“I think we are definitely playing our best basketball.”
Hear from @Tosan_Evb on the total team effort from the Tigers in today’s Ivy League championship victory!
#MakeShots 🐯🏀 pic.twitter.com/sT1DYlKiRN— Princeton Men’s Basketball (@PrincetonMBB) March 12, 2023
Stopping John Poulakidas was the Princeton game plan.
Mission accomplished.
2021-22 Ivy Player of the Year Tosan Evbuomwan and a variety of double teams held the Yale sophomore guard to seven points on 2-for-7 shooting as the Tigers defeated Yale, 74-65, to earn their first NCAA Tournament biid since 2017.
Princeton opened up on a 12-0 run and Yale then scored 11 straight.
The Tigers grabbed a 33-29 lead at the half on a trey by Ivy Rookie of the Year Caden Pierce after a controversial non-call on a clear Tiger charge.
Poulakidas was scoreless in the first half.
Junior forward Matt Knowling and junior guard August Mahoney each had 10 first-half points.
Princeton went on a 16-8 second half run fueled by a 4-for-5 clip from three-point range.
Yale cut the deficit to 53-48 on a Bez Mbeng drive to the hoop. The sophomore guard hit a trey with 3:19 left to cut the deficit to 59-56.
Yale would get no closer.
“Our team got off to a slow start,” Yale coach James Jones said. “We didn’t move the ball well. Extremely proud of this group.”Mbeng led Yale with 18 points. Knowling had 14 and didn’t appear to be playing at full strength after his ankle injury sustained last month at Penn.
Evbuomwan finished with 21 points on 8-for-14 shooting. Junior guard Matt Allocco chipped in with 15 points.
“Tosan is a great player,” Knowling said. “Credit to him.”
Princeton outrebounded Yale 36-31 and committed only five turnovers.
Yale will play in the NIT, most likely on Tuesday night, with possible destinations of Seton Hall and Villanova. Yale put in a bid to host the first game at John J. Lee Amphitheater.