“The University of Idaho student band, a tribe from the North, brave and bold, bearing banners of Silver and Gold, donned blue and white, tried and true, to subdue all Yale’s foes,” the official statement from the governor said.

With Yale’s marching band unable to make the trip over spring break, Yale Athletics reached out to Idaho’s Vandal Marching Band on Sunday, March 17 — the day Yale defeated Brown to earn a spot in March Madness — asking if it could sub in.

The musicians, wearing Yale T-shirts and calling themselves the “Van-Dogs,” gained national media attention after performing during Yale’s first-round win over Auburn and also earned praise from the team’s players and coaches.

“It’s outstanding that the government did that to recognize the band,” head coach James Jones told the News after Lamont’s proclamation. “It was such a selfless act and I’m humbled that they were able to come out and support us and be recognized in this way.”

Lamont’s statement commends the band’s effort to learn “Bulldog,” the Yale fight song, and its commitment to “understanding Yale traditions.” It also credits the band as a contributor to the Bulldogs’ upset victory over Auburn.

After that game, the band briefly returned to the University of Idaho for a campus recruiting event before making another 90-minute trip to Spokane on Sunday to perform during Yale’s second-round matchup against San Diego State.

“Our entire goal was to do the best we could to represent Yale University and the State of Connecticut as well as the University of Idaho and the Gem State,” Spencer Martin, Idaho’s director of athletic bands, wrote to the News. “We are so humbled to be honored by Governor Lamont and the State of Connecticut.”

By all indications, Lamont is a big fan of college basketball.

The University of Connecticut men’s team won last year’s national championship, and the UConn women boast a record 11 national championships. Lamont has taken to calling the state “the basketball capital of the world.”

On March 21 this year, Lamont released his March Madness brackets, accompanied by a nearly two-minute video discussing the prospects of each of the five Connecticut teams that had qualified for either the men’s or women’s tournaments. No fewer than ten of the governor’s 26 posts on X in the past two weeks have concerned college basketball.

David Bednarz, a spokesperson for Lamont, wrote in a statement to the News on Thursday that the governor decided to declare “University of Idaho Day” after seeing news coverage about the Idaho band’s service to the Bulldogs.

“Proclaiming a day in the university’s honor is a fun way to show that while our two states may be on opposite sides of the country, acts of good sportsmanship like this can bring us together,” Bednarz wrote.

Thursday’s announcement was not Lamont’s first time focusing the ceremonial power of the governorship on March Madness.

Last spring, after the UConn men’s team qualified for the Final Four, Lamont proclaimed a “Husky Weekend” before traveling to Houston to watch the games. But Lamont ruffled feathers by saying on a radio show that Houston was “butt ugly” during his visit. He later apologized to the city’s mayor.

For the University of Idaho, there is no apology — only thanks.

Yale and the University of Idaho are 2,193 miles apart.

The post Lamont honors Idaho band for cheering on Bulldogs appeared first on Yale Daily News.

Samuelson’s name is, as of March 14, included on a list of 227 Americans who are banned from entering Russian territory due to their alleged involvement in “conceiving, carrying out and justifying the anti-Russia policy” adopted by the United States government as well as those “directly involved in anti-Russia undertakings.”

“I was quite surprised,” Samuelson wrote the News upon appearing on the list. “It must be a very long list indeed in order for me to come to their attention.”

Samuelson specializes in economic theory with an interest in game theory. Since 2018, he has been a member of the International Advisory Board of the Kyiv School of Economics. Samuelson speculated that his association with the Ukraine-based university was the reason for his addition to the list.

The Russian government has placed an entry ban on over 2,000 American citizens since the United States began imposing economic sanctions on the government in the wake of its full-scale invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022. The list includes — but is not limited to — elected officials, journalists, academics and business leaders. 

The latest round of bans, in particular, appears to target academics. Sixty-seven of the 227 individuals named on the list are affiliated with a U.S.-based university. Samuelson suggested that this is because the list was constructed based on online information, and academics typically have an easily identified online presence. 

Yale’s spokesperson declined to comment for this story.

