Xaivian Lee is a 6-foot-3 sophomore guard at Princeton from Toronto who did his prep years at the Perkiomen School in Pennsburg, Pa. Lee recently sat down with Ivy Hoops Online for an interview at Jadwin Gym:
Bez Mbeng
“We are disconnected”: Yale men’s basketball back to drawing board after 75-71 loss to Fairfield
There is no denying that Yale men’s basketball has tremendous talent. From the one through eight slots, Yale may have the best talent in the Ivy League.
But there is also no denying that another adjective applies to the Bulldogs. Coach James Jones used that word very pointedly in his postgame comments after a 75-71 loss to Fairfield at John J. Lee Amphitheater Wednesday night.
Yale men’s basketball suffers stunning 66-65 loss at Vermont
Yale had a 5 point lead on Vermont with 3.8 seconds left. They lost. Here’s how. Absolute insanity. pic.twitter.com/52z3UiOklb
— Mike McAllister (@McAllisterMike1) December 3, 2023
Yale men’s basketball snatched defeat from the jaws of victory in stunning fashion at Vermont Saturday night, suffering a 66-65 loss after having led 65-62 with six-tenths of a second left to play.
Then madness ensued.
Yale men’s basketball bounces back with 79-71 win over Stony Brook
It was the Nick Townsend show at John J. Lee Amphitheater Wednesday night, as the sophomore forward posted a career-high 22 points and 15 rebounds to lead Yale men’s basketball to a 79-71 win over Stony Brook (2-4), in a rare out-of-conference home game.
Yale (5-3) trailed 29-28 with less than five minutes to play in the first half but were kept in the game up to that point in part by a burst of offense from junior guard Bez Mbeng (10 points) before charging ahead to grab a 41-35 halftime lead. Yale was outrebounded 18-17 at the half after being decimated on the boards in a loss at Rhode Island Sunday.
Yale men’s basketball fades in second half in 76-72 loss at Rhode Island
Yale men’s basketball held a 12-point halftime lead at Rhode Island after having led by as many as 18 points in the first half.
And then Yale’s wheels fell off.
Yale men’s basketball’s rotation unsettled after OT-game-splitting Canada trip
Ooooovertime north of the border. Think Weber State was trying to foul but August Mahoney’s first field goal of the game ties it at 59. pic.twitter.com/WSZQQBwfW9
— Ray Curren (@currenrr) November 19, 2023
MONCTON, New Brunswick – This ain’t James Jones’ first rodeo.
It’s also not the first time around for the majority of the players in his regular 2023-24 rotation, which is why Yale was picked nearly unanimously to win the Ivy League this season, despite Princeton going to the Sweet 16 last March.
The Bulldogs reached as high as No. 55 in KenPom after destroying Colgate Friday night at Avenir Arena north of the border. But Yale followed it up with a couple of lackluster performances, having a late comeback come up short in an overtime loss to Weber State Saturday, and then blowing an 18-point lead against Gardner-Webb Sunday, although they pulled out the game out 71-70 in overtime.
Although still 4-2 (with one of those losses at Gonzaga), Yale has dropped to No. 76 in KenPom, five lower than where they started the campaign, and nine spots behind Princeton, which has started impressively.
Bez Mbeng shines as Yale men’s basketball ekes out 83-80 win at LMU
It was the Bez Mbeng show at Gersten Pavilion in Los Angeles.
Yale men’s basketball bows to Gonzaga in battle of the Bulldogs, 86-71
Statistics don’t lie, and two of them stand out in Gonzaga’s 86-71 home win over Yale Friday night.
2023-24 Ivy men’s media day recap and season preview
With the season a few weeks away, the Ivy League hosted its Men’s Basketball Media Day on Thursday. the second of two hoops-themed media availabilities. The event was hosted over Zoom for media members and is available on the conference’s YouTube channel.
The preseason media poll was released on Tuesday with Yale, last year’s regular season co-champions, securing the top spot. Princeton, which used its Ivy League Tournament title victory as a springboard to a Sweet 16 NCAA Tournament run, was picked second.
The Bulldogs received 14 of 16 first-place votes, while the Tigers earned the other two top votes.
Yale men’s basketball enters Jones’ 25th year at the helm loaded
Seems like you can never have too much money or happiness in life.
The same goes for depth in team sports.
We’ll find out about this last adage in March, as Yale men’s basketball may actually have too much depth. Sound impossible? Not really.