Princeton University Athletics
Thursday TigerBlog - Let The Games Begin
March 19, 2026 | Tiger Blog
Welcome to what is the start of the favorite few days of the annual sporting calendar for, oh, quite a few million of you.
It's the start of the first full day of the NCAA basketball tournaments. There will be wall-to-wall basketball for the next few days, as the 128 teams in Round 1 of the two tournaments get whittled down to the 32 who will remain for the two Sweet 16s.
You'll hear people bemoan the demise of their brackets. You'll watch the end of more than one upset. You'll fall in love with a player whose name you do not yet know.
And you'll prove what TigerBlog has always said.
The NCAA basketball tournaments are unlike any other postseason event in that they get less and less interesting with each passing round. The excitement of the next few days begins to wane, for several reasons — mostly because 1) the sheer quantity of games day and night almost surely will lead to something amazing and 2) all the people who have filled out their own brackets are dialed in to whatever upsets they've chosen.
Want proof?
Ask yourself to name as many great first-round games as you can. Then ask yourself to name as many great Sweet 16 games as you can.
See?
For the teams involved, the time between the Selection Show and opening tip-off is a strange mix of a complete blur and of having time stand still. TigerBlog has been lucky to have traveled with Princeton Basketball teams to the NCAA tournament, and every part of the experience is to be cherished.
At the same time, there's also a game to play — or hopefully games. Just as the journey is incredible, the destination cannot be overlooked.
After all, this is your chance to make history, the kind that will be referred to decades after the fact, as those wonderful highlights that pop up this time each year remind everyone.
Each team gets its day-before practice at the actual venue. Those are more walkthroughs. The actual practicing goes on in some small college gym, or even a local high school gym.
The Princeton women's basketball team has had to deal with all kinds of logistical challenges once it was announced Sunday that the team would be flying all the way across the country for its NCAA opener at UCLA. If you forgot, the Tigers are the No. 9 seed in their region (Sacramento 2) and will take on No. 8 Oklahoma State Saturday night at 7:30 Eastern time in the first round.
The winner of that game gets the winner of the game between the top-seeded Bruins and No. 16 Cal-Baptist.
If you're going to be the lower seed and want to win an NCAA game, logic suggests that the best spot to be is No. 9. If you want to win two games, well, the likely second-round opponent is the No. 1 seed, in this case, a UCLA team that is 31-1 and has a good a chance as anyone to win it all.
But hey, that's why you play, right? Both Oklahoma State and Princeton would love to have the chance to be the one to make that kind of history.
Speaking of history, here's something you might not have known about Oklahoma State's teams (this comes from the website visitstillwater.org):
For a decade, students had been fiercely competing in inter-class sports. However, with the formation of the football team, they were encouraged to set aside class rivalries and unite under a common banner. The students chose the Tigers as their mascot and adopted the orange and black colors, inspired by the tradition of Princeton University. This led to Oklahoma A&M being affectionately dubbed the "Princeton of the Prairie." Despite lacking a paid coach, 14 determined young men made up the Tiger squad for their first season.
Princeton of the Prairie. How about that?
The Princeton of the Prairie and the Princeton in New Jersey have never played before. Ok State is 5-0 all-time against the Ivy League, most recently with a win over Harvard in 2022.
The Cowgirls, as they are known now, do have one Princeton connection: assistant coach Robyne Bostick was an assistant at Princeton in the 2001-02 season. Also, in keeping with the way of the world, the 13-player OSU roster includes eight players who are transfers.
Lastly, here's an interesting fact for you: Between the two teams, there are 10 players who average in double figures in scoring — and an 11th who averages 9.9.
Let the games begin. Enjoy the next few days.
It's the best part of the Madness.