David Cameron, a professor of political science and director of the Yale program in European Union Studies, pointed out the seemingly arbitrary nature of the names on the list. He noted that there are “a few people on the list who know a lot about Russian politics and international relations,” but also many knowledgeable people on the subject who have been left off.  

“There’s no obvious explanation why they’re on it and others who might be on it aren’t on it,” Cameron said. “It’s no doubt the work of some not very bright low-level functionaries in the Russian Foreign Ministry who were told to come up with a list.”

According to Cameron, the list is further evidence that “smart people in Russia” with an interest in international relations are concentrated in the Foreign Intelligence Service, an externally focused intelligence agency, rather than the Russian Foreign Ministry.

In November 2022, in one of the earliest rounds of Russian entry bans, Yale history professor Timothy Snyder was one of 200 U.S. citizens whose name appeared on the list.

The Yale Economic Growth Center was founded in 1961.

The post Yale professor Larry Samuelson added to Russian ban list appeared first on Yale Daily News.

No. 13 Yale couldn’t pull off a second upset against No. 5 San Diego State Sunday night, falling 85–57 after the Aztecs got out to a hot first half start and made 13-27 threes throughout the game. The loss comes on the heels of a thrilling 78–76 victory over No. 4 Auburn on Friday night.

“San Diego State played a tremendous game,” head coach James Jones said following the loss. “They usually don’t make too many threes but saw me coming and figured they’d make them all today.”

Point guard Bez Mbeng ’25 led the Bulldogs in scoring with 12 points, while the Aztecs Jaedon LeDee finished with 26 points on 9–12 from the field. 

San Diego State will go on to play No. 1 UConn in Boston next week.

The defeat marks the end of the road for seniors August Mahoney ’24, Matt Knowling ’24 and Yussif Basa-Ama ’24. The three players played through one of the greatest four year stretches in Yale basketball history, which included two NCAA Tournament appearances. With 86 career wins, Mahoney is the program’s all time winningest player. 

“Knowing how much work I’ve put in throughout my life and how much we’ve accomplished as a program, it stings knowing I’m never going to wear this jersey again,” Mahoney said. “But this has been the best few weeks of my life. As much as it hurts now I know I’m gonna look back in a week, a month, a year and have this journey for the rest of my life. I’m forever indebted to coach Jones and know this program is in great hands.”

This season was the second time ever that Yale made it to the NCAA tournament’s round of 32, the first being in 2016 when the No. 12 Bulldogs upset No. 5 Baylor in round one before falling to No. 4 Duke. 

The Bulldogs have a lot to look forward to next season. Three of their five starters will be returning, and young players such as Danny Wolf ’26, Nick Townsend ’26 and Samson Aletan ’27 are poised for bright futures.

The post No. 13 Yale falls to No. 5 San Diego State in March Madness, ending historically strong season appeared first on Yale Daily News.

The Bulldogs (23–9, 13–3 Ivy) are playing with more confidence than ever before after beating the Tigers as 13-point underdogs. Yet the Aztecs (25–10, 13–8 MWC), coming off a 69–65 first-round victory over No. 12 University of Alabama at Birmingham, are likely to be a similarly difficult matchup. 

“They’re very similar to Auburn in terms of what they do defensively,” head coach James Jones told the News on Saturday. “Similar type players and we’ll have our hands full again, but we’re looking forward to the opportunity to prove ourselves. 

The Aztec player to watch will be senior forward Jaedon LeDee, who leads the team with 21.4 points and 8.4 rebounds per game. The 6’9” big man scored 32 points on 10-17 shooting from the field in SDSU’s first round matchup. All of San Diego’s offense will run through LeDee.

Similar to Auburn, the Aztecs play stingy defense and put constant pressure on the ball. San Diego holds teams to 30.6 percent shooting from behind the arc.

Come Sunday night, however, they’ll have to contend with Yale’s John Poulakidas ’25, shooting 10-18 from three in his last two games, including a 6-9, 28-point effort to lead the way against the Tigers. Poulakidas, alongside guard August Mahoney ’24, are shooting a combined 41 percent from deep this season. 

