:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/9688555/princeton.0.jpg)
Who? The Tigers of Princeton.
What? A cursory glance shows no specific reason why, but tigers have been associated with Princeton since at least 1911.
Where? The picturesque town of Princeton, New Jersey.
When? Technically, on March 9th, when they beat Brown and Penn lost to Yale. It became double-plus official on March 12th at the end of the Ivy League season.
Why? They won the Ivy League regular season title.
How? It took a little longer than usual for the Tigers to clinch, but they did so even before their final game.
Surprise? Predicted to finish first in the conference, they finished in first, two games ahead of Harvard.
RPI: 27
SOS: 96
Record: 22-6 (13-1 Ivy)
Good wins: At St. Joseph's.
Bad losses: At Harvard.
Who's running this show? Courtney Banghart, since 2007. She's been in the Ivy since 2003, factoring in her assistant days at alma mater Dartmouth.
Extra, Extra! NJ.com.
Senior guard/forward Niveen Rasheed spearheads the attack for a cautious Princeton team, putting up 16.9 points and pulling down 9 rebounds per game. She gets to the line, she makes good passes (over three assists per game), she gets steals- she does a little bit of everything. (Seriously, though, she's kind of amazing.)
It's cliché to say about an Ivy League team, but Princeton does play smart. They play well together and balance the load behind Rasheed. This is the kind of team that won't beat you unless you make mistakes, at which point... well, they're Tigers, you can probably figure it out.