“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.

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Although there were no team scores for the weekend, the Yalies got a taste of top-level competition, competing against teams from the Big 10 and ACC, including Clemson, Penn State, Villanova and West Point. Several Bulldogs earned podium honors following the two-week break from classes which gave them even more time to focus on training.

“We were able to take full advantage of great weather and had a great week of training,” head coach David Shoehalter wrote to the News. “Lots of adjustments when you move outdoors especially in the field events. The wind can be a major factor and adjustments need to be made on the fly. We use these early meets to gauge those adjustments”.

On the men’s side, captain Matt Appel ’24 led the way in the field events while a full squad of distance runners dominated on the track. Appel took first overall in the discus with a hurl of 56.32m, blowing away the second-place thrower from West Point by over two meters. Meanwhile, the Bulldogs notched an incredible 1-5 punch in the 1500m run, with Owen Karas ’26, Winslow Atkeson ’25, Leo Brewer ’25, Brian Gamble ’27 and Braden King ’26 all finishing within three seconds of each other to earn first through fifth place. In the mid-distance events, Thomas Cirrito ’24 also impressed with a 1:49.22 PR in the 800m, earning him 5th place.

Appel, a senior who will be taking advantage of his final year of eligibility next year to compete for the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, said the transition to the outdoor season provides the team with a special opportunity every year to bond over a spring break trip.

“We always take the opportunity to make the spring break training trip a bonding experience for the team,” Appel wrote to the News. “After bright and early practice, we were all getting meals together, going bowling and some of us even went to an Orlando Magic game! It’s a unique opportunity to be around only people on the team for a whole week without the pressure of school that doesn’t happen at any other point in the year and I think we made the most of it.”

The women’s team was led by Victoria Guerrier ’27 in the 800m, who took second place with a 2:06 PR. Several other athletes finished in the top 10 for the women’s team, including Linde Fonville ’26 setting a PR of 4:27.07 in the 1500m dash for a 4th place finish, Maria Leskovec ’24 setting a PR of 51.55m in the hammer throw for an 8th place finish and captain Bella Bergloff ’24 with a 44.14m throw in the discus for a 10th place finish.

While women’s captain Bergloff said she appreciated the opportunity to head back outdoors, she noted that the long week of training and bonding makes it hard to set expectations for the rest of the outdoor season.

“It was great to open up this past weekend at UCF, and be outside in good weather again,” Bergloff wrote to the News. “It can be hard to use this meet as a gauge for the rest of the season, as it was at the end of a tiring week in a new environment. But we got some great baseline marks, and I know everyone is super stoked to be competing outside again, and I’m looking forward to seeing what we’ll do over the next month or so.”

The team will compete next at the Raleigh Relays at North Carolina State University on Thursday, March 28, their outdoor season opener in 2023. They will also compete at the UConn Dog Fight Invite on Saturday, March 30.

The post TRACK AND FIELD: Bulldogs head outdoors appeared first on Yale Daily News.

On Sunday afternoon, the Bulldogs traveled to Hanover, New Hampshire to face off against Dartmouth (5–3, 0–2 Ivy) and earned a decisive 15–5 victory. This game marks the Bulldogs’ third consecutive win against the Big Green and the largest margin of victory in school history. 

Dartmouth started strong, netting the game’s first two goals and keeping the score tight until halftime, trailing the Blue and White only by four. At halftime, Yale led 7–4. The Bulldogs rallied in the third quarter to outscore the Big Green 6–1, and maintained their momentum until the end.

Although Dartmouth trailed behind by a small margin in the first half, by the end of the third quarter the Bulldogs were dominating the game and leading by eight. The Blue and White outshot Dartmouth 33–10, conceding only a single shot to the Big Green in the second half.

In a standout performance, four Bulldogs secured a game-best four points each: Sky Carrasquillo ’25, Chloe Conaghan ’24, Taylor Everson ’25 and Ashley Kiernan ’27. Kiernan notably achieved her first career hat trick. Adding to the impressive tally, Taylor Lane ’25 and Jenna Collignon ’25 also recorded hat tricks of their own. 