All-Ivy selection Danny Wolf ’26, who leads the team with 14.3 points, 9.7 rebounds and 1.4 blocks per game, scored 11 points in the second half on Friday and adds both perimeter shooting and interior presence to Yale’s starting five. Forward Matt Knowling ’24 — a reliable volume scorer — and two-time Ivy League Defensive Player of the Year Bez Mbeng ’25 round out the Bulldogs starters. All of Yale’s starters average double-digit scoring figures.

“Yale’s extremely hard to guard,” San Diego head coach Brian Dutcher said on Saturday. “They’ve got five guys that can all score.”

Sunday’s game is the Elis second-ever appearance in the NCAA tournament’s round of 32. In 2016, the Bulldogs upset Baylor in the first round and fell short against Duke 71–64 in the following round. 

Among a mostly local Spokane crowd, the Aztecs had an entire section of fans cheering them on Friday afternoon. As a six point underdog, though, Yale could get the crowd on their side by keeping the game close. 

“We played Gonzaga earlier this year, and I think we put forward a pretty good effort against them,” Mahoney said. “So I think the Spokane community kind of has rallied behind us a little bit, and hopefully they’re just as loud against San Diego State.”

Tonight’s game will tip off at 9:40 p.m. Eastern Time in Spokane Arena. 

The post MEN’S BASKETBALL: No. 13 Yale still an underdog ahead of matchup against No. 5 San Diego State appeared first on Yale Daily News.

But with starting big man Danny Wolf ’26 fouled out in the game’s final minute, Aletan’s name was called off the bench to protect Yale’s lead. With the Bulldogs up 78–76 with six seconds remaining, Auburn star Johni Broome caught an offensive rebound in front of the rim and seemed positioned to send the game to overtime. But his shot attempt caught Aletan’s arm on its way up and fell into the hands of Auburn’s Jaylin Williams three feet from the basket. As Williams attempted a floater, Aletan rose up and met him in the air to swat the shot back.

YALE MEN'S BASKETBALL WINS ITS SECOND NCAA TOURNAMENT GAME IN SCHOOL HISTORY pic.twitter.com/iqFjZVsTL5

— CBS Sports (@CBSSports) March 22, 2024

“At that moment I knew that the main reason why they got me here is to shot block and rebound,” Aletan told the News. “Saw the guy grab the ball and try to immediately go up with it so I said I’m gonna just go for it, jumped up and got it.”

Aletan had entered the game earlier as Yale head coach James Jones looked to contend with the Tigers rapid pace of play and deep bench. Early in the second half, Aletan found himself in space for what seemed like a wide open dunk before being blocked from behind by Broome. 

Playing for a Yale team where minutes for first-years are hard to come by, the 6’10” Dallas native played sparsely throughout the Ivy League season, appearing in eight conference matchups and averaged 1.6 points and 0.4 rebounds per game. 

“The coaches always tell me to be ready, I know that in certain matchups certain games they’re gonna unleash me. So when the time came I knew I was ready for the big moment ”

Last year, Aletan helped lead Lake Highlands High School to the Texas 6A State Championship game, where his seven blocks set the record for most blocks in a state tournament championship game. He was later named the district 7-6A Defensive Player of the Year. 

Upon committing to play for the Bulldogs in September 2022, Aletan became the highest-rated recruit in Yale basketball history. Ranked as one of the top big men in Texas, he received offers to play at high-major programs such as Texas, Houston, Nevada and Kansas State, among others.

“Samson comes and brings it in practice every day, he gets extra practice in, and he’s going to be ready for us down the road,” Jones said. “I look forward to him being a bright and big part of our future.”

Jones also said that most players as good as Aletan would find it “difficult to swallow” not having an opportunity to play due to the depth in front of him. 

The No. 13 Bulldogs are currently preparing for Sunday’s matchup against No. 5 San Diego State in March Madness’s round of 32. 

Ahead of that matchup, Aletan’s mentality will be exactly the same. 

“Gonna try to get every block, every rebound, finish inside and hopefully come away with the big win,” he said.

