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Cornell men’s basketball didn’t win Friday night’s marquee matchup with Yale because of its offense.
It won because of its defense and grit. And maybe a little luck.
Surviving the Bulldogs, 65-62, the Big Red took sole possession of first place in the Ivy League standings.
Ivy Hoops Online contributor George “Toothless Tiger” Clark makes sense of surprising storylines that emerged during a 73-62 win at Jadwin Gym for Princeton (19-3, 7-2 Ivy) over Yale (17-7, 8-1) Saturday night:
Matt Knowling’s last-second heroics has @YaleMBasketball 7-0 in @IvyLeague play.#ThisIsYale pic.twitter.com/6oPPQS4fqv
— Yale Athletics (@YaleAthletics) February 10, 2024
Yale men’s basketball coach James Jones described his team’s 80-78 home win over Cornell in a high-stakes clash of Ivy unbeatens Saturday as “helter skelter.”
The last 40 seconds of the game epitomized that.
Letdown? No way.
Yale men’s basketball navigated the treacherous trap game waters with excellence by downing Penn, 74-58, at John J. Lee Amphitheater Saturday night for its eighth consecutive win.
Yale coach James Jones did not see any letdown.
The Princeton-Yale men’s basketball showdown lived up to its lofty expectations as the Ivy League game of the year to date and then some.
The Bulldogs defeated the Tigers, 70-64, before a standing-room-only and boisterous whiteout crowd of 2,532 at John J. Lee Amphitheater.
“[The] atmosphere was tremendous,” Yale coach James Jones said. “There were times when you felt the crowd.”
Remember those Yale trips to hostile environments at Gonzaga and then-No. 2 Kansas in November and December?
Well, they certainly prepared the Bulldogs for a sold-out and raucous crowd at Lavietes Pavilion Saturday as they prevailed against Harvard, 78-65, for their sixth consecutive win and fifth straight over the Crimson.
Yale (13-6, 4-0 Ivy) got the win despite its highest scorer, sophomore frontcourt stalwart Danny Wolf (14.6) being held to a season low and second-leading scorer (13.5) junior guard Bez Mbeng managing only two points.
Yale men’s basketball put together its best defensive effort and perhaps most complete game of the season to defeat Dartmouth, 76-51, Saturday at Leede Arena.
Dartmouth (4-12, 0-3 Ivy) put up some early resistance and led 12-11 on two free throws by sophomore forward Brandon Mitchell-Day. But Yale (12-6, 3-0) went on a 10-0 run and led 38-28 at the half.
With the score 45-32, Yale went on a 16-0 run, culminating in a jumper by sophomore forward Casey Simmons.
The Bulldogs’ largest lead was 68-36.
Dartmouth mustered just 28.8% shooting from the field and 27.3% from three-point land.
“Extremely happy with our defensive performance,” Yale coach James Jones said. “Hope we can build on this effort.”
Yale men’s basketball owns Brown.
The Bulldogs have now won 10 out of their last 11 games against the Bears under coach James Jones, whose team won another road contest in the series Tuesday night, 80-70. Brown never led.
“Great way to start league play,” Jones said. “Always tough to win on the road, especially with our travel partner. The team is starting to come together. We’re close to playing Bulldog basketball.”
Junior guard John Poulakidas delivered a season-high 23 points on 8-for-14 shooting to lead Yale to a hard fought 86-78 overtime win at Howard Wednesday.
Yale (9-6) played the game with team scoring and rebounding leader sophomore center Danny Wolf out with an illness.
The Bulldogs squandered a 16-point lead (67-51). A trey by former Harvard nemesis and grad forward Seth Towns, the 2017-18 Ivy Player of the Year, plus a dunk by junior guard Bryce Harris dunk in the last minute of regulation sent the game into overtime.
But the visitors dominated the extra session.
It was a game of runs by both teams.
Yale went on a first-half 11-point run to lead by 17-7, and the Bison answered with their own 7-0 run to knot the score at 20.
Howard (5-10) switched to a 2-3 zone, which flummoxed Yale for portions of the first half.
Yale led 36-31 at the half. Poulakidas posted 16 first-half points.
The Bulldogs were in control for most of the second half until Howard (5-10) went on an 18-4 run to send the game into overtime.
“Great team effort, really rebounded well, which made all the difference in the game,” Yale coach James Jones said.
Yale won the rebounding war, 47-28, hauling in 21 offensive boards that led to 31 second-chance points.
Senior forward Matt Knowling notched 14 points, eight rebounds and five assists, while junior guard Bez Mbeng registered 14 points. Sophomore forward Casey Simmons pitched in with 11 points and a game-high 11 rebounds off the bench.
Nine Yale players logged 10 minutes or more, as Jones is still searching for a rotation for the Ivy slate.
Junior guard Marcus Dockery led Howard with 21 points. Towns contributed 17 points and six rebounds.
Yale opens Ivy play at Brown on Tuesday at 7 p.m.
No. 2 Kansas beat Yale, 75-60, at fabled Allen Fieldhouse Friday night, but that hardly tells the story of the game.