An honorable mention must go to Collignon, who scored her 100th career goal in the third quarter.  

“My personal highlight has to be reaching 100 career goals,” Collignon wrote to the News. “I didn’t even realize I was close to that mark so finding out after the game was definitely very exciting.”

Yale’s impressive 8–0 record marks their best start since the 2001 season, solidifying their position as one of the three remaining undefeated teams in NCAA Division 1 women’s lacrosse. This remarkable feat places the Bulldogs in a strong position as they prepare for the rest of their season and Ivy League play.

Looking ahead, the Bulldogs will take on No. 23 Brown University (8–2, 1–1 Ivy) at Reese Stadium this Saturday at 1 p.m.

The post WOMEN’S LACROSSE: Yale crushes Dartmouth with record-breaking win appeared first on Yale Daily News.

The now No. 11 Bulldogs (4–2, 1–1 Ivy) began their spring break with a decisive 15–13 win against No. 10 Denver (6–2, 0–0 Big East) on March 10, who was ranked No. 1 at the time. Yale continued their strong play through the next weekend, beating No. 16 Harvard (6–2, 0–2 Ivy) 17–15 on March 16, yet the Bulldogs faced adversity at No. 7 Cornell (5–2, 2–0 Ivy) last Saturday, falling 18–15 on March 23. 

In their contest with Denver, midfielder Patrick Hackler ’24 began the scoring for the Elis less than five minutes into the first quarter. Denver answered back with two goals by midfielder Mic Kelly and attackman JJ Sillstrop, and attackman David Anderson ’27 leveled the score with 4:01 remaining in the quarter.

Kelly added another goal for Denver, and midfielder Carson Kuhl ’25 leveled the score again, at 3–3, to close out the period. While Denver midfielder Joshua Carlson added a goal in the first minute of the second frame, Yale scored the next three, with goals from midfielder Max Krevsky ’25, Anderson and attackman Peter Moynihan ’27. 

Attackman Noah Manning added a man-up goal for the Pioneers with 5:04 remaining in the half, followed by another Denver goal by Michael Lampert 16 seconds later. Midfielder Johnny Keib ’25 tallied a goal for the Bulldogs to close out the half with a 7–6 lead. 

In the second half, scoring shifted back and forth between the Elis and the Pioneers, with Anderson, Hackler, Moynihan, Krevsky, attackman Matt Brandau ’24, Keib and Kuhl seeing success. Notably, Brandau’s first goal of the half came five seconds after Krevsky’s, as faceoff specialist Machado Rodriguez ’25 won a key faceoff and assisted the goal. 

A key moment in securing Yale’s win, with less than five minutes remaining in the 13–13 tied game, was a behind-the-back pass by Anderson to Brandau, who shot and scored on Pioneer goalkeeper Malcolm Kleban. The play was featured as one of SportsCenter’s Top-10 of the week. 

Throughout the contest, the Elis led the game 57–43 in shots and 28–17 in ground balls. Between Rodriguez and faceoff specialist Nicholas Ramsey ’24, Yale won 19-of-32 faceoffs, and goalkeeper Jared Paquette ’25 made 11 saves. 

In their home game against Harvard the following Saturday, the Elis also saw success, dominating their Ivy League rivals 17–15. Leading the contest by seven points at halftime, Yale managed to hold Harvard at bay and refused to concede their lead the entire game. 

Defenseman Jack Stuzin ’25 began scoring for the Bulldogs just ten seconds into the first period, assisted by Hackler. Harvard answered back with an unassisted goal by attackman Sam King, but Yale responded with two more goals by Kuhl and midfielder Logan Soelberg ’25.

Crimson attackman Teddy Malone reduced Yale to a one-point lead, but the Elis scored another two within the next minute, both by Kuhl and assisted by Brandau. Malone scored again for Harvard with 8:43 remaining in the quarter, and the Bulldogs closed out the frame with three more goals, by Keib, midfielder Thomas Bragg ’24 and Hackler. 

