So very close.
No. 12 Yale came up just short in its bid for the first Sweet 16 appearance in program history, falling to No. 4 Duke, 71-64, in front of a pro-Yale partisan crowd at the Dunkin’ Donuts Center in Providence.
Marshall Plumlee
No. 12 Yale vs No. 4 Duke: What to watch for
Little did anyone expect Yale and Duke would meet for a second time after the Blue Devils handed Yale an 80-61 loss in November. But that exact scenario is taking place Saturday afternoon in Providence in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
Duke beat Yale on that night, 80-61, but the game was much closer. Yale raced out to a 9-0 lead and trailed 38-36 at the half.
How No. 12 Yale can defeat No. 4 Duke, part 2
With the exception of a few high-profile bloviators, most people around college basketball (and everyone that regularly reads this blog, for that matter) knew that Yale had a solid shot against Baylor on Thursday.
We all know that the Bulldogs delivered — and have about as favorable a matchup as they could possibly get in the round of 32, getting a Duke team they’ve already faced.
Having had the opportunity to watch both teams play in the round of 64 on Thursday in Providence, I’ve come up with a bit of a game plan for Yale to become the first Ivy team to reach the Sweet Sixteen since Cornell made its magical run in 2010.