“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.