Harvard opened the second frame with two goals, by King and attackman/midfielder Miles Botkiss, so, in retribution, Yale scored five in the next ten minutes. Kuhl scored once, while Keib and Anderson each tallied two goals. King closed out the half with a goal for Harvard, raising the score to 13–6. 

In the third quarter, Harvard attempted a comeback, scoring five goals in comparison to Yale’s sole, unassisted goal by Bragg. In the final frame, however, Yale held its lead by adding three more goals, by Bragg, midfielder Cole Cashion ’27 and Hackler, who shot from beyond midfield into an empty net. 

Ultimately, Harvard was unable to catch up to Yale’s lead, securing Yale its first Ivy victory of the season. Brandau tied Yale’s single-game assists record with eight assists, Rodriguez led the Bulldogs in faceoffs, going 24-for-34, and Paquette made nine saves during the contest. 

Last Saturday, Yale traveled to Ithaca, New York, to face Cornell. After a two-hour game delay due to adverse snowy weather conditions, Cornell attackman Ryan Goldstein began scoring 1:13 into the game. Yale answered back with two unassisted goals by Brandau and Bragg, leading to Cornell’s next two by attackman/midfielder AJ Nikolic and attackman CJ Kirst. 

Kulh was the next to net a goal to level the score, followed nearly 30 seconds later with another Nikolic goal. A goal by Brandau closed out the period in a 4–4 tie. 

Cornell netted three more goals throughout the second period, followed by three Yale tallies from Soelberg and Hackler — to close out the half — and Bragg to open the third frame. Cornell scored again twice, and Kuhl answered back with 9:58 remaining in the third period. Big Red Michael Long made two consecutive goals within 15 seconds, followed by another Kirst score with 7:16 remaining. 

Brandau, Krevsky and Kuhl each added a goal in the remainder of the third frame to reduce Cornell to a one-point lead. In the fourth and final frame, however, Cornell scored five consecutive goals, before Yale added three — one by Krevsky and two by Brandau — which wasn’t enough to catch the lead. 

Within the final six seconds of the game, Long and Bragg each scored one goal, leaving Yale in a three-point deficit to close out the contest. 

The Elis led the game in shots, 48–39, and turnovers, 14–13. Yale also edged Cornell 44–33 in ground balls and 21–14 in won faceoffs. Rodriguez had a team-best 13 ground balls, followed by Brandau and Hackler with five each. 

Paquette made 14 saves in goal for the Bulldogs throughout the game. 

Yale faces Le Moyne (2–5, 0–0 NEC) at Reese Stadium on Tuesday at 7:00 p.m. and will travel to Providence, Rhode Island, on Saturday to face Brown at 2:00 p.m. Both games will be streamed on ESPN+, and the Brown game will also be streamed on NESN. 

The post MEN’S LACROSSE: No. 11 Bulldogs go 2–1 over spring break appeared first on Yale Daily News.

The now No. 11 Bulldogs (4–2, 1–1 Ivy) began their spring break with a decisive 15–13 win against No. 10 Denver (6–2, 0–0 Big East) on March 10, who was ranked No. 1 at the time. Yale continued their strong play through the next weekend, beating No. 16 Harvard (6–2, 0–2 Ivy) 17–15 on March 16, yet the Bulldogs faced adversity at No. 7 Cornell (5–2, 2–0 Ivy) last Saturday, falling 18–15 on March 23. 

In their contest with Denver, midfielder Patrick Hackler ’24 began the scoring for the Elis less than five minutes into the first quarter. Denver answered back with two goals by midfielder Mic Kelly and attackman JJ Sillstrop, and attackman David Anderson ’27 leveled the score with 4:01 remaining in the quarter.

