In late November, the Princeton University women’s basketball team practiced at the University of Maryland’s XFINITY Center as it prepared for a game at American University.
Now after completing a 30-0 season with a 55-42 win at Penn last week, Princeton is headed back to College Park for the opening round of the NCAA tournament where the eighth-seeded Tigers are slated to play ninth-seeded Wisconsin-Green Bay (28-4) on March 21.
The winner of the game will face the victor of the contest between top-seeded and host Maryland (30-2) and 16th-seeded New Mexico State (22-7) in the second round on March 23 for a Sweet 16 spot in the Spokane Regional.
While Princeton, which has risen to No. 13 nationally in the AP poll, had hoped for a higher seed and to host opening weekend NCAA games, it is now focused on beating the Phoenix.
“I think we were a little surprised but that is OK,” said Princeton senior guard and captain Blake Dietrick, speaking at the Selection Show viewing party held at the Shea Rowing Center on campus.
“It is true that we haven’t beaten a top 25 team so that is certainly something that works against us. I think we are just really excited to play Green Bay and hopefully give them a really good game and get our first tournament win. This season is not about the seed we got, it is about us. It is about getting this win for us, for our program, for our coaches, and for our our fans. I wouldn’t say that is a major concern, it is us winning a game for Princeton.”
In Dietrick’s view, the Tigers have proven their mettle by prevailing in a handful of close calls.
“The Penn game, the Hampton game, the American game, the first Yale game, those were all tests for us,” said Dietrick, the Ivy League Player of the Year who led the Tigers this year in scoring (14.9) and assists (5.0).
“They are tests of our team, tests that we can play in a competitive game. They show we don’t have to get out to a quick early lead to be comfortable to get shots. I think we are definitely ready.”
Junior forward Annie Tarakchian and her teammates are going into the tournament with a chip on their shoulder as they look for the program’s first NCAA win after losses in the four previous trips to the Big Dance.
“We definitely have something to prove, regardless of what our seed is,” said Tarakchian, a first-team All-Ivy performer who averaged 10.1 points and 9.2 rebounds a game this season.
“We haven’t had a tournament win yet and that is our goal. Now we know our opponent and our goal is the same, to get a win. I think we have to stay focused, work hard, and play hard. I think we all have to stay grounded and stick together. We are a five-on-five team. We can’t go one-on-one or how a lot of tournament teams play.”
While Princeton may not have faced the most rigorous non-conference slate, playing only one other tournament team, Pitt, Tarakchian believes the Tigers are sufficiently battle-tested.
“We have faced so many different opponents; I think we are ready to adjust to whatever they throw at us,” said Tarakchian.
“We practice against a variety of styles so the coaches do a good job of getting us ready for whatever is at hand.”
Tarakchian will be sporting a different look in the tourney, having bleached her hair blonde, making good on an early season promise to Dietrick.
“Back when we were 2-0, we were just talking and Blake said if we go undefeated, Annie will you bleach your hair and I said no doubt,” recalled Tarakchian.
“Lo and behold we are 30-0 and I have bleached hair. It is awesome. I am a woman of my word. I was thinking as this was happening, this could be way, way worse. This could actually help me. We are going to have a lot of fun dancing in the tournament.”
For Princeton head coach Courtney Banghart, it is always fun to be involved in the tournament.
“First of all any time you can get to the NCAA tournament, and it is not a cliche, it is amazing,” said Banghart, a former star player and assistant coach at Dartmouth who made four trips to the NCAA in her Big Green years and has now guided the Tigers to five appearances in March Madness.
“Seeing all of those teams pop up, name after name, they are good, they are good, so on. I have always said this, any time I can see my name on that board, I am happy because it is so hard to do.”
Banghart knows that Princeton is facing a very good team in Wisconsin-Green Bay.
“Green Bay is a good team,” said Banghart. “They have won 28 games, they have a really balanced offensive attack, they are tough defensively, they have been to the tournament multiple years. They share the ball well, I think everybody on their team has made at least five 3s on the year. They play about 10 kids, who average double figure minutes. I like the matchup because there is not an athletic advantage right away. Often on the bigger stage, there is more size to deal with. We will have the athletic and size advantage so that is a first for us. In that sense it is how well we play, not how well do they play.”
While Princeton had hoped to stage games on the opening weekend of the tournament, Banghart isn’t going to dwell on the disappointment over what many believe to be an unfairly low seeding in light of its 30-0 campaign and national ranking.
“There are a lot of coaches who are going to think that we are not seeded properly,” said Banghart.
“The only people having control over that is the bracketology people. We have control of how well we play. We have to play well to win; that is all we are going to worry about. Rutgers and Seton Hall might not have been in the 8-9 game if they would play us. The thing that has been really hard is that you can only play the teams that are going to play you. We played Pitt, they are in the tournament. We played Michigan, they had a bad year. We can only play the teams that will play us.”
Former Princeton Director of Athletics Gary Walters weighed in afterward, expressing his dismay at the seeding determination in no uncertain terms.
“It is incomprehensible to me as a former player, coach, member of the NCAA men’s basketball selection committee, and a chairman of that committee,” said Walters.
“I have no understanding of how they can possibly place Princeton as an eighth seed when it is seventh in the Sagarin rating, 11th in the RPI, and 13th in the coaches poll.”
In Banghart’s view, the Tigers can now take matters into their own hands.
“I think these guys are coming in with a sense of accomplishment and a chance to show the rest of the world that we get to play you now because someone else took care of the scheduling for us,” said Banghart.
Having beaten VCU in the opening round of last year’s WNIT, Princeton has shown that it can win in the postseason.
“Without a doubt it helps because it is a team we had never seen, it is a team where you trust your coaching staff and the scouting report,” said Banghart. “It is a one and done mentality, we don’t have that in our league. I think it is unbelievably helpful.”
Dietrick, for her part, doesn’t want to see her final campaign end any time soon.
“It is awesome, it has been great,” said Dietrick. “I wouldn’t trade it for anything else, I wouldn’t want to do it with any other group of girls. I love everybody on this team and I am just hoping that we can keep it going.”
Tarakchian believes Princeton has what it takes to make an NCAA breakthrough.
“We just have to break that first round thing,” said Tarakchian. “I think this is the year, this team is truly special. I think from top to bottom, we have proved it this year.”