Sunday’s game against San Diego State is set to tipoff at 9:40 p.m. EST from Spokane Arena.

The post First-year center Samson Aletan an unlikely hero in shock upset over No. 13 Auburn appeared first on Yale Daily News.

Yale’s marching band was not able to secure enough members to travel to Friday’s matchup against Auburn over the University’s spring break, so Idaho’s Vandal Marching Band put on Yale T-shirts and made the 90-minute drive to Spokane to sub in. 

“Everyone was really enthusiastic about covering for the Yale students who couldn’t make it,” Spencer Martin, the University of Idaho’s director of athletic bands told the News. “Universities help universities, and bands help bands.”

Yale Athletics emailed Martin last Sunday afternoon asking if the Idaho band could make it to perform on Friday. Idaho’s band had just finished performing for their own basketball team at the Big Sky conference tournament, so all their equipment was still packed. They were also in the process of preparing for a performance at UIdaho Bound — an admitted students event similar to Yale’s Bulldog Days — for which they had to return to campus the morning following the Yale-Auburn match-up. 

To prepare his band, Martin reached out to members of the Yale Precision Marching Band and looked through old YouTube videos that included clips of their performances, such as a local news segment and a 2013 Yale hockey game.

The band began rehearsing for the game on Friday at 9 a.m., thirty minutes before boarding the bus to Spokane. Due to the time constraint, Martin made the decision to perform just the song “Bulldog,” which he said is simpler to perform than other songs such as “Down The Field.”

“We put all our marbles into ‘Bulldogs,’” he said. “There’s a lot of stuff we didn’t know so we were just trying to have fun with it. We took a lot of our standard U of Idaho chants and just Bulldog’d them up a bit.”

Martin called the band’s performance “pretty bad at first” but noted that it improved over the course of the game. The students got “really into” the different Yale chants, such as “Bulldogs, Bulldogs, bow wow wow,” Martin said. 

After the game, Yale head coach James Jones said the band’s performance “was great.”

“I saw them out there and they had their sheets, so they knew the music in terms of what to play,” Jones said. “Having that atmosphere and them coming out and supporting us, there’s nothing better than that, and we can’t appreciate them more”

Yale forward Danny Wolf noticed it as well, calling it “an incredibly gracious act.”

Neither the band members nor the University of Idaho received any compensation for the performance, but Yale Athletics covered the costs of transportation, Yale T-shirts and pizza. 

“Band kids would do a lot for a t-shirt and pizza,” Martin joked. “We were never gonna charge anyone.”

He said that working with Yale Athletics and the Yale Cheer Squad was a “very pleasant experience.”

Sierra Schultz, a sophomore student in the band, said that March Madness is the highest-profile venue they’ve ever played. 

“We were all really excited and doing research about Yale on the bus to get some background on the school and also their band,” Schultz, who plays the trumpet, said. “All of us were die-hard Yale fans. I wanted Auburn to lose.”

She added that the band members, currently back in Idaho for the UIdaho Bound event, are brainstorming new chant ideas to distract the San Diego State players as they attempt free throws.

The Bulldogs — and the University of Idaho band — will take the court once again Sunday at 9:40 p.m. Eastern at Spokane Arena.

The post MARCH MADNESS: Idaho student band covers for the Bulldogs, wears Yale merch appeared first on Yale Daily News.

No. 13 seeded Yale (22–9, 13–3 Ivy) is set to face No. 4 Auburn (27–7, 16–5 SEC) in March Madness’s round of 64 this Friday. The Bulldogs punched their ticket last Sunday after a buzzer-beating layup narrowly lifted them over Brown in the Ivy League tournament finals. Meanwhile, the Tigers are coming off of a dominant three-game run in the SEC tournament capped by an 86–67 win over Florida in the championship game. 

“Auburn wants to punch you in the face when the game starts, they wanna come after you,” Yale head coach James Jones said Thursday afternoon. “But our guys have been battle-tested and they’ll be ready.” 

