Bez Mbeng

Yale and Princeton: This era’s Ivy League men’s basketball duopoly

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I am old enough to remember the Princeton-Penn hegemony in Ivy hoops.

We’re talking 1965-2015. That’s 50 years. That’s a long time. Names like Carril, Dunphy, Bradley, Petrie, Calhoun and many, many more.

Tommy Amaker entered in 2007 and assisted in disrupting the world order. In 2010, Cornell made a run to the Sweet 16.

Since then, it has been mostly Yale and Princeton.

And the rivalry is very heated.

James Jones and Mitch Henderson could not be more different, personally and stylistically. But since 2016, their hegemony is crystal clear.

Yale has gone 88-28 and Princeton 85-31 in the Ivy regular season. Yale has won three Ivy League tourneys and Princeton two. They have each won two NCAA tourney games.

Little to separate them, but Yale has won 11 out of the last 14.

Princeton and Yale have, as a duo, separated from the pack.

This year, Yale sits atop the Ivy standings at 4-0. Princeton is 3-1 after a home loss to Cornell.

Yale has a league-leading NET ranking of 79 and a KenPom ranking of 75. Princeton sits at 130 and 137, respectively.

“I’m excited about the opportunity,” Yale coach James Jones. “That’s what college basketball is all about.”

And he is correct. The 5 p.m. start at Jadwin Gym will be televised by ESPN2.

Keys to the game:

  • Yale senior guard John Poulakidas shooting from long range.
  • Princeton senior guard Blake Peters making three-plus treys.
  • Yale senior guard Bez Mbeng not picking up two quick fouls guarding Princeton junior guard Xaivian Lee.
  • Princeton being able to rebound with Yale, especially on the offensive glass. How vocal an expected sold-out crowd is at Jadwin.

“We jumped on them quick”: Yale men’s basketball routs Harvard, 84-55

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Harvard and Yale tip off Saturday at John J. Lee Amphitheater, where the Bulldogs dominated in an 84-55 win. (Ray Curren | Ivy Hoops Online)

NEW HAVEN, Conn. – The Yale students were back at Lee Amphitheater, Harvard was starting three freshmen, John Poulakidas hit his first couple of shots, and all that meant the Crimson had no chance Saturday afternoon.

Harvard fought in fits and starts, but in the end, the result was a formality, an 84-55 Yale win that brought the Bulldogs to the top of the Ivy League after Princeton’s loss and setting up a showdown with the Tigers Friday night in New Jersey.

“We jumped on them quick,” Yale coach James Jones said. “We were really efficient, we didn’t have a turnover (in the first 19 minutes), we were poised and focused. We lost it a little at the end of the first half and fought to get it back, and we did in the middle of the second half. When we’re playing at a high level like we were, we’re pretty good and it’s fun to watch.”

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Yale men’s basketball still has room for improvement after downing Dartmouth

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Dartmouth and Yale tip off at John J. Lee Amphitheater Monday for what became an 83-67 win for the latter over the former. (Ray Curren | Ivy Hoops Online)

NEW HAVEN, Conn. – Bez Mbeng was not in the mood for mincing words after setting Yale’s all-time career steals record in an 83-67 win over Dartmouth Monday afternoon.

“I love defense,” Mbeng, who passed former Yale standout Alex Zampier (2006-10) for the record, said.

And as he has for most of the last three seasons for Yale, Mbeng led the way in that department Monday at Lee Amphitheater, harassing Ryan Cornish, Connor Amundsen, or whomever else he was in the neighborhood of, finishing with three steals to go with 16 points, seven rebounds and five assists.

“It means a lot to me,” Mbeng said. “A lot of credit goes to my teammates and coaches for getting me better and putting me in good positions to get those steals. I’m just really thankful right now.”

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Yale men’s basketball outlasts Columbia, 92-88

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It was billed as a battle between the two top Ivy scorers. And it lived up to expectations.

Senior guard John Poulakidas notched 29 points, one off his career high, to lead Yale to a 92-88 win over Columbia at Levien Gym Saturday.

“I take my work and my craft very seriously,” Poulakidas said. “We have a team full of dogs.”

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Yale men’s basketball bests Brown, 79-58, in Ivy League opener

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Two teams with strong revenge motives met at John J. Lee Amphitheater Saturday.

Brown had defeated Yale on the last day of the regular season last year (84-81) to prevent Yale from sharing the regular season Ivy title with Princeton.

But then Yale overcame a six-point deficit with 27 seconds left to defeat Brown in the Ivy League championship game in March, 62-61.

It was Yale that prevailed Saturday in the rematch, 79-58.

“Really good team win for us. We got contributions from everyone,” Yale coach James Jones said.

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LISTEN: Sizing up Princeton men’s basketball stands as Ivy League play nears

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Ivy Hoops Online correspondent George “Toothless Tiger” Clark reflects on Princeton men’s basketball’s 10-4 start to the 2024-25 season with Ivy League play slated to start on Jan. 11 at Harvard:

Yale men’s basketball narrowly clipped by UTEP in Sun Bowl Invitational final

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James Jones’ team is growing up quickly before his eyes – both out of skill and necessity.

With leading scorer and senior guard John Poulakidas still sidelined with a foot injury, senior guard Yassine Gharram off the team and junior forward Casey Simmons injured, the Bulldogs staged a ferocious second-half rally and fell narrowly to UTEP in the final of the Sun Bowl Invitational Saturday, 75-74.

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Yale men’s basketball vanquishes Vermont – without Yassine Gharram

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Yale and Vermont tip off for what became a 65-50 win for the former over the latter Saturday. (Ray Curren | Ivy Hoops Online}

NEW HAVEN, Conn. – Yale broke a two-game losing streak with an impressive second half Saturday afternoon at Lee Amphitheater, allowing exactly half as many points as the last time we saw the Bulldogs at Mohegan Sun two weeks ago in a 65-50 win over Vermont, albeit a struggling and undermanned Catamounts team.

The big personnel news of the day was that Yale’s leading scorer (and 16th nationally) John Poulakidas was not in uniform. The Bulldogs’ offense struggled mightily without him in the first half, scoring just 22 points and turning the ball over 13 times. Sophomore Trevor Mullin got his first career start, but it was Bez Mbeng who had six of those turnovers.

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Yale men’s basketball falls at Rhode Island, 84-78

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No one ever accused Yale men’s basketball coach James Jones of playing an easy out-of-conference schedule.

Yale traveled to Kingston, R.I. to take on the 7-0 Rhode Island Rams Monday night.

Rhody won 84-78 to start the season 8-0 for the first time since the 1946-47 season.

Jones called it “a tough loss on the road.”

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Yale men’s basketball regrouping after defense got shredded by Delaware

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Pictured is Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn. on Nov. 24, 2024. (Ray Curren/Ivy Hoops Online)

UNCASVILLE, Conn. – The day after a lopsided 400th career victory over Fairfield, James Jones saw his Yale team give one of the worst defensive performances in his storied career, leading to a disappointing 100-94 loss to Delaware in front of a sparse crowd at the Hall Of Fame Tip-Off at Mohegan Sun Arena.

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