Yale at Penn State
Saturday, Nov. 23, 4 p.m. EST
Bryce Jordan Center
State College, Pa.
BTN+ Video | Live Stats
Yale Game Notes
 
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. – After a wild triple overtime victory over Siena on Wednesday, the Bulldogs return to NIT Season Tip Off play with a trip to unbeaten Penn State on Saturday. The Bulldogs and Nittany Lions tip at 4 p.m. at the Bryce Jordan Center. BTN+ has the video.
 
It's the start of a busy stretch for the Bulldogs, who play two more NIT games on Monday and Tuesday at the ESPN Wide World of Sports at Disney. Yale, though, is already quite battle-tested this season. Three of the Bulldogs' five games have been decided in overtime and a fourth – last Sunday's game at Oklahoma State -- was tied with six minutes remaining. Yale is 2-1 in extra time with victories over Stony Brook and Siena and a loss at San Francisco.
 
Wednesday's thriller with Siena was one of the most exciting games in recent memory at Lee Amphitheater. It featured 21 ties and 23 lead changes. Four Bulldogs – Jordan Bruner (44), Eric Monroe (45), Azar Swain (48) and Paul Atkinson (50) – all played at least 44 minutes. Swain was largely responsible for the extra time. His deep three-pointer at the end of regulation tied the score at 72.
 
Yale's defense was largely responsible for the win. The Bulldogs held the Saints without a field goal in both the second and third overtime periods. Siena shot just 32.9 percent from the field in the game.
 
Defense has been a storyline throughout the season. Yale is limiting its opponents to 35.2 percent shooting from the field, including just 27.2 percent from three-point range.
 
Offensively, the Bulldogs have three-players averaging double figures in scoring, led by Atkinson at 19.0 ppg. Atkinson is shooting 63 percent from the field and averaging 7.2 rebounds. Swain (14.4 ppg.) is coming off a career-high 25-point performance vs. Siena. Matthue Cotton (10.2 ppg.) has become a sparkplug off the bench. In his last three games, Cotton is averaging. 12.3 ppg. in his last three games. Then, there is Bruner, who does a little bit of everything. He flirted with a quadruple double against Siena, finishing with eight points, nine rebounds, nine assists and seven blocks. Bruner leads the Bulldogs in rebounding (9.4 rpg.), assists (24) and blocks (19).
 
The Bulldogs are in the midst of the most successful era in the long history of Yale Basketball. Over the last five seasons, Yale has a remarkable 52-18 Ivy record. During that stretch, the Bulldogs have won three league titles and made two NCAA Tournament appearances, including earning the first NCAA victory in school history, a 2016 win over Baylor. Yale nearly earned another NCAA victory last year but lost a close, first-round game to No. 3 seed LSU.
 
HISTORY LESSONS
 
Yale leads the all-time series with Penn State 4-2. The Bulldogs have won the last two meetings which were both in the Bryce Jordan Center – 87-74 in 2001 and 84-68 in 2002. The teams first met in 1921, a 23-20 Yale victory.
 
SCOUTING PENN STATE
 
The Nittany Lions (4-0) are coming off a 98-70 win over Bucknell on Tuesday. For the first time in program history, Penn State has opened the season with 80+ points in four-straight games. Penn State ranks 11th nationally in scoring offense at 88.3 points per game after four games this season with a scoring margin of 27.0 for eighth nationally. Lamar Stevens leads the team in scoring at 17.8 ppg., one of four players averaging in double figures.