Samson Aletan

Burning questions for Penn men’s basketball: Palestra Ivy Madness edition

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There is perhaps no juxtaposition which better sums up the current state of college basketball in 2026 than the fact that the NCAA’s transfer portal opened up as One Shining Moment was playing to officially close the books on the 2025-26 season.

As of Tuesday afternoon, more than 1,500 players have entered the portal. Of course, many of those names were known in the weeks leading up to the stroke of midnight on April 7.

The season has barely ended, but these next few weeks will be critical as Penn looks to protect its current stable of talent and reload with some new faces ahead of its Ivy League title defense. Below are just a few of the questions Quakers fans should be asking ahead of a pivotal offseason.

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No. 1 Yale men’s basketball holds off No. 4 Cornell to advance to Ivy League Tournament final

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Cornell and Yale men’s basketball tip off their Ivy League Tournament semifinal matchup at Newman Arena on March 14, 2026. (Ray Curren/Ivy Hoops Online)

ITHACA, N.Y. – Cornell senior Josh Baldwin entered the center circle for the opening tip Saturday morning at Newman Arena and just smiled at Yale’s Samson Aletan.

At 6-foot-5, Baldwin knew he had no chance to win the jump, but his insertion into the starting lineup has been integral to Cornell’s late-season success, particularly on the defensive end, where the Big Red made great strides to win eight of 11 and somewhat improbably get to Ivy Madness at all after an 0-3 league start. The most prominent of those wins was an uncharacteristic 72-69 slugfest over two-time defending champ Yale two weeks ago.

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Yale men’s basketball beats Columbia, clinches share of regular season title

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In the second game of an Ivy League back-to-back weekend, the Yale men’s basketball team put aside Friday night’s loss to Cornell and gutted out a 60-54 victory over Columbia at Levien Gymnasium on Saturday night.

“Great teams respond to adversity,” senior forward Nick Townsend, who led the Bulldogs with 18 points, seven rebounds and four assists, told SNY’s Lance Medow after the game.  “It’s good to get a win after that long ride from Cornell.”

The triumph for the conference leaders, coupled with Harvard’s 64-61 loss to Penn at the Palestra, gave the Bulldogs (22-5, 10-3 Ivy) at least a share of the Ivy League regular season title.

With wins by the Quakers and the Big Red, as well as a loss by Dartmouth, the Lions (16-11, 5-8), which have never appeared in the Ivy League Tournament, were officially eliminated from tournament contention.

Even if the Bulldogs and Crimson end the regular season tied for first, the former will have the No. 1 seed for Ivy Madness based on a better record against Penn.

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How Yale men’s basketball edged Penn sans Nick Townsend

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No Nick Townsend. No problem.

Yale men’s basketball had sophomore forward Isaac Celiscar and senior forward Casey Simmons, and that duo powered Yale to a 74-70 win over surging Penn at John J. Lee Amphitheater Saturday afternoon.

With the win, Yale (21-4, 9-2 Ivy) clinched a bid to the Ivy League Tournament.

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Yale men’s basketball escapes Howard

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Yale men’s basketball played its first February out-of-conference game since 1957 Monday night.

The result was memorable: an 87-81 overtime defeat of Howard at The Burr in Washington.

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Yale men’s basketball bombards Columbia from long range for home win

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What a difference a week can make.

Yale men’s basketball suffered a surprising 16-point defeat at Jadwin nine days ago. But after manhandling Columbia 91-74 Monday at John J. Lee Amphitheater on the heels of a Saturday crushing of Cornell, Yale once again looks like the cream of the Ivy League crop.

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Yale men’s basketball axes Albany to notch Division I-highest 11th win

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Yale men’s basketball downed Albany, 93-82, in the MGM Springfield Basketball Hall Of Fame Classic in Springfield Wednesday to become the first team in the country with 11 wins. Yale (11-1) entered the game against Albany (3-8) tied with Duke at 10.

“I thought that the game went along pretty much as I thought it would,” coach James Jones said. “They (Albany) were really patient.”

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Yale men’s basketball throttles UIC to improve to 10-1

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Yale men’s basketball played out the second leg of a rare home-and home series with an out-of-conference mid-major at John J. Lee Amphitheater Sunday, 13 months after the Bulldogs fell at its opponent, Illinois Chicago, by a 91-79 tally.

But on Sunday, the Bulldogs evened the score by running all over UIC, 80-66.

“It was a really good win over them,” coach James Jones said. “They try to slow you down.”

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