Yale vs. Iona
Basketball Hall of Fame Invitational
Sunday, Dec. 12 – 7 p.m.
Barclays Center
Brooklyn, N.Y.
Flosports.tv Video | Tickets | Live Stats | Game Notes (PDF)
 
NEW HAVEN, Conn. – The Yale men's basketball team will be on a big stage on Sunday at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn. The Bulldogs are competing in the 2021 Basketball Hall of Fame Invitational presented by Hotels.com. Yale faces Iona in the fourth game of the day at 7 p.m. FloSports.com has the video.
 
The other three games are Fordham vs. Miami at 11:30 a.m., Purdue vs. North Carolina State at 2 p.m., and Florida vs. Maryland at 4:30 p.m.
 
The Barclays Center is the home of the Brooklyn Nets, who are owned by Yale alum Joe Tsai '86, the co-founder of the Chinese E-Commerce company Alibaba. Tsai, a big supporter of Yale Athletics, met with the Bulldogs when they played in the Pac 12 China Game in Shanghai back in 2018.
 
Yale (6-5) is coming off an impressive 71-52 victory over UAlbany on Tuesday night. Azar Swain led four Bulldogs in double figures with 21 points, while Matthue Cotton contributed 13 points and a career-high nine rebounds.
 
Swain also hit a pair of three-pointers, giving him 222 for his career, seven shy of shy of Ed Petersen's '92 school record. Swain, a first team All-Ivy selection in 2020, leads the Bulldogs in scoring at 18.2 ppg., which is second in the Ivy League.
 
Cotton (12.1 ppg.) and Jalen Gabbidon (10.5 ppg.) also average double figures in scoring. Gabbidon, the 2020 Ivy League Defensive Player of the Year, tops the team in rebounding.
 
The Bulldogs are second in the league in scoring defense (67.9 ppg.) and field goal percentage defense (.412).
 
Yale, the preseason favorite in the Ivy League, is in the midst of the most successful era in the long history of the program. Over the last six seasons, the Bulldogs have a remarkable 63-21 Ivy record. During that stretch, they have won four league titles and earned three NCAA Tournament berths, including notching the first NCAA victory in school history.
 
Sunday is the first of two straight games against MAAC opponents. The Bulldogs host Monmouth on Tuesday at 7 p.m. at Lee Amphitheater.
 
HISTORY LESSONS
 
Yale and Iona are meeting for only the third time. Each team has won on its home floor. The Bulldogs knocked off the Gaels 99-84 on Dec. 22, 2018, at Lee Amphitheater, and Iona won by a similar margin, 83-67, in New Rochelle in 2017.
 
SCOUTING IONA
 
The Gaels, under the direction of head coach Rick Pitino, haven't played since an 80-54 dismantling of Rider of Dec. 3. Yale is the second Ivy League opponent for Iona, which edged Harvard 90-87 in overtime on Nov. 13. The Gaels, who are ranked No. 5 in the CollegeInsider Mid Major top 25, also own an impressive victory over Alabama. Nelly Junior Joseph (14.2 ppg., 8.0 rpg.) leads the team in scoring and rebounding. Tyson Jolly (14.0 ppg.) and Quinn Slazinski (10.6 ppg.) also average double figures in scoring. Iona is the five-time defending MAAC Tournament champions and was selected to finish first in the 2021-22 Preseason Coaches' Poll.