Yale came close to playing the perfect first stanza en route to a convincing 86-64 road win over Stony Brook Wednesday evening.
Yale (3-3) held a 48-28 lead at the half. The Bulldogs were 8-for-13 from three and held a 22-16 rebounding edge. They outscored Stony Brook (2-3) in the paint, 16-8.
Senior guard John Poulakidas, the game’s leading scorer, had 15 points at halftime and hit his first six shots.
Yale
How are the Ivy non-grad transfers doing?
With the season two weeks old, here’s a first check on the 2023-24 Ivy stars who transferred prior to their graduation. This year, the student-athletes are all from the men’s side, but growing amounts of NIL money, more relaxed transfer rules and the lack of scholarships in the Ancient Eight should eventually (sadly) expand this list to the women’s division in the near future.
Over the opening few weeks, Kalu Anya, Malik Mack and Danny Wolf have continued their strong play from last year, while Chisom Okpara and Tyler Perkins are seeing reduced roles with their new teams.
We’ll take another look in a few weeks to see how everyone’s doing:
Minnesota downs Yale’s men’s basketball, 59-56
A second-half Minnesota surge led the Golden Gophers to a 59-56 win over Yale at Williams Arena before 8,205 fans Saturday.
The Bulldogs had led by as many as 14 (25-11) in the first half and held a 29-19 halftime lead.
Minnesota came out far more aggressively in the second half and spread the floor effectively. The hosts also made a concerted effort to get the ball to preseason All-Big Ten senior forward Dawson Garcia. Garcia registered 19 second-half points after managing only five in the first half.
“We are bending but not breaking,” Minnesota coach Ben Johnson said.
Yale men’s basketball falls at No. 13 Purdue, 92-84
Yale men’s basketball owned the paint, but Purdue owned the perimeter, as the No. 13 Boilermakers defeated Yale 92-84 at a sold-out Mackey Arena Monday night.
Yale (1-2) outscored Purdue (3-0) 50-24 in the paint and 11-5 on offensive rebounds.
Bulldogs coach James Jones called his team’s showing a “tough gritty performance, a few costly possessions from a great road win.”
Yale men’s basketball fades in 91-79 loss at UIC
Yale held a 41-34 halftime lead on the road over Illinois Chicago and appeared in control of the game Friday night.
Then the second half happened.
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.
Ivy women’s basketball Media Day highlights
As the 2024-25 season quickly approaches, the Ivy League hosted its annual women’s basketball Media Day on Thursday. The three-hour event, hosted by Lance Medow, can be viewed on the conference’s YouTube channel.
Prior to the event, the league announced the results of its preseason poll.
Princeton, which has claimed the Ancient Eight title for the last six years, was picked first with 122 out of a possible 128 points and 10 first-place votes. Columbia, which has tied for the top spot in each of the last two seasons, came in second with 110 points and five first-place votes.
Harvard, which has finished the last two years in third placed, was tabbed for third in 2025, earning 101 points and one first-place spot.
Penn, the final participant in last year’s Ivy tournament, was picked fourth with 75 votes, while Brown, which finished last year tied with Penn for fourth, was four points back in fifth place.
Sixth place went to Yale, which was as high as third place in 2022, with 48 votes.
While Cornell and Dartmouth ended last season tied for seventh place, the Big Red got the nod for seventh in this year’s poll with 30 points and the Big Green were eighth with 19 points.
Below are highlights from this year’s virtual Media Day:
Impressions from Ivy League men’s basketball Media Day
The Ivy League hosted media day on Tuesday for the upcoming men’s basketball season.
Here’s one key impression from interviews with players and coaches from each of the eight Ancient Eight programs:
Yale women’s basketball looks to move up in Ivy pecking order
The Yale women finished last season at 8-19 and 5-9 in the Ivy League. Gone from last year are leading scorer and assist leader Jenna Clark, leading rebounder Nyla McGill and third-leading scorer Brenna McDonald. Good news or bad news?
Well, Ivy media has pegged Yale as a sixth-place finisher.
Yale third-year coach Dalila Eshe says her team will have improved “culture” and be “incredibly athletic, running a high-octane offense.” She defines culture as “buying into the program and [being] like-minded.”
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.