While Princeton capitalized on one of Missouri’s biggest weaknesses this season, MU’s run to reach this point has been remarkable. It fought hard to overcome matchups in which it was woefully undersized, defying expectations to win two postseason games and, before that, finish fourth in the SEC.
Though it ends on a bitter note, as the seasons for all but one team in college basketball do, Missouri’s improvement is clear. It was deservedly beaten by a scrappy Princeton team but has improved immensely in coach Dennis Gates’ first season. As MU heads into the offseason, its players might remember Princeton’s performance on the glass for a while but won’t ever forget what they accomplished in the 2022-23 campaign.
“I really enjoyed my time here,” Nick Honor said. “Especially coming out of the transfer portal, just the love I received from the fans, coaching staff and being somewhere where they really value me. So it’s been a hell of a year. I’m just thankful, man. (I’ve) been a lot of different places. This is definitely my favorite, so (I’m) just thankful for that and just glad I could be a part of this.”