Brown at Yale
Friday, Jan. 17, 7:30 p.m.
New Haven, Conn.
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NEW HAVEN, Conn. – It's been a very successful first two months of the season for the Yale men's basketball team. The Bulldogs have 11 wins, including road victories at Clemson and UMass, and have been among the top defensive teams in the nation. Now, they turn their attention to Ivy League play, which kicks off on Friday when Brown visits the John J. Lee Amphitheater. Tipoff is slated for 7:30 p.m. following the Yale-Brown women's game, which is a 5 p.m. start.
 
Yale is in the midst of the most successful era in the long history of the program. Over the last five seasons, the Bulldogs have posted a remarkable 52-18 Ivy record, captured three league championships and made two appearances in the NCAA Tournament.
 
Yale is the defending Ivy regular season and tournament champion, and despite losing four starters from the 2018-19 team, is very well positioned to again challenge for the league title. The Bulldogs (11-4) enter league play ranked No. 58 in the NCAA Net Rating and No. 59 in the KenPom rankings. They are the highest ranked team in the Ivy League and New England in both rankings. In addition, Yale sits at a season-high No. 4 in the CollegeInsider Mid-Major top-25 poll.
 
The Bulldogs, who are coming off a 108-58 thrashing of Johnson & Wales last Sunday, have won eight of their last nine games. Yale's four losses have come by a combined 17 points, including a five-point overtime loss at San Francisco, a two-point loss at Penn State in a game the Bulldogs led for nearly 37 minutes and a three-point loss at North Carolina.
 
Yale is the Ivy League leader in scoring defense (62.3 ppg.), field goal percentage (.468), field goal percentage defense (.362), three-point field goal percentage (.361), three-point field goal percentage defense (.275), rebounding margin (+5.4) and assists (16.6 per game).
 
The Bulldogs also feature the Ivy League leaders in rebounding – Jordan Bruner (9.6 rpg.) - field goal percentage – Paul Atkinson (.647) – assists Eric Monroe (4.9 per game) – and three-point field goals made – Azar Swain (42).
 
In addition, Yale is the national leader in defensive rebounds per game (31.47), fifth in field goal percentage defense and 20^th in assists per game.
 
Individually, Atkinson is ninth in the nation in field goal percentage.
 
Yale has won its Ivy opener in each of the last six years. Five of those wins came over Brown.
 
The Bulldogs are 4-0 in the friendly confines of Lee Amphitheater this season with an average margin of victory of 32.8 points. Yale, though, did need triple overtime to defeat Siena back on Nov. 20, one of four overtime games on the season.
 
HISTORY LESSONS
 
The Bulldogs have won nine straight games over Brown at Lee Amphitheater, including a 79-71 victory last year. Jordan Bruner had nine points, 10 rebounds and four assists for Yale. The victory completed a sweep of the season series for the Bulldogs, who have won both games against the Bears in four of the last five years. Yale leads the all-time series 110-53.
 
SCOUTING BROWN
 
The Bears (7-6) feature Brandon Anderson, who is second in the Ivy League in scoring at 20.3 ppg. Tamenang Choh, who had 24 points and 12 rebounds last year vs. the Bulldogs at Lee Amphitheater, is fourth in the league in rebounding. Brown capped off its fourth straight non-league winning season with a 79-53 win over Johnson & Wales on Jan. 7 behind 11 points by senior Josh Howard and freshman Perry Cowan. The Bears have won two straight games, including an impressive 85-75 victory over Rhode Island on Jan. 2. The Bears rank 14th nationally in offensive rebounds with 13.54 per game.