 A fast, athletic team, the Tigers thrive off constant ball pressure and movement on defense – a unit that ranks fourth in the nation according to kenpom.com. As a team, they hold opposing offenses to a nation-leading 42.8 percent shooting on 2-point attempts while also top ten in the country at limiting teams from the three-point line, keeping shooters to 29.8 percent from deep.

On offense, the “War Eagles” excel at finding shots around the rim and getting to the free-throw line. 6’10 forward Johni Broome leads the team with 16.2 points on 54.4 percent shooting from the field. Three-pointers account for only 28.9 percent of the Tigers’ points, but all five of their starters are capable shooters when allowed space. 

This is the Bulldogs’ second trip to Spokane this season. Yale first made the trip in November to face Gonzaga. In that game, Jones’s squad got out to an early ten-point lead but ultimately fell 86–71. In another high-profile matchup, the Bulldogs traveled for a game against Kansas in December, where they held a lead at halftime but wound up losing 75–60. 

“Coach did a great job of scheduling our non-conference games and putting us against tough teams,” captain August Mahoney ’24 said. “So we’ll be ready.” 

Still, Auburn – ranked as the nation’s fourth-best team – is the Bulldogs’ toughest test yet. The Tigers are 24–0 this season against non-quad one opponents, winning those games by an average margin of 16.2 points.  

To put themselves in the best position to advance to the round of 32, Yale must play at their own pace, excel in key matchups and win the rebounding battle. 

Play at Bulldog speed, not Tiger speed

Yale and Auburn are two of the most opposite teams in the tournament with regard to their pace of play. The Bulldogs rank 335th in time per possession while the Tigers are 47th. 

The War Eagles will look to seize control of the game early by overwhelming Yale with a fast-paced transition offense and attempting to force turnovers through defensive pressure. 

In this regard, Auburn plays a similar style to Cornell, who Yale played three times this season, including in the Ivy League semifinals. Both Cornell and Auburn rely on a deep bench and frequent substitutions to support a high-octane style of play. Ten different Auburn players average at least 13 minutes of playing time per game. 

As they did against the Big Red this past weekend, Yale must stay connected on both sides of the ball and look to play at their own pace. Finding looks on the perimeter for their two best shooters — Mahoney and John Poulakidas ’25 — in the onset of the game will open up space offensively and relieve some of the Tigers’ pressure. The sharpshooting duo has connected on a combined 41 percent from behind the arc this season on over 300 attempts. 

Mahoney, who knocked down eight of 13 threes in last weekend’s tournament, expressed confidence in his shot while also emphasizing Yale’s offensive versatility. 

“We’re always gonna have four other guys on offense that can score the ball,” he said. “So I know when my teammate sets a screen for me, they’ve gotta be worried about me but also the guy coming off the screen.”  

All five players in Yale’s starting lineup average double-digit scoring figures.

Matchups to watch

Forward Danny Wolf’s ’26 will be challenged both offensively and defensively by Auburn’s Broome. Both big men are “go-to” options for their respective teams, and lead their teams in points, rebounds and blocks. 

“He’s really big and he’s also got great skills,” Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl said of the 7-foot Wolf. “He’s got a great feel for the game and can pass it over either shoulder.”  

Wolf’s ability to shoot from deep and run the Elis offense from the perimeter could open up space for cutters by forcing Broome outside of the paint. Pearl pointed out that Yale’s tendency to run a “five-out” style of offense – where all five players play on the perimeter – is not something the Tigers have much experience defending.  

On defense, Wolf must be physical with Broome, who likes to catch the ball around the rim and use his size to create room for easy layups. 

If the Tigers have any weaknesses, it’s in their backcourt, where Denver Jones and first-year guard Aden Holloway combine for just over 15 points and four assists per game. Yale point guard Bez Mbeng ’25, a second-team All-Ivy selection and the two-time Ivy League Defensive Player of the Year, will be the best defender on the court. Mbeng can swing the game in Yale’s favor by using his athleticism and hustle to create chaos on the perimeter and make it difficult for the Tiger guards to find Broome on the inside.  

Battle on the boards 

Yale outrebounded Baylor 36–32 in their 79-75 upset victory over the Bears in the first round of the 2016 NCAA tournament.  

