Yale men’s basketball vanquishes Vermont – without Yassine Gharram

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 demolishes Fairfield, 91-66

Revenge is sweet.

Yale exacted some against Fairfield Saturday, 91-66, in the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame Tip-Off at the Mohegan Sun.

Last season, Fairfield stunned Yale, 75-71, at John J. Lee Amphitheater. The Bulldogs wouldn’t let that happen again en route to what became the 400th win of his coaching career.

“That was a really good Yale basketball win,” Jones said, adding that the 400-win achievement “[j]ust means I have been around a long time.”

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

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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Yale men’s basketball looks to defend Ivy Madness title

Ivy men’s media day was held virtually Tuesday. Veteran Yale coach James Jones was last to speak and in attendance for the Bulldogs with him were seniors Bez Mbeng and John Poulakidas.

Yale is coming off of an Ivy Madness title and a first-round upset of heavily favored Auburn last March. The Bulldogs have been slated by the Ivy media to finish second in league behind Princeton.

Jones noted that his team is “excited” that the season will start in three weeks and is anxious to play against competition.

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Yale men’s basketball bests Harvard, 80-60

Yale men’s basketball picked the right time of the year to peak.

The Bulldogs thrashed Harvard, 80-60, at John J. Lee Amphitheater Saturday night to move to persist in sharing the Ivy League’s top slot with Princeton.

“We had as good a start to finish as we have had in a long time,” coach James Jones said.

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Yale men’s basketball dispatches Dartmouth, 80-56

“It was Yale basketball,” Yale coach James Jones said. ”We did what we want to: defense, rebounding and sharing the ball. We managed the game.”

For the Bulldogs, game management meant a convincing 80-56 win over outmanned Dartmouth Friday at John J. Lee Amphitheater.

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Q&A with Yale sophomore forward Casey Simmons

Simmons (Yale Athletics)

Casey Simmons is a 6-foot-6 sophomore at Yale from Milton, Mass. averaging 3.7 points and 2.2 rebounds in 13.9 minutes per game. The forward transferred from Northwestern,  where he played in 27 games and made seven starts in 2021-22. Simmons sat down with Ivy Hoops Online Monday:

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Taking stock of Princeton men’s basketball at the midway point of the Ivy League season

The Princeton men’s basketball team secured its 10th straight win over their oldest rival, the Penn Quakers, 77-70, at a sold out Jadwin Gymnasium on Saturday night in a game that officially completed the first half of the Ivy League regular season.

With seven Ivy contests in the books and seven games yet to be played, the two-time defending Ivy League champions hold a 5-2 record in conference play and occupy third place in the Ivy standings, two games behind first-place Yale (7-0) and one game behind second-place Cornell (6-1).

Princeton’s third-place position in the standings is surprising considering the way the Tigers performed during the non-conference part of the season.  Picking up where it left off after a remarkable run to the Sweet 16 in the 2023 NCAA Tournament, Princeton opened the 2023-24 campaign with a program record-tying string of 10 straight victories and a gaudy overall record of 12-1, including a neutral court win over Rutgers and six true road wins over a tough slate of mid-major programs.

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Yale men’s basketball takes care of business in 74-58 win over Penn

Letdown? No way.

Yale men’s basketball navigated the treacherous trap game waters with excellence by downing Penn, 74-58, at John J. Lee Amphitheater Saturday night for its eighth consecutive win.

Yale coach James Jones did not see any letdown.

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