BOISE, Idaho — THIS DAY IN SPORTS…March 24, 2013, 10 years ago today:
Florida Gulf Coast becomes the first No. 15 seed in the history of the NCAA Tournament to make the Sweet 16 by upending seventh-seeded San Diego State 81-71. FGCU had been in existence for only 15 years as a university and was in only its second year of eligibility for the tournament. Two nights earlier the Eagles had become only the seventh No. 15 seed ever to beat a No. 2 when they knocked off Georgetown, 78-68, earning the nickname “Dunk City.” Florida Gulf Coast’s Cinderella run ended with a 62-50 loss to Florida in the Sweet 16. And coach Andy Enfield’s tenure with the Eagles ended shortly thereafter when he took the top job at USC, where he remains today.
Saint Peter’s did FGCU one better last year and advanced all the way to the Elite Eight in a jaw-dropping NCAA Tournament performance. The Peacocks made that piece of history with a 67-64 win over No. 3 seed Purdue in the Sweet 16. (The Boilermakers would suffer the ultimate indignity with their 63-58 loss to 16th-seeded Fairleigh Dickinson last Friday.) Saint Peter’s had upended Kentucky and Murray State in the first two rounds. The Peacocks would finally lose 69-69 to North Carolina in the Elite Eight. They didn’t make the Big Dance this year. Neither did the Tarheels.
And this year we have Princeton. Boise State fans in Sacramento who weren’t next door for the Broncos’ pregame function a week ago witnessed the 15th-seeded Tigers’ 59-55 takedown of second-seeded Arizona. That was one thing. But Princeton left no doubt in the second round against Missouri last Saturday, jumping on Mizzou early and winning 78-63, the largest margin of victory ever for a No. 15 seed in the NCAA Tournament. The Tigers meet Creighton tonight in the Sweet 16 in Louisville. We should mention that Princeton has been to the Sweet 16 before. That was in 1965, during the Lyndon B. Johnson administration, when the team was led by future U.S. Senator Bill Bradley.
San Diego State’s loss to FGCU, meanwhile, ensured that none of the Mountain West’s five teams invited to the Dance in 2013 (including Boise State) would make the Sweet 16. The Aztecs’ appearance tonight against Alabama marks only the third MW Sweet 16 slot in the past 10 years — SDSU also got there in 2014, and Nevada made it in 2018.
(Tom Scott hosts the Scott Slant segment during the football season on KTVB’s Sunday Sports Extra. He also anchors four sports segments each weekday on 95.3 FM KTIK and one on News/Talk KBOI. His Scott Slant column runs every Wednesday.)
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