Kelly added another goal for Denver, and midfielder Carson Kuhl ’25 leveled the score again, at 3–3, to close out the period. While Denver midfielder Joshua Carlson added a goal in the first minute of the second frame, Yale scored the next three, with goals from midfielder Max Krevsky ’25, Anderson and attackman Peter Moynihan ’27. 

Attackman Noah Manning added a man-up goal for the Pioneers with 5:04 remaining in the half, followed by another Denver goal by Michael Lampert 16 seconds later. Midfielder Johnny Keib ’25 tallied a goal for the Bulldogs to close out the half with a 7–6 lead. 

In the second half, scoring shifted back and forth between the Elis and the Pioneers, with Anderson, Hackler, Moynihan, Krevsky, attackman Matt Brandau ’24, Keib and Kuhl seeing success. Notably, Brandau’s first goal of the half came five seconds after Krevsky’s, as faceoff specialist Machado Rodriguez ’25 won a key faceoff and assisted the goal. 

A key moment in securing Yale’s win, with less than five minutes remaining in the 13–13 tied game, was a behind-the-back pass by Anderson to Brandau, who shot and scored on Pioneer goalkeeper Malcolm Kleban. The play was featured as one of SportsCenter’s Top-10 of the week. 

Throughout the contest, the Elis led the game 57–43 in shots and 28–17 in ground balls. Between Rodriguez and faceoff specialist Nicholas Ramsey ’24, Yale won 19-of-32 faceoffs, and goalkeeper Jared Paquette ’25 made 11 saves. 

In their home game against Harvard the following Saturday, the Elis also saw success, dominating their Ivy League rivals 17–15. Leading the contest by seven points at halftime, Yale managed to hold Harvard at bay and refused to concede their lead the entire game. 

Defenseman Jack Stuzin ’25 began scoring for the Bulldogs just ten seconds into the first period, assisted by Hackler. Harvard answered back with an unassisted goal by attackman Sam King, but Yale responded with two more goals by Kuhl and midfielder Logan Soelberg ’25.

Crimson attackman Teddy Malone reduced Yale to a one-point lead, but the Elis scored another two within the next minute, both by Kuhl and assisted by Brandau. Malone scored again for Harvard with 8:43 remaining in the quarter, and the Bulldogs closed out the frame with three more goals, by Keib, midfielder Thomas Bragg ’24 and Hackler. 

Harvard opened the second frame with two goals, by King and attackman/midfielder Miles Botkiss, so, in retribution, Yale scored five in the next ten minutes. Kuhl scored once, while Keib and Anderson each tallied two goals. King closed out the half with a goal for Harvard, raising the score to 13–6. 

In the third quarter, Harvard attempted a comeback, scoring five goals in comparison to Yale’s sole, unassisted goal by Bragg. In the final frame, however, Yale held its lead by adding three more goals, by Bragg, midfielder Cole Cashion ’27 and Hackler, who shot from beyond midfield into an empty net. 

Ultimately, Harvard was unable to catch up to Yale’s lead, securing Yale its first Ivy victory of the season. Brandau tied Yale’s single-game assists record with eight assists, Rodriguez led the Bulldogs in faceoffs, going 24-for-34, and Paquette made nine saves during the contest. 

Last Saturday, Yale traveled to Ithaca, New York, to face Cornell. After a two-hour game delay due to adverse snowy weather conditions, Cornell attackman Ryan Goldstein began scoring 1:13 into the game. Yale answered back with two unassisted goals by Brandau and Bragg, leading to Cornell’s next two by attackman/midfielder AJ Nikolic and attackman CJ Kirst. 

Kulh was the next to net a goal to level the score, followed nearly 30 seconds later with another Nikolic goal. A goal by Brandau closed out the period in a 4–4 tie. 

Cornell netted three more goals throughout the second period, followed by three Yale tallies from Soelberg and Hackler — to close out the half — and Bragg to open the third frame. Cornell scored again twice, and Kuhl answered back with 9:58 remaining in the third period. Big Red Michael Long made two consecutive goals within 15 seconds, followed by another Kirst score with 7:16 remaining. 

