No. 1 YALE vs. No. 4 CORNELL
Sat., Mar. 11 – 11 a.m.
Princeton, N.J.
TV: ESPNU
ESPNU Video | Live Stats | Tickets | Yale Game Notes
 
NEW HAVEN, Conn. – The Yale men's basketball team finds itself in a familiar position following the conclusion of the regular season, preparing for postseason play. The top-seeded Bulldogs head to Princeton this weekend for the Ivy League Tournament where they face No. 4 Cornell in the first semifinal on Saturday at 11 a.m. The game will be televised on ESPNU.
 
No. 2 Princeton meets No. 3 Penn in the second semifinal on Saturday. The championship game is set for Sunday at noon and will be televised on ESPN2.
 
Yale, which has appeared in all four previous Ivy Tournaments and is the defending champion, seems poised to make another run at the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. The Bulldogs have earned the bid in each of the last three seasons, including last year when they edged Princeton in a thrilling championship game before falling to Purdue in the NCAA Tournament.
 
Yale overcame a 1-3 start in Ivy play this season to earn the No. 1 seed. The Bulldogs have won nine of their last 10 games, including an 84-75 win at Brown last Saturday that clinched the No. 1 seed and earned Yale a share of the regular season title.
 
Yale has excelled in the three principles head coach James Jones values the most – rebounding, defense and sharing the ball. The Bulldogs are 13th in the nation in rebound margin (+6.7), 14th in field goal percentage defense (.397) and 23rd in scoring defense (62.7 ppg.). In addition, Yale is third in the Ivy League in assists at 14.6 per game and had four games with 20 or more assists, including a season-high 29 in the season opener.
 
In Cornell, the Bulldogs will be facing the Ivy League's top offensive team. The Big Red average 82.5 points per game, which leads the league and is seventh in the nation.
 
Yale has had success on the offensive end of the floor as well. The Bulldogs lead the league in field goal percentage (.482) and have averaged 83.2 points in their last five games.
 
It's been a balanced attack that has led Yale. Five Bulldogs average double figures in scoring – Matt Knowling (14.5 ppg.), John Poulakidas (11.9 ppg.), EJ Jarvis (11.7 ppg.), August Mahoney (10.3 ppg.) and Bez Mbeng (10.1 ppg.) and each has enjoyed a moment in the spotlight. Knowling has scored 20 or more points in five games, Poulakidas had 30 points in the win at Princeton, Jarvis scored 34 in the home victory over Cornell, Mahoney had 20 on 7-of-9 shooting from the field at home against Brown, and Mbeng scored 27 points in the victory at Brown.
 
Knowling is the league-leader in field goal percentage at .630, while Mahoney is the most accurate three-point (.452) and free throw (61-of-64) shooter.
 
KEY STATISTICS
 
The Bulldogs are 14-1 when they lead at halftime, 16-4 when they outrebound their opponent, 13-0 when they commit fewer turnovers than their opponent and 18-0 when they lead with five minutes remaining in the second half.
 
IVY TOURNAMENT HISTORY
 
Yale is making its fifth appearance in the Ivy League Tournament and is 3-1 in semifinal games. The Bulldogs beat Penn last year at Harvard, defeated Princeton at Lee Amphitheater in 2019 and knocked off Harvard at the Palestra in 2017. The Bulldogs' only semifinal loss came to Penn in 2018 at the Palestra.
 
Yale is 2-1 in the championship game, defeating Princeton last year, Harvard in 2019 and losing to Princeton in 2017.
 
YALE-CORNELL HISTORY
 
The Bulldogs and Big Red split the two regular season meetings with each winning on its home floor. Yale had the lead for most of the first 30 minutes in the game in Ithaca, but Cornell used a 17-0 run to seize control on its way to a 94-82 victory. The 94 points were the most allowed by Yale all season. Bez Mbeng scored 21 points to pace the Bulldogs. A little over a month later at Lee Amphitheater, Yale held Cornell nearly 25 points below its league-leading scoring average in posting a 76-58 win. The Big Red shot just 39 percent from the field. EJ Jarvis scored 34 points and grabbed 10 rebounds. Yale leads the all-time series with Cornell 120-112. The first meeting came in 1899.
 
SCOUTING CORNELL
 
The Big Red will be making its third Ivy Tournament appearance (2018, 2022, 2023), all as the No. 4 seed and will be looking to advance to the championship game for the first time. Cornell clinched its spot in the tournament on the final day of the regular season, beating Columbia 87-73 in the afternoon and then watching Yale defeat Brown to eliminate the Bears at night. Greg Dolan, a second team All-Ivy selection, leads the Big Red in scoring at 13.5 ppg. In Ivy games, Cornell had four players averaging double figures (Williams 13.6, Dolan 13.1, Manon 12.2, Gray 10.5 ppg.) and a fifth at 9.8 (Guy Ragland Jr.). The Big Red leads the Ivy League in scoring offense (82.5), 3-pointers made (10.8) and attempted (30.4) per game, assists (17.6), assist:turnover ratio (1.41), steals (9.7), turnovers forced (16.0), turnover margin (3.5), bench points (30.8), effective field goal percentage (.562) and fastbreak points (16.3).
 
SCOUTING THE FIELD
 
Princeton (19-8, 10-4 Ivy) used a big comeback in the regular season finale to earn a share of the Ivy title. The Tigers rallied from 19 points down to defeat Penn 77-69 in overtime at Jadwin Gym. The Tigers feature unanimous first team All-Ivy selection Tosan Evboumwan (15.4 ppg.) and Ivy League Rookie of the Year Caden Pierce (8.0 ppg., 6.8 rpg.). Yale won both games from the Tigers in the regular season.
 
Penn (17-12, 9-5 Ivy) features Ivy League Player of the Year Jordan Dingle, who is second in the nation in scoring at 23.6 ppg. He has scored in double figures in 36 straight games dating back to last season. Max Martz (11.0 ppg.) earned honorable mention All-Ivy recognition. Yale and Penn split two meetings during the regular season with each winning on its home floor.