Yale at Cornell
Saturday, Feb. 8 – 2 p.m.
Newman Arena at Bartels Hall
Ithaca, N.Y.
ESPN+ | Live Stats | Tickets | Game Notes

Yale men's basketball is set to hit the road again, facing Cornell on Saturday, Feb. 8. The Bulldogs are riding a seven-game winning streak and enter with a 13-6 record and are unbeaten in Ivy action at 6-0.

Last Time Out

• Paced by a career-high 23 points from Nick Townsend, the Bulldogs continued their winning ways with a dominant 90-61 victory over Penn on Saturday.
• Yale got off to a quick 14-2 advantage, capped off by a layup from Townsend and a three from John Poulakidas.
• The Bulldogs didn't look back in the game, shooting 69.6% (16-of-23) from the field and 50% (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.
• Townsend shot 9-of-13 from the field with a team-high nine rebounds, three assists, and two steals.
• Poulakidas tallied 21 points on 5-of-10 shooting, 17 of which came in the first half, and was a perfect 9-of-9 from the free throw line.
• Bez Mbeng added 19 points on 7-of-14 shooting with six rebounds and four assists.
• The Bulldogs were strong in the paint, tallying 42 of their points.
• Yale completed a perfect week, marking the first time since the 2024-15 season that the team has beaten Princeton and Penn on the road.

Bulldog Notes

• Five Bulldogs are averaging at least 8.0 points per game, with Poulakidas leading the way with 19.8 points, which ranks 21^st in the nation.
• As a team, the Bulldogs rank 23^rd in the nation in scoring offense (82.5), 17^th in scoring margin (13.5), 19^th in field goal percentage (48.8), third in three-point percentage (39.8), seventh in rebound margin (9.7), 18^th in assists per game (17.2), and seventh in rebound per game (40.26).
• Poulakidas is also 17^th in the NCAA in free throw percentage (90.5), 14^th in three-point percentage (44.2), and three-pointers per game (3.31).
• Townsend ranks fourth in the Ivy League in rebounds with 135, averaging 7.1 per game.
• Casey Simmons ranks first in the conference in field goal percentage (.602), Mbeng is first in assists, averaging 5.5 per game, and Samson Aletan is first in blocked shots (1.6 per game).
• Poulakidas currently ranks fourth all-time in program history in career three-pointers made with 209.
• Mbeng ranks third all-time in program history with 381 career assists.

Season Notes

• 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.

 
A Look at History Against Cornell

• The Bulldogs lead the all-time series 123-113.
• Yale is 4-1 in the last five meetings.
• The first meeting between the teams was a 49-7 victory for Yale on February 25, 1899.
• The two teams last met in the Ivy League tournament semifinals in 2024, with Yale winning by a score of 69-57. In the victory, Yale's defense held Cornell to just 32.8% from the field and 29.4% from three-point range.

Scouting the Big Red

• Cornell enters the matchup with a 13-6 record and is behind Yale in the Ivy standings (second place) at 5-1.
• The Big Red are coming off an undefeated week, defeating Dartmouth on Friday by a score of 76-64, and Harvard on Saturday, 75-60.
• Cornell is averaging 85.3 points per game.
• Nazir Williams paces the Big Red on offense, averaging 14.9 points per game, which ranks eighth in the Ivy League.

 
Up Next
The Bulldogs will return home to host Penn on Friday, Feb. 14 and Princeton on Saturday, Feb. 15.