Brandau, Krevsky and Kuhl each added a goal in the remainder of the third frame to reduce Cornell to a one-point lead. In the fourth and final frame, however, Cornell scored five consecutive goals, before Yale added three — one by Krevsky and two by Brandau — which wasn’t enough to catch the lead. 

Within the final six seconds of the game, Long and Bragg each scored one goal, leaving Yale in a three-point deficit to close out the contest. 

The Elis led the game in shots, 48–39, and turnovers, 14–13. Yale also edged Cornell 44–33 in ground balls and 21–14 in won faceoffs. Rodriguez had a team-best 13 ground balls, followed by Brandau and Hackler with five each. 

Paquette made 14 saves in goal for the Bulldogs throughout the game. 

Yale faces Le Moyne (2–5, 0–0 NEC) at Reese Stadium on Tuesday at 7:00 p.m. and will travel to Providence, Rhode Island, on Saturday to face Brown at 2:00 p.m. Both games will be streamed on ESPN+, and the Brown game will also be streamed on NESN. 

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Thankfully, the team is in extremely capable hands. Mike Gennaro, who served as Gladstone’s second in command since 2016, has moved up to head coach. Gennaro’s own rowing career is studded with success: among other accolades, he stroked the 2011 U.S. Under-23 8+ and set a world record, and he achieved an alternate position for the 2012 London Summer Olympic Games. 

Gennaro’s promotion was not the only staffing change instituted this season. The team also promoted its third coach, Matt Fluhr, to the second position, and hired longtime volunteer coach, Henri LaLiberte, as the third member of the coaching staff. In July 2023, LaLiberte served as an assistant coach alongside Gladstone for the U.S. Men’s Senior National Team.

“It’s been a seamless transition,” said Harry Keenan ’24, team captain and first varsity coxswain. “Mike brings to the table a ton of success and frankly he just knows what to do.”

Since the founding of Yale’s boat club in 1843, Keenan is only the second coxswain to be chosen as captain of the team. Gennaro said to Yale Athletics that Keenan’s captaincy as coxswain “speaks volumes to how much he is respected by our squad.”

Last year, Keenan coxed first varsity through an undefeated dual race season and earned First Team All-Ivy.

This Saturday, the top four heavyweight boats will take on Brown, Harvard, Northeastern, Washington and Stanford at the IRA Sarasota Invitational.

At this event last year, the first and fourth varsities came in first. The second varsity finished third to Brown and Washington, and the third varsity finished second to Washington.

The invitational marks the first competition of the team’s spring racing season — and it will be followed by three dual races, the Eastern Sprints and IRA Championships, and, finally, the 157th iteration of the iconic Yale-Harvard Regatta in June.

When asked about the team’s goals for the season, Keenan emphasized the importance of consistent work leading up to the day of a race, not just the crew’s performance on the day itself.

“Obviously we want to get results in the big races, but that comes from executing day in and day out,” the senior coxswain said. “We’re looking to go as fast as we can, and hopefully that is enough to bring home the medals we want.”

Yale is the oldest collegiate boat club in America.

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In their game against fourth-seeded Auburn, the 13th-seeded Bulldogs put together a nail-biting upset with a final score of 78-76. 

“A lot of the world was surprised,” Ben Kirsch ’27 told the News. “But many of us at Yale knew what this team was capable of.”

Kirsch, who attended every home game this semester, noted that the team has had an unprecedented season, and that many of the Bulldogs’ strengths on the court were highlighted in their first tournament match-up against Auburn.

The win, several students told the News, also shows that Ivy League basketball teams can compete on a national level. 

“The fact that we were able to knock off Auburn, who won the SEC, shows the depth and strength of the [Ivy] League.” Tyler McLemore ’26 told the News. “Hopefully in future years multiple Ivy League teams can secure a spot in the tournament, not just the conference champion.”

