Penn at Yale
Friday, Feb. 14 – 7 p.m.
John J. Lee Amphitheater
New Haven, Conn.
ESPN+ | Live Stats | Tickets | Game Notes
 
Princeton at Yale
Saturday, Feb. 15 – 8 p.m.
John J. Lee Amphitheater
New Haven, Conn.
ESPNU | Live Stats | Tickets | Game Notes
 
Yale men's basketball is set to return home this week for two matchups, facing Penn on Friday, Feb. 14, and then an ESPNU-televised clash with Princeton on Saturday, Feb. 15. The Bulldogs are riding an eight-game winning streak and enter with a 14-6 record (7-0 Ivy).
 
Last Time Out

• Bez Mbeng tallied a triple double, and John Poulakidas and Nick Townsend had career days as the Bulldogs took down Cornell, 103-88, on Saturday.
• Mbeng notched 15 points, a career-high 12 assists and 10 rebounds, recording the second triple double in program history.
• The senior also became the only DI player this century to reach all those marks in a road game.
• After the score was knotted up at 44, Yale went on a 10-0 run highlighted by back-to-back threes from Poulakidas to take a 54-44 advantage into halftime.
• Yale shot 66.7% (20-of-30) in the second half, led by as many as 22 points (92-70) with 6:11 to go, and didn't look back the rest of the way.
• Poulakidas had a career-high 32 points, shot 12-of-18 from the field, and was 6-of-10 from deep.
• Townsend notched a career-high 25 points on 11-of-13 shooting with six rebounds and five assists.
• Yale was dominant in the paint, tallying 52 of its points there.
• The Bulldogs shot 62.5% overall (40-of-64) and 47.6% (10-of-21) from three.
• Yale tallied a season-high 103 points.
• Yale's 103 points marked the second time the season that the team has scored 100+ and is the first time since 2019 the Bulldogs surpassed the milestone against a DI opponent (Nov. 20, 2019, vs. Siena).
• The victory marked the first time since the 2019-20 season that the Bulldogs have won at Cornell. It also marks Yale's first win in regulation against the Big Red on the road since 2018-19.

 
Bulldog Notes

• Five Bulldogs are averaging at least 8.0 points per game, with Poulakidas leading the way with 20.5 points, which ranks 10^th in the nation.
• Poulakidas is also ranked 11^th in the NCAA in free throw percentage (90.8), eighth in three-point percentage (45.4), and seventh in three-pointers per game (3.47).
• As a team, the Bulldogs rank 16^th in the nation in scoring offense (83.5), 15^th in scoring margin (13.6), fifth in field goal percentage (49.6), third in three-point percentage (40.2), seventh in rebound margin (9.5), 13^th in assists per game (17.5), and 23^rd in rebounds per game (39.90).
• Townsend ranks fourth in the Ivy League in rebounds per game (7.1).
• Mbeng leads the conference with 111 total assists, averaging 5.8 per game. He is also first in steals (37), averaging 1.9 per game.
• Townsend has recorded double figures in his past 15 games.
• Poulakidas has notched double figures in 16 games this season, including his past six.

 
Season Notes

• Poulakidas earned Ivy Player of the Week honors on Feb. 10.
• Mbeng tallied the program's second triple double against Cornell on Feb. 8.
• Poulakidas was tabbed Ivy Co-Player of the Week on Feb. 3.
• Mbeng scored his 1,000th career point against Harvard on Jan. 25.
• Mbeng became the all-time program leader in career steals on Jan. 20.
• Riley Fox earned Ivy Rookie of the Week honors on Jan. 6.
• Head Coach James Jones picked up his 400th career win in the Yale's 91-66 showing over Fairfield on Nov. 23. Jones is in his 26th season with Yale.
• Poulakidas scored his 1,000th career point against Delaware on Nov. 24.
• Mbeng played his 100th career game for Yale against Vermont on Dec. 7.
• Poulakidas and Mbeng were named to the 2024-25 Lou Henson Early Season Watch List. The award is presented annually to the top player in mid-major college basketball.
• Poulakidas and Mbeng are two of six Ivy League players on the list. They join Princeton's Xavian Lee and Caden Pierce, Brown's Kino Lilly, Jr., and Columbia's Geronimo Rubio De La Rosa.

 
Penn Rewind

• The Bulldogs and Quakers last met on Feb. 1, with Yale winning by a score of 90-61 at La Palestra.
• Townsend notched a career-high 23 points in the victory.
• Yale got off to a quick 14-2 advantage, capped off by a layup from Townsend and a three from Poulakidas.
• The Bulldogs didn't look back in the game, shooting 69.6% (16-of-23) from the field, and 50.0% (4-of-8) from three in the first half. Yale led by as many as 30 (90-60) with 25 seconds to go and shot 57.1% (32-of-56) overall and 53.3% (8-of-15) from three in the contest.

 
Scouting the Quakers

• Penn enters the matchup with a 6-14 record (2-5 Ivy).
• The Quakers are coming off a 61-59 loss to Princeton on Friday.
• In the loss, when the teams were tied 59-59, Princeton's Jackson Hicke was fouled going up for a shot and was fouled with just 0.6 seconds left. Hicke made both of his shots, and Penn was unable to get a final shot off before the horn.
• Penn is averaging 67.2 points per game.
• Ethan Roberts paces the Quakers' offense, averaging 17.8 points per game.

 
Princeton Rewind

• The two teams last met on Jan. 31 at Jadwin Gymnasium, with Yale winning by a score of 77-70.
• In the victory, Poulakidas tallied a team-high 23 points, shot 8-of-14 from the field, and 3-of-5 from deep.
• After Princeton, trimmed the deficit to 24-21 with 9:54 to go in the first half, the Bulldogs responded with five straight points, highlighted by a three from Mbeng. Yale led for the entirety of the second half and held off a late Princeton run that trimmed the advantage down to five in the final minutes.
• Yale shot an impressive 62.1% (18-of-29) overall and 77.8% (7-of-9) from three-point range in the first half.
• The Bulldogs shot 57.4% overall (31-of-54) and 56.3% (9-of-16) from deep.
• The Bulldogs dominated the paint, scoring 40 points compared to Princeton's 18.
• Yale's defense stifled Princeton's Xaivian Lee, holding him to just two points.

Scouting the Tigers

• Princeton enters with a 16-6 record, 5-2 in Ivy action.
• The Tigers are coming off the 61-59 victory over Penn on Friday.
• In the win, Lee became the 38^th member of the 1,000 Point Club at Princeton.
• CJ Happy recorded a game-high 13 points along with a career-high eight rebounds in the contest.
• Princeton is averaging 75.6 points per game.
• Lee paces the Tigers' offense, averaging 16.2 points per game.  

Up Next
The Bulldogs will host Cornell on Friday, Feb. 21 and then Columbia on Saturday, Feb. 22.