Q&A with Yale men’s basketball coach James Jones

James Jones led Yale men’s basketball to its second ever NCAA Tournament win last week. (James Jones’s Twitter page)

Ivy Hoops Online caught up with Yale coach James Jones Wednesday following his return from Spokane, Wash., where his team notched the second ever NCAA Tournament win in program history last week with a triumph over Auburn before falling to San Diego State in the Round of 32:

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No. 13 Yale men’s basketball falls to No. 5 San Diego State, 85-57, in NCAA Tournament second round

Yale senior forward Matt Knowling, senior guard August Mahoney and coach James Jones sit for their postgame press conference following an 85-57 loss to San Diego State Sunday night in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. (March Madness video broadcast)

No. 13 Yale’s NCAA Tournament run ended with a second-round thud Sunday night local time in Spokane, Wash. in an 85-57 loss to No. 5 San Diego State.

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No. 13 Yale men’s basketball upsets No. 4 Auburn, 78-76, for second NCAA Tournament win in program history


“I don’t know if that was the best win in Yale basketball history, but I will tell you that’s the best basketball team that we’ve beaten in Yale basketball history, as far as I’m concerned.”

So reflected Yale coach James Jones after his No. 13-seeded Bulldogs pulled off a 78-76 upset of No. 4 Auburn for the ages in the NCAA Tournament Round of 64 Friday at Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena in Spokane, Wash.

Auburn was a 12.5-point favorite, KenPom’s No. 4 team in the country and the SEC Tournament champion.

Yale (23-9, 13-3 Ivy) controlled tempo for most of the game and was as cool as its coach in crunch time.

Auburn (27-8, 16-5 SEC) was up 12-5 and in control early when junior guard/forward Chad Baker-Mazara was ejected at the 16:59 mark for a flagrant-two foul for an elbow to August Mahoney. Yale then went on an 8-2 run on treys from John Poulakidas and Mahoney to take an 18-16 lead.

Auburn took a 41-34 lead into halftime. Yale First Team All-Ivy selection Danny Wolf was held to two points on 1-for-8 shooting and the normally sure-handed Bulldogs had eight turnovers, five by Bez Mbeng, which led to 13 Tiger points.

Yale went on a 10-0 run early in the second half to grab a 44-43 lead on a Mahoney free throw. Poulakidas, who had a game-high 28 points, drained two treys in that stretch.

Auburn then went on a 10-2 run.

With Auburn leading 70-64, Poulakidas made a short jumper, and Matt Knowling and Wolf each went 2-for-2 from the charity stripe to knot the score at 70.

Wolf gave Yale a 75-72 lead on two free throws with 45 seconds remaining, and All-SEC first-team selection Johni Broome countered with two from the charity stripe to give Yale a 75-74 lead with :33 remaining as Wolf fouled out.

 August Mahoney was then fouled and canned two more foul shots to put Yale up 77-74.

 A subsequent 1-for-2 trip to the foul line by junior guard Yassine Gharram made it 78-74.

Auburn senior guard K.D. Johnson then drove to the basket, made a layup and was fouled by Yale first-year center Samson Aletan. He missed the free thrown and Auburn regained possession on a rebound tie-up.

Ivy Defensive Player of the Year Bez Mbeng fouled sophomore guard Tre Donaldson and he missed the free throw. Auburn missed a putback and Johnson missed a contested three as the buzzer went off and the euphoric Yale team ran onto the court to celebrate.

Mahoney called the win “a dream come true.”

A stifling Yale defense, keyed by Mbeng, forced nine Auburn turnovers in the second half.

Broome led Auburn with 24 points and a game-high 13 rebounds.

Poulakidas delivered a performance to remember, hitting shots in clutch moments for a stat line of 28 points on 10-for-15 field-goal shooting, including 6-for-9 from three-point range, in 35 minutes, and two rebounds, assists and steals each. None of Poulakidas’ shots were bigger than a contested stepback three with 2:10 to play that gave the Bulldogs a 73-72 lead they wouldn’t relinquish.

