Yale at San Francisco
Monday, Nov. 11, 9 p.m. EST
War Memorial at the Sobrato Center
The WCC Network Video | Live Stats
Yale Game Notes
 
SAN FRANCISCO – It's been a strong start to the season for the Yale men's basketball team. The Bulldogs knocked off a Stony Brook team that won 24 games a year ago in their first game and then rolled to a 57-point victory in their home opener. Next up, is the longest trip of the season. Yale is in Northern California to face San Francisco on Monday night at the War Memorial at the Sobrato Center. Tipoff is slated for 9 p.m. EST. The West Coast Network has the video.
 
The Bulldogs have three players averaging double figures in scoring, led by Paul Atkinson (19.0 ppg.). Atkinson has picked up right where he left off from his first two seasons when he led the Ivy League in field goal percentage each year. He is shooting 63.6 percent from the field through two games and has added an improved jump shot to his repertoire. In the opener against Stony Brook, he connected on the first three-pointer of his career, Yale's first basket of the season, and went on to score a career-high 26 points.
 
Azar Swain (14.0 ppg.) and Jordan Bruner (10.0 ppg.) also average double figures. Bruner excels in many areas. He leads the team in rebounding (10.5 rpg.) and blocked shots (7) and shares the team lead with nine assists. In the opener with Stony Brook, he flirted with a triple double, finishing with 11 points, 13 rebounds, six assists.
 
Yale is coming off a memorable 2018-19 season. The Bulldogs finished with a 22-8 overall record, won Ivy League regular season and tournament titles and advanced to the NCAA Tournament where they nearly pulled off an upset of third-seeded LSU.
 
The San Francisco trip is the start of a busy road stretch for Yale, which plays four of its next five games away from home, including trips to Oklahoma State, Penn State and ESPN's Wide World of Sports at Disney World.
 
The Bulldogs, who have won at least 20 games in three of the last five seasons, are seeking their first 3-0 start since the 2015-16.
 
HISTORY LESSONS
 
The Bulldogs and Dons are playing for just the second time. The first meeting was a 75-67 Yale victory in the 1969 Rainbow Classic in Hawaii. Jim Morgan paced the Bulldogs with 32 points. Yale then went on to beat Pete Maravich's LSU team 97-94 in the championship game.
 
SCOUTING SAN FRANCISCO
 
Yale is the second straight Ivy League opponent for the Dons, who beat Princeton 82-72 on Saturday. USF opened the season with a 101-50 victory over Sonoma State last Tuesday. Charles Mineland (15.5 ppg.) leads five players averaging double figures in scoring. The Dons, picked to finish sixth in the challenging West Coast Conference, won 21 games a year ago and have won at least 20 games in each of the last three seasons. San Francisco has a rich basketball tradition. The Dons won NCAA Championships in 1955 and 56 led by basketball Hall of Famer Bill Russell.