The winner of the Ivy League tournament is granted an automatic spot in the NCAA Tournament — as are winners of other Division I conferences. In addition, 36 teams are given at-large bids at the discretion of an NCAA selection committee. No Ivy League teams received at-large bids to the men’s tournament this year.

Princeton, last season’s Ivy League men’s basketball champs, made it all the way to the Sweet Sixteen.

Like McLemore, Kirsch also expressed his hope that the national attention Yale received following the upset could help secure more tournament spots for Ivy League teams in the future. 

Yale’s win over Auburn sparked many strong reactions on social media. An Instagram post on the official March Madness account highlighted an X post where online users confused the handles of the Yale Men’s Basketball Twitter account, @YaleMBasketball, with the Yale Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry department’s account, @YaleMBB. The post garnered 68,000 likes as of Monday night. 

Students who were at the March Madness games also touched on the atmosphere, namely how it felt very different than typical games at Yale.

“The stakes just feel a lot higher,” said Conrad Lee ’25, who attended the Auburn game. “Nevertheless, the amount of Yale support there was pretty significant”

Yale cheerleader Gaby Lord ’27 noted how large Spokane Arena was and how many people showed out to support the team. 

“I was super surprised by how much support Yale got from other big schools such as Gonzaga and Alabama,” Lord wrote to the News. “When the crowd was cheering for us, and it wasn’t only coming from the Yale section, it felt really nice to know so many people had faith in us!” 

While the basketball team itself received a significant amount of attention for its success, Lord noted that the cheer team, too, received increased recognition.

Despite Yale’s second-round loss against San Diego State University on Sunday night, students still remarked on the team’s historically successful season.

“Despite the loss, we had a great season,” Micah Warschawski ’27 told the News. “It was super fun watching them succeed.”  

This year marked just the second time that Yale’s men’s basketball team has made it to the tournament’s round of 32.

The post Students reflect on historic March Madness run for Yale Men’s Basketball 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.

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Second half, 0:00 remaining | Yale 57, SDSU 85

San Diego State wins and will advance to the Sweet Sixteen. Yale is out.

– Evan Gorelick ’25, Print Managing Editor

Second half, 3:31 remaining | Yale 52, SDSU 79

SDSU’s LeDee is now on the bench as the match-up comes to a close. Yale’s Mahoney — a senior and the team captain — has been subbed out of the game, marking the end of his playing career as a Bulldog.

– Evan Gorelick ’25, Print Managing Editor

Second half, 5:14 remaining | Yale 48, SDSU 79

Fans are beginning to leave Spokane Arena as time left for Yale to turn the tide runs low.

– Evan Gorelick ’25, Print Managing Editor

Second half, 15:58 remaining, | Yale 32, SDSU 55

Bulldogs continue to have no answer for SDSU’s LeDee, who now has 26 points and nine rebounds.

Jones has turned to swing-forward Casey Simmon ’25 to try to help the Elis on the boards, as they are currently getting out-rebounded 29–18.

Yale has not thrown the towel in yet, though, with assistant coach Matt Elkin trying to hype the crowd up from the team bench.

– Ben Raab ’26, Staff Reporter

Second half, 15:58 remaining | Yale 32, SDSU 55

Yale’s fan section is trying to pick the Bulldogs up, chanting “D-fence” on every possession. But the Aztecs continue to sink shots on offense, most recently an and-one from San Diego State’s Micah Parrish. 

John Poulakidas knocked down his first three of the game with a tough stepback. The Elis need him to get going.

– Ben Raab ’26, Staff Reporter

HALFTIME | Yale 21, SDSU 45

Friday night’s March Madness showdown between the Bulldogs and Aztecs has not started the way Yale — or any of the fans in Spokane Arena — anticipated.

The No. 13 Elis have looked like a shell of the team that went toe-to-toe against No. 4 Auburn on Friday, shooting 32 percent from the field and being outrebounded 23–12.

Poulakidas is 0-5 with 0 points after scoring 28 in Friday’s game. Defensively, none of the Yale starting five has won their matchup, as the Aztecs shot 52 percent from the field and 47 percent from three.

