Men's hoops travels to New Orleans to meet UNC

Princeton can no longer use the element of surprise.

Not after the Tigers' 50-49 loss to Georgetown in 1989. Not after sending defending champion UCLA to an early exit in 1996.

"We're not going to sneak up on anybody," Princeton head coach John Thompson '88 said.

The No. 15 seed Tigers (16-10 overall, 11-3 Ivy League) still managed to turn a few heads down in Chapel Hill on Sunday.

"Drawing Princeton in our bracket certainly got the attention of our players, because we respect them so much," UNC head coach Matt Doherty said. "Some of our players played against them before and know how difficult a task it is. They know Princeton's not going to be afraid of North Carolina. Their program beat UCLA a couple of years ago after they had won the national championship, so we respect them a great deal and know it's going to be a tough game."

As they did with nearly every game this season, that's exactly what the Tigers can promise: a tough game. Princeton has overcome departures and injuries all season long, and has defied expectations to be where it is right now. And now that the Tigers are down on the bayou, they're going to try and extend their season a little further.

"You have to go in thinking that you have a chance to win," sophomore forward Kyle Wente said. "If you don't, what's the point in going down there?"

"We're definitely not going to back down from them," senior guard C.J. Chapman said. "That's what we play the game for."

The matchup presented in this game is one of extremes. No. 2 seed UNC (25-6, 13-3 Atlantic Coast Conference) starts three players taller than Princeton senior center Nate Walton. Tar Heel center Brendan Haywood will be a force in the paint at seven feet, and forwards Jason Capel and Kris Lang at 6-8 and 6-11, respectively, will have to be closely watched by the Tigers to limit their points in the interior.

"Our starting center (Walton) is 6-7," Thompson said. "So it's a huge factor. It's an obstacle we've faced all year. I think as the year's progressed we've gotten better at playing against much larger, much more physical teams.

"Now this one is the biggest, the most physical, the most talented one that we've faced all year, but that's what playing in the NCAA tournament is all about."

The Tigers and Tar Heels have met 12 times in the programs' histories, with UNC leading the series 7-5. In the two teams' last meeting in 1997, the Tar Heels defeated Princeton, 50-42.

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"I remember them being a tough team," Chapman said. "They play hard, and they had an answer for everything we did. This is a different team now. They had a pretty good perimeter game then. They have a good all-around game now but I really don't think they have that many good 3-point shooters, and I think that's going to work to our advantage.

"We're a small team and we're going to have to get down low on them [defensively], and hopefully we won't have to cover out too much unless someone heats up on the outside."

That someone would probably be guard and co-ACC player of the year Joseph Forte. The sophomore leads the Tar Heels with 21.6 points per game. Although Forte struggled in UNC's ACC championship game against Duke, Princeton should not be shocked if the shooting guard takes out his offensive frustrations on the Tigers.

Princeton will be ready. The Tar Heels are not going to sneak up on the Tigers, either.