Yale men’s basketball bows to Gonzaga in battle of the Bulldogs, 86-71

Yale junior guard Bez Mbeng played a team-high 34 minutes in his team’s loss at Gonzaga Friday, notching 10 points on 4-for-10 shooting, three assists and three steals. (Photo by Erica Denhoff)

Statistics don’t lie, and two of them stand out in Gonzaga’s 86-71 home win over Yale Friday night.

The Zags outrebounded Yale 42-28, and they outscored them 44-20 in the paint.
Yale punched the other Bulldogs in the mouth at the start, building a 16-6 lead. But the Zags clawed back to gain a 47-42 halftime advantage before a raucous McCarthey Athletic Center crowd of 6,000.

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Q&A with Yale men’s senior forward Matt Knowling

 Yale men’s senior forward Matt Knowling led the Ivy League in field-goal percentage last season. (Photo by Erica Denhoff)

Matt Knowling is a Yale senior from Ellington, Conn. who was a unanimous All-Ivy first-team selection last season. Ivy Hoops Online sat down with him to discuss the upcoming season and other issues:                   

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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.

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Yale men’s basketball enters Jones’ 25th year at the helm loaded

Junior guard Bez Mbeng, who coach James Jones has told Ivy Hoops Online is the best on-ball defender he’s ever coached, is among the many talented veterans on Yale men’s basketball’s 2023-24 roster. (Photo by Erica Denhoff)

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.

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Q&A with Yale men’s coach James Jones post-Greece trip

Yale men’s basketball coach James Jones led his squad a 3-0 showing in Greece this month. (Photo by Erica Denhoff)

Yale men’s basketball went 3-0 on its summer three-game, 10-day trip to Greece it wrapped Monday, led by a surprise leading scorer, sophomore forward Nick Townsend. The Bulldogs opened play by besting the Thessaloniki All-Stars, 91-75, before 89-79 and 100-94 wins over the University of Calgary, wrapping . We caught up with coach James Jones, who is entering his 25th year at Yale’s helm, upon his return:

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Eight reasons to savor Princeton men’s NCAA Tournament run with Elite 8 a win away

Princeton Athletics’ pinned tweet on Twitter borrows the Sacramento Kings’ rallying call referring to a purple beam of light that comes from the Golden 1 Center after a team win. Princeton men’s basketball’s two wins at the Golden 1 Center lifted the program to its first Sweet 16 appearance of the modern NCAA Tournament era. (Princeton Athletics)

With the Elite 8 just a win away for No. 15 Princeton as it prepares for No. 6 Creighton in Louisville Friday, here are eight reasons for not only Tiger folk but the entire Ancient Eight to savor the Tigers’ historic Sweet 16 run:

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Yale men fall at Vanderbilt in first round of NIT

It was déjà vu all over again for Yale in the first round of the NIT as host Vanderbilt defeated the Bulldogs at Memorial Gymnasium, 71-62.

Vanderbilt jumped out to an 11-0 lead two days after Yale fell behind in a 12-0 role against Princeton in the Ivy League Tournament final. The deficit proved too much for Yale to overcome.

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Princeton men triumph over Yale to win Ivy League Tournament, clinch NCAA Tournament berth

Princeton men’s basketball celebrates winning the Ivy League Tournament on its own floor at Jadwin Gym to clinch the program’s first NCAA Tournament berth since 2017 Sunday. (Steve Silverman)

Our George “Toothless Tiger” Clark recaps Princeton’s 74-65 win over Yale at Jadwin Gym to punch a ticket to the NCAA Tournament:

Princeton men notch Ivy League Tournament final win over Yale to clinch NCAA Tournament berth with key adjustments

Stopping John Poulakidas was the Princeton game plan.
Mission accomplished.
2021-22 Ivy Player of the Year Tosan Evbuomwan and a variety of double teams held the Yale sophomore guard to seven points on 2-for-7 shooting as the Tigers defeated Yale, 74-65, to earn their first NCAA Tournament biid since 2017.

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Yale handles Cornell in Ivy League Tournament men’s semifinal

Yale coach James Jones lauded his team’s execution after the Bulldogs’ 80-60 win over Cornell in the Ivy League Tournament semifinal Saturday. (James Jones’ Twitter page)
PRINCETON, N.J. – A 12-0 run at the start of the second half fueled No. 1 Yale to an 80-60 win over No. 4 Cornell to advance to the Ivy League Tournament final Sunday.
Yale had difficulty with the Cornell press in the first half, especially without sophomore guard Bez Mbeng, who picked up two early fouls.
“[I’m] really happy how we executed,” Yale coach James Jones said.

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