This season, the Elis biggest strength as a team is on the defensive boards, where they rank 13th in the nation. In a fairly evenly sized matchup, Yale must use this to their advantage and keep the Tigers from racking up second-chance points. 

If Yale can rebound against Auburn the way they did vs Baylor, they’ll be a step closer to repeating history. 

Friday’s game will tip off at 4:15 p.m. Eastern Time and be televised nationally on TNT.

Correction, March 22: A previous version of this article mislabeled Yale’s seed; the Bulldogs are a No. 13 seed.

The post MARCH MADNESS: How No. 13 Yale can pull off the upset vs. No. 4 Auburn appeared first on Yale Daily News.

“There’s a character called Mr. Anderson, and at one point he figures out that he’s Neo, that he’s really the one,” Jones said at the time. “I think that for Bez, he’s figured out he’s really good and he started to play that way. What you see from him this year will dwarf in comparison to next year.”

Indeed, Mbeng has taken his play to new heights this season. In addition to improved points, assists, blocks and steals per game numbers, the Maryland native earned second-team All-Ivy honors and — for the second year in a row — the Ivy League’s Defensive Player of the Year award.

Mbeng’s defensive effort, in particular, has cemented him as a player whose impact often transcends the stat sheet. Against Cornell in the Ivy League semifinals, Mbeng finished with three points but made his presence known defensively, limiting star guard Nazir Williams to just two points on 1-6 shooting while skying for several tough rebounds in key moments throughout the game. When the Big Red’s Jacob Beccles found himself open for a three in the game’s final minutes, Mbeng switched off his man, scrambled across the court and swatted the shot into the bleachers to seal the victory.

Bez with the big block!

| (ESPNEWS) https://t.co/T157BNMri3#ThisIsYale pic.twitter.com/kqV5KTX1Du

— Yale Men's Basketball (@YaleMBasketball) March 16, 2024

“I take huge pride in defending the other team’s best player,” Mbeng said. “It’s something that not a lot of players are willing or capable of doing, so I take a lot of pride in being different that way.”

Standing at 6’4 with quick lateral movement and closing speed, Mbeng’s athleticism and effort on defense have caused fans and teammates to grow accustomed to seeing him dive for loose balls or fly across the court for a defensive switch.

Against Cornell earlier this season, with Yale down 71–67 in the game’s waning minutes, an errant pass by forward Danny Wolf ’26 led to a fastbreak for the Big Red. But as Cornell guard Chris Manon streaked down the court for a would-be easy layup, Mbeng chased him down and dived for the ball from behind, poking it away and reclaiming possession for the Elis. The momentum shift sparked a 7–2 Bulldogs run in the game’s next minute, who took the lead and went on to win.

“He makes the game so much easier because of how hard he plays defensively,” Wolf said of Mbeng. “It’s easy for me especially when I have to guard ball screens and I don’t have to worry about going into drop coverage or switching because Bez seems to always be in front of his guy.” 

Mbeng says he gets his defensive instincts from growing up playing basketball in the DMV area, where grit and toughness are expected of every young player.

“It’s something that was instilled in me since a young age,” he said. “In a sense, I always had it, but playing basketball in that area for so many years definitely brought it out of me. After realizing that I could be good at it, I began to study a lot of players and implement their techniques into the way I play defense as well.”

When the guard committed to Yale in January 2021, he had never met Jones in person due to restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic. The entire recruiting process was done over Zoom.

In the 2021-2022 season, on a team where minutes for first-year players are hard to come by, Mbeng’s work ethic and strong guard play earned him a spot in the starting lineup midway through the season. He started 13 of 14 Ivy League games and earned the team’s George McReynolds award as the top defender.

“It’s special to have a guy that takes that much pride in his defense,” Jones said. “I would not want to be guarded by him.”

Even against stiff competition in No. 4 Auburn on Friday, Mbeng will likely be the best defensive player on the court. If the No. 13 Bulldogs are to come away with an upset — as they did in 2016 against No. 5 Baylor — Mbeng’s hustle and ability to shut down the opposing guard will be a key factor.

