Cornell men’s basketball was 14-0 when giving up 76 or fewer points this season.
Make that 14-1, as Yale defeated the Big Red, 69-57, at Levien Gym to advance to the Ivy League Tournament final against Brown at noon Sunday.
Matt Knowling
It’s a wide-open field in the Ivy Madness men’s semifinals
The men’s competition in the Ivy League Tournament kicks off on Saturday afternoon at Columbia University and for the first time since the advent of Ivy Madness there is no clear favorite. While the Princeton Tigers enter the tournament as the No. 1 seed and the regular season champion, each of the four teams competing on Saturday at Levien Gym legitimately has a chance to advance to the championship game on Sunday.
Let’s take a closer look at the two semifinal matchups in the men’s competition:
Ivy League Tournament: Men’s press conference highlights
NEW YORK – The second day of the Ivy League Tournament brought the four men’s teams to Levien Gymnasium on the campus of Columbia University.
Below are highlights of the press conferences and links to the videos:
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.
Yale men’s basketball secures bounce-back win at Columbia, 84-76
Yale men’s basketball shook off the rust of a narrow loss in Ithaca Friday night and closed strong to defeat Columbia at Levien Gym, 84-76.
“Really gutsy performance with some guys injured,” Yale coach James Jones said.
Seven-foot sophomore frontcourt stalwart Danny Wolf played the game with a mask after suffering a broken nose against Cornell. Wolf, Yale’s leading scorer, was coming off two subpar performances at Princeton and Cornell. Wolf finished with 20 points on 9-for-15 shooting and added a team-leading nine rebounds.
Jones said that Wolf “played the way he is capable (of).”
Cornell men’s basketball survives Yale, 65-62, to climb atop Ivy League standings
Cornell men’s basketball didn’t win Friday night’s marquee matchup with Yale because of its offense.
It won because of its defense and grit. And maybe a little luck.
Surviving the Bulldogs, 65-62, the Big Red took sole possession of first place in the Ivy League standings.
Takeaways from Yale men’s basketball from its loss at Princeton
Yale men’s basketball was down to Princeton 49-47 with 10:37 remaining in the game Saturday night. Nothing surprising there.
What is surprising is that the game was that close with zero points from Matt Knowling and Danny Wolf.
LISTEN: Thoughts on Princeton men’s basketball’s 73-62 win over Yale
Ivy Hoops Online contributor George “Toothless Tiger” Clark makes sense of surprising storylines that emerged during a 73-62 win at Jadwin Gym for Princeton (19-3, 7-2 Ivy) over Yale (17-7, 8-1) Saturday night:
LISTEN: Princeton men’s basketball press conference following 73-62 win over Yale
Listen to the postgame press conference held by Tigers coach Mitch Henderson, senior forward Zach Martini and a newly stitched up sophomore forward Caden Pierce following a 73-62 win for Princeton (19-3, 7-2 Ivy) over Yale (17-7, 8-1):