Mahoney rung up 14 points and Wolf 13, 11 of which in the second half.

Yale will face No. 5 San Diego State, a 69-65 winner over No. 12 UAB, Sunday for the right to go to the Sweet 16 in Boston.

Yale was making its seventh NCAA Tournament appearance in program history and fourth under Jones in his 25th year helming the Bulldogs. The win is Yale’s second ever in the NCAA Tournament after it upset No. 5 Baylor as a No. 12 seed in 2016.

Vibes are HIGH in the Yale locker room #MarchMadness @YaleMBasketball pic.twitter.com/efcYBMpR17

— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) March 23, 2024

Yale’s win delivered the Ivy League its eighth men’s NCAA Tournament win since 2010 and third in the past two tournaments.

The Ivy League’s NCAA Tournament representative has won at least one tournament game in six of the Ivies’ last 13 appearances.

Q&A with Yale men’s basketball coach James Jones

James Jones is about to coach his fifth NCAA Tournament game. (James Jones’s Twitter page)

Yale men’s basketball coach James Jones is preparing to coach his fifth NCAA Tournament game after his team won the Ivy League Tournament in dramatic fashion Monday.

Yale’s Big Dance foe this time around is Auburn, with Yale allotted a No. 13 seed in the East Region and playing in Spokane, Wash.

Jones sat down with Ivy Hoops Online Tuesday in advance of its last practice in New Haven before departing on an NCAA charter flight. The Bulldogs, like all NCAA Tournament teams, were allotted 350 tickets and expect to have many fans present from Los Angeles and the Pacific Northwest Yale Club. Yale played in Spokane in November at Gonzaga, losing 86-71.

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No. 2 Yale men’s basketball nips No. 4 Brown, 62-61, in instant classic to win Ivy Leagye

NEW YORK –  By the slimmest of margins, Yale eked past Brown to win the Ivy League Tournament in an instant classic at Levien Gym Sunday afternoon.

No. 2 Yale men’s basketball defeats No. 3 Cornell, 69-57, to advance to Ivy League Tournament final

Cornell men’s basketball was 14-0 when giving up 76 or fewer points this season.

Make that 14-1, as Yale defeated the Big Red, 69-57, at Levien Gym to advance to the Ivy League Tournament final against Brown at noon Sunday.

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Cooley last-second shot hands Brown men’s basketball comeback win at Yale

Brown men’s basketball led Yale once at John J. Lee Amphitheater Saturday.

That lead, 84-81, was the final score courtesy of a last-second shot for the ages by Bears junior guard/forward Aaron Cooley, cementing a remarkable comeback win for the Bears over the Bulldogs in both teams’ regular season finales as they prepare for the Ivy League Tournament.

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Yale men’s basketball bests Harvard, 80-60

Yale men’s basketball picked the right time of the year to peak.

The Bulldogs thrashed Harvard, 80-60, at John J. Lee Amphitheater Saturday night to move to persist in sharing the Ivy League’s top slot with Princeton.

“We had as good a start to finish as we have had in a long time,” coach James Jones said.

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Q&A with Columbia men’s basketball legend Jonathan Schiller

chiller (Boies Schiller Flexner)

Jonathan Schiller was a three-year letterwinner for Columbia men’s basketball and was a member of the legendary 1967-68 Columbia team. He was inducted into the Columbia University Athletics Hall of Fame in 2006 and named a Legend of Ivy Basketball in 2017. He is a founding partner of the law firm of Boies Schiller Flexner LLP. Ivy Hoops Online recently sat down with him: 

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Yale men’s basketball dispatches Dartmouth, 80-56

“It was Yale basketball,” Yale coach James Jones said. ”We did what we want to: defense, rebounding and sharing the ball. We managed the game.”

For the Bulldogs, game management meant a convincing 80-56 win over outmanned Dartmouth Friday at John J. Lee Amphitheater.

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