Friday’s game is set to tip-off at 4:15 p.m. Eastern Time and will be televised nationally on TNT.

The post Yale’s defensive anchor Bez Mbeng takes pride in shutting down opponents appeared first on Yale Daily News.

Salovey, who is stepping down as president at the end of the year, is a longtime supporter of the team. He often sits courtside at home games with his wife, Marta Moret.

“I wish I could have been there in person with the students and coaches,” Salovey wrote to the News, referring to Yale’s win over Brown on Sunday. “The team plays with a ‘never say die attitude,’ and that comes through!”

Against Brown, The Bulldogs fought back from a six-point deficit in the game’s final thirty seconds and won on a buzzer-beating layup by Matt Knowling ’24. The win earned Yale the Ivy men’s basketball conference title and the league’s automatic bid to March Madness.

Salovey and his wife, Marta Moret, attending a Yale basketball game

Salovey, who is currently on a two-week trip to Cote d’Ivoire and Hong Kong to strengthen the University’s international partnerships, wrote that he woke up early from Hong Kong Monday morning to check the score and watch the game’s highlights.

“My favorite is the assist that sets up the final bucket to best Brown,” he wrote. “What a great bounce pass and wonderful court vision.”

He also wrote Yale head coach James Jones a note to congratulate him and the team on the win, and “doing so in such an exciting fashion.”

The twenty-third University president has spent much of his time as a Yale faculty member. Salovey joined the department of psychology as an assistant professor in 1995, the same year that Jones joined the team as an assistant coach. 

Salovey’s tenure as Yale president has coincided with the most dominant era of Yale basketball in school history. 

Since 2013 – the year of Salovey’s appointment – Yale has finished in third place or better in every Ivy League season and racked up five Ivy League championships. Since the league introduced the four-team Ivy Tournament in 2017, Yale is the only school to have qualified in all six tournaments and has advanced to the championship game in five of them. 

In 2016, the Bulldogs made March Madness for the first time since 1962 and upset No. 5-seeded Baylor in the tournament’s first round. Yale has qualified for the tournament three more times since then. 

Salovey “wished the team luck” ahead of Friday’s game against No. 4 Auburn and will be “cheering the Bulldogs on” from Hong Kong.

Friday’s game is set to tip off at 4:15 p.m. Eastern, which will be 4:15 a.m. in Hong Kong. 

The post ‘A never say die attitude’: Salovey’s message for Yale ahead of matchup with No. 4 Auburn appeared first on Yale Daily News.

Whether you’re a die-hard fan or never watched a game before, here is everything you need to know about this season’s Bulldogs.

What is March Madness, and how did Yale get there?

‘March Madness’ is a popular name for the NCAA’s annual Division I college basketball tournament. It is one of the world’s most-watched sports events. The single-elimination tournament is organized into a 64-team, four-quadrant bracket system. Teams are ranked, or “seeded,” from one through 16.

In each quadrant, the highest-seeded teams are matched up against the lowest. In Yale’s quadrant of the bracket, No. 1 Uconn will play against No. 16 Stetson, while No. 2 Iowa State will face No. 15 South Dakota State. If a team loses, they are eliminated from the tournament. The tournament continues until only one team remains.

Thirty-two of the tournament’s spots are reserved for the champions of each of the NCAA’s 32 Division I conferences. The remaining spots are awarded by the NCAA’s selection committee to the next-best teams in the nation. 

Yale earned an automatic “bid” to March Madness by winning the four-team Ivy League tournament this past weekend. The Bulldogs defeated Cornell in the semifinal round 69–57. In the championship game against Brown, the Bulldogs fought back from a six-point deficit in the game’s final thirty seconds and won on a buzzer-beating layup by Matt Knowling ’24. 

THE WINNING BASKET#ThisIsYale pic.twitter.com/o9eLNHo7qR

— Yale Men's Basketball (@YaleMBasketball) March 17, 2024

Yale’s story this season

After losing to Princeton in the championship game of last year’s Ivy tournament, the Bulldogs were picked to finish first in the Ivy League’s preseason poll, as their roster had several returning players and a promising cast of young talent. 

