March 7, 2020 was a really long time ago – 667 days to be exact.
That was the last time an Ivy game took place, but the long wait ended Sunday at 1 p.m., when the Yale and Columbia women tipped off at Levien Gym.
Yale
Ivy weekend preview: What to watch for now that there’s finally something to watch
Sunday will mark the first Ivy League conference basketball since March 7, 2020, even if two of the eight games in the opening slate (the Princeton at Harvard and Columbia at Yale men’s matchups) have been postponed due to COVID-19 concerns. Here’s what to watch for:
COVID’s second hit on the Ivy schedule: Columbia at Yale men’s game postponed
New year, same scheduling challenges.
Ivy League venue spectator safety rules as the conference season approaches
As the omicron variant has resulted in a large increase in the number of COVID-19 cases across the United States, many businesses and institutions, including several Ivy League athletic departments, have been revisiting their safety policies.
With the start of league play a few days away, Ivy Hoops Online is listing information regarding each team. To get the most detailed and up-to-date information, including what is an acceptable mask, it is recommended to check the links for each institution’s main COVID-19 page. If there are any questions, fans are encouraged to contact the individual universities or athletic departments.
Yale women outduel Army, 68-50
Two game balls were the order of the day for Yale Tuesday as the Eli women soundly defeated a good Army team, 68-50, at a John J. Lee Amphitheater sans fan attendance banned through Saturday as a precaution against COVID-19.
Both Jenna Clark and Camilla Emsbo had outstanding and very similar performances. They each contributed 20 points and eight assists in the winning cause.
Yale women fade late and fall at Drexel, 59-52
The pattern was largely the same, but unfortunately for Yale, the result was different from some recent comeback wins in the Bulldogs’ 59-52 loss at Drexel Tuesday.
The Bulldogs fell behind Drexel, 31-12, and were down 33-24 at the half.
The third quarter was a different story. Yale won the stanza, 18-8, with Camilla Emsbo scoring 12 of her 21 points. The visitors took a 42-41 lead.
Yale men put away Albany, 71-52
It was just a day at the office for Yale Tuesday night at John J. Lee Amphitheater.
The Bulldogs started strong, grabbed a 30-19 lead over Albany at intermission and never looked back en route to a 71-52 win.
Yale (6-5) led at one point by 56-31. Albany (1-7) did go on a 13-0 run to narrow the deficit a bit.
Even with the easy win, coach James Jones found ample room for improvement.
”I didn’t think we were very sharp,” the Albany alumnus said.
Yale men can’t dig out of early hole at No. 21 Auburn
Yale fell behind No. 21 Auburn 11-0 on the road Saturday.
The game wasn’t even that close at the time, with the Tigers blocking six Yale shots during the run.
Bruce Pearl’s squad secured the win with relative ease, 86-64.
Yale coach James Jones adjusted his defense after the early Auburn surge. The Bulldogs (5-5) went on their own run and started to dictate the tempo of the game.
But the War Eagle relentless pressure and superior athleticism was too much for the smaller Elis, and Auburn (7-1) took a 47-30 lead into the half. It was the most first-half points notched by the Tigers this season.
The second half brought much of the same.
Sophomore guard K.D. Johnson led the Tigers with 19 points and freshman forward Jabari Smith posted 17 points and eight rebounds.
Junior guard Matt Cotton pitched in 14 points for Yale, while and junior forward EJ Jarvis had arguably his best game of the season, contributing nine points and eight boards in just 19 minutes in a reserve role.
The Elis are next in action Tuesday at 7 p.m. at John J. Lee Amphitheater against Albany, Jones’ alma mater.
Yale women finish strong in victory at Fairfield in 71-64 win
Yale had Camilla Emsbo and Fairfield didn’t.
That tells the whole story.
The junior forward completed her seventh double-double in as many games with 26 points and 11 rebounds as Yale outlasted Fairfield, 71-64, before a crowd of 1,529 at Webster Bank Arena in Bridgeport as part of a doubleheader with the Fairfield men.
With the win, Yale improved to 5-2 and 4-1 on the road. Fairfield fell to 3-3.
Yale opened strong and seized a first-quarter lead. That didn’t last long.
Yale men’s defense falters in home loss to Stony Brook
A 22-point first-half deficit was too much for Yale to overcome Sunday as the Bulldogs fell at home to Stony Brook, 85-81.
It snapped a 10-game home winning streak for Yale (4-4) which goes back to December 2019 and a home loss to Monmouth.
The Seawolves (2-3) shot 53.7% from the field against a usually tough and reliable Yale defense.
“We were really poor defensively,” Yale coach James Jones said.