Yale has been in this position before. In 2016 — their only other round of 32 appearance — No. 12 Yale trailed 48–25 at halftime to No. 4 Duke before mounting a 39–23 second-half comeback attempt that came within three points of the Blue Devils lead at one point before falling 71–64. 

Yesterday, Jones reflected on that loss, saying he thought his team got “too high” after their first-round upset against Baylor.

“If we had a better understanding of what we needed to do and were calmer, we would’ve had a better chance at winning that game,” he said.

The Bulldogs have 20 minutes to keep their season alive — but will have a big, 24-point hole from which to escape first.

– Ben Raab ’26, Staff Reporter

First half, 2:39 remaining | Yale 19, SDSU 39

The Aztecs’ offense slows down momentarily, but Yale can’t speed up on offense as shots continue to clank off the rim.

Mbeng knocked down a corner three just before the timeout, so perhaps that will get the Bulldogs going.

– Ben Raab ’26, Staff Reporter

First half, 6:44 remaining | Yale 16, SDSU 34

The Aztec lead continues to grow as the Elis get back-to-back buckets, but SDSU answers both times with a three. 

San Diego State is shooting 18-30 from the field, while Yale is 9-28.

– Ben Raab ’26, Staff Reporter

First half, 8:13 remaining | Yale 12, SDSU 28

The shots still aren’t falling for Yale as Jones calls timeout and the SDSU fan section grows more lively.

The Elis have had no answer defensively for LeDee, who now has 15 points and 6 rebounds.

– Ben Raab ’26, Staff Reporter

First half, 11:26 remaining | Yale 12, SDSU 19

Wolf gets on the board with a big three to make it 17–12 Aztecs, but SDSU’s Elijah Saunders gets an easy putback dunk on a later possession. 

Wolf – who scored just two points on 1-2 shooting on Friday – will be key for the Bulldogs success if the Aztecs continue to deny Mahoney and Poulakidas the ball on the perimeter. 

– Ben Raab ’26, Staff Reporter

First half, 14:48 remaining | Yale 3, SDSU 13

Bulldogs get out to a cold 1-7 shooting start, and 1-5 combined from beyond the arc for Poulakidas and Mahoney.

The Aztecs are switching defenders every time Yale sets a screen for Poulakidas, who shot 6-9 from deep in Friday’s win over Auburn.

San Diego State’s Jaedon LeDee is off to a hot start early, with 8 points on 3-3 from the field. Coach Jones called timeout.

– Ben Raab ’26, Staff Reporter

First half, 20:00 remaining | Yale 0, SDSU 0

Bez Mbeng ’25, August Mahoney ’24, John Poulakidas ’25, Matt Knowling ’24 and Danny Wolf ’26 are Yale’s starting five. 

Head Coach James Jones is going with the same starting lineup as usual.

– Ben Raab ’26, Staff Reporter

SPOKANE — No. 13 Yale has a chance to make history tonight against No. 5 San Diego State tonight.

The Bulldogs (23–9, 13–3 Ivy) are playing in March Madness’s round of 32 for only the second time in school history after taking down Auburn as 13-point underdogs. If they can get past the Aztecs (25–10, 13–8 MWC), who are coming off a 69–65 first-round victory over No. 12 University of Alabama at Birmingham, they’ll earn a spot in the tournament’s “sweet sixteen” for the first time in school history.

In 2016, No. 12 Yale took down No. 5 Baylor in the tournament’s opening round before falling to No. 4 Duke. 

“I thought we got a little too high after the first win,” Yale head coach James Jones said Saturday, reflecting on 2016. “If we had a better understanding of what we needed to do and were calmer, we would’ve had a better chance at winning that game.”

The game is set to tip-off from Spokane Arena at 9:40 p.m. EDT and will be televised nationally on TBS. Follow this live blog for in-game updates and analysis.

– Ben Raab ’26, Staff Reporter

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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. 

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