Throughout the season, though, Yale displayed both moments of excellence and spells of inconsistency. 

The team got out to a strong start with a dominant win over Vassar in the home opener, a valiant effort against nationally-ranked Gonzaga and impressive wins over Loyola Marymount and Colgate.

But then the Bulldogs made national headlines for the wrong reasons. On Dec. 2, Yale lost against Vermont, and let a six-point lead slip in the game’s final three seconds. The Bulldogs lost their next game against Fairfield on Dec. 6 despite entering the matchup as 17-point favorites. The loss dropped their season record to 5–5.

As the Ivy League season approached, Yale’s play was largely overshadowed by Princeton, which held a 12–1 record at the time and ranked as one of the nation’s top 50 teams. 

The Elis began to hit their stride, though, with a stretch of ten wins in January and February, which included home victories over Princeton and Cornell. The winning streak also matched the team’s best start to an Ivy League season in school history. 

The streak ended in an away loss to Princeton on Feb. 18, and Yale lost again to Cornell in Ithaca the following weekend. In their regular season finale, the Bulldogs — entering as 11.5-point favorites — fell to Brown. 

However, Yale got its revenge in the Ivy tournament. Yale is the only Ivy League team in this year’s March Madness tournament.

Who are the players to look out for?

Yale is one of the most versatile teams in the tournament. All five of the Bulldogs’ starting players average double-digit scoring figures.

All-Ivy selection Danny Wolf ’26 leads the team with 14.5 points, 9.7 rebounds and 1.4 blocks per game. A 7-foot forward, Wolf can score around the basket, shoot from the perimeter and has unique passing ability for a player of his size. He is complemented by Knowling in the frontcourt, a 6’5” forward averaging 11.8 points per game on 57.7-percent shooting.

Second-team All-Ivy selection John Poulakidas ’25 forms an elite three-point shooting duo alongside team captain August Mahoney ’24. The two average a combined 41 percent from beyond the arc this season, including three triples in the final two minutes of the Ivy League championship game against Brown. 

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Point guard Bez Mbeng ’25 typically handles the ball on offense and anchors the Bulldogs on defense. The two-time Ivy League Defensive Player of the Year averages almost two steals per game and consistently matches up against the opposing team’s top scorer. 

Who is Yale head coach James Jones?

James Jones has been Yale’s head coach since 1999, making him tied as the fourth-longest-tenured active head coach in men’s college basketball. Jones has overseen the most dominant era of Yale basketball in school history. His 395 career wins is the highest in team history, and he is responsible for revitalizing a Yale program that struggled throughout the latter half of the 20th century.

Under Jones, the Bulldogs have finished in the top half of the standings in every season except his first. In 2016, he led Yale to its first March Madness appearance since 1962 and upset No. 5-seeded Baylor in the tournament’s first round. Since then, Yale has qualified for the tournament three more times. 

After the Ivy league introduced the Ivy Tournament in 2017, Yale is the only school to have qualified for every tournament and has advanced to the championship game in all but one. In May 2019, Yale signed Jones to a contract extension through 2026.

On the court, Jones has a calm, steady demeanor and is known for being well-dressed. He is one of the few remaining coaches in the country who wears a suit and tie to every game.

What are Yale’s chances against Auburn?

March Madness is a tournament known for its upsets. No. 13 seeds have an all-time record of 32-120 against No. 4 seeds, a 21.05 winning percentage. 

Still, the Bulldogs have their work cut out of them, as the Tigers will be the most talented team they’ve faced all season. They recently won the SEC’s conference championship and are ranked fourth in the nation by kenpom.com, a popular basketball analytics website. Yale is ranked 84th. 

In particular, Auburn has dominated against mid-tier competition. The Tigers are 24-0 this season against teams outside of what the NCAA considers “quadrant one,” which consists of the nation’s best teams. Yale is a “quadrant two” team.

Entering the game as a 12-point underdog, the Bulldogs will need to be at their very best to come away with the victory. 

The game will tip off at 4:15 pm Eastern and will be televised nationally on TNT.

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