Isaac Celiscar

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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A look at Yale men’s basketball entering Ivy League play

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The out-of-conference portion of the Yale men’s schedule ended today with an emphatic 93-65 win over visiting Howard.

Yale (7-6) was picked to finish second behind Princeton in the Ivy media preseason poll.

So what have we learned about Yale?

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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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Minnesota downs Yale’s men’s basketball, 59-56

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A second-half Minnesota surge led the Golden Gophers to a 59-56 win over Yale at Williams Arena before 8,205 fans Saturday.

The Bulldogs had led by as many as 14 (25-11) in the first half and held a 29-19 halftime lead.

Minnesota came out far more aggressively in the second half and spread the floor effectively. The hosts also made a concerted effort to get the ball to preseason All-Big Ten senior forward Dawson Garcia. Garcia registered 19 second-half points after managing only five in the first half.

“We are bending but not breaking,” Minnesota coach Ben Johnson said.

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Yale men’s basketball clocks Quinnipiac, 88-62, in season opener

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No Danny Wolf, no problem.

In its first game since the former Yale standout’s transfer to what should be a grateful Michigan program, Yale men’s basketball cruised to an 88-62 win over Quinnipiac Monday night in a battle of Whitney Avenue at John J. Lee Amphitheater.

And it wasn’t even that close.

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Q&A with Yale men’s basketball coach James Jones

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(James Jones’s Twitter page)

Ivy Hoops Online caught up with James Jones as he begins his 26th year at Yale with early-season September workouts to prepare his team for the 2024-25 slate:

IHO: What are the strengths of your team this season?

JJ: Confidence, which comes from our success. We are smaller than we have been with a higher work ethic. Everyone on the team has it. Last season we had a good work ethic, but not like this.

IHO: Talk about John Poulakidas and Bez Mbeng, both seniors.

JJ: They are comparable to any of our top two seniors over the years. Like Brandon Sherrod and Justin Sears.

IHO: Who are some guys that you think might have breakout seasons?

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