Yale at Brown
Friday, Jan. 24, 7 p.m.
Providence, R.I.
TV: ESPNU
WatchESPN Video | Live Stats
 
NEW HAVEN, Conn. – It's back to Ivy League play for the Bulldogs. Yale, which cruised to an 89-75 win over Howard in its final non-conference game on Monday, travels to Providence to meet Brown on Friday. Tipoff at the Pizzitola Center is slated for 7 p.m. The game will be televised nationally on ESPNU. The Bulldogs will be looking to sweep the season series from the Bears after last Friday's 70-56 victory at Lee Amphitheater in the Ivy opener.
 
Yale (13-4, 1-0 Ivy) has won nine of its last 10 games. Monday's victory in the nation's capital was the 12^th non-Ivy win of the season, which is a regular season school record. Yale currently sits at No. 62 in the NCAA Net ratings and No. 61 in the KenPom ranking, the highest of any school in the Ivy League. In addition, the Bulldogs are No. 4 in the CollegeInsider Mid-Major top 25 and received three votes in this week's national coaches poll.
 
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.
 
James Jones, The Joel E. Smilow, Class of 1954 Head Coach of the Bulldogs who is in his 21^st season, has three core principles – rebounding, defense and sharing the ball – and his team has excelled in each this season. The Bulldogs are second in the nation in defensive rebounds (31.18) and lead the Ivy League in rebounding margin (+5.5), are fifth in the nation in field goal percentage defense (.365) and lead the Ivy League in assists per game (16.6).
 
Individually, Yale features the Ivy League leader in rebounding (Jordan Bruner, 9.7 rpg.), assists Eric Monroe, 4.7 per game) and three-point field goals (Azar Swain, 46). In addition, Paul Atkinson is 13^th in the nation in field goal percentage (.626) and fifth in the Ivy League in scoring (16.5 ppg.).
 
Bruner, who was named the Ivy League Player of the Week after scoring 23 points last Friday vs. Brown, has posted a double-double in four of his last five games. Over his last four games, Bruner is shooting 52.6 percent (10-of-19) from three-point range.
 
A challenging non-conference schedule has the Bulldogs very battle tested. Yale has played only five of 17 games at home. The Bulldogs' six road victories are tied for the fourth most in all of college basketball.
 
Yale is the defending Ivy League regular season and tournament champion. Four starters from last year's team moved on, including Miye Oni, who is currently with the Utah Jazz organization. The four (Oni, Blake Reynolds, Alex Copeland and Trey Phills) combined for 4,154 career points, 1,545 rebounds, 897 assists and 310 starts in their careers. Jones, though, has built a program where there is talent waiting in the wings. Over the last 5+ seasons, the Bulldogs have posted a 53-18 record in Ivy play, captured three league championships and made two appearances in the NCAA Tournament.
 
HISTORY LESSONS
 
The Bulldogs are looking to sweep the season series from Brown for the fifth time in the last six years. Yale won the first game 70-56 last Friday at Lee Amphitheater. The Bulldogs limited Brown to 34.6 percent shooting from the field. Jordan Bruner had 23 points, 7 rebounds and 3 blocks to lead the way. Paul Atkinson (12 points, 11 rebounds) added a double-double, and Jalen Gabbidon scored a career-high 12 points. Yale has won eight of its last 11 games in the Pizzitola Center. The Bulldogs lead the all-time series with Brown 111-53.
 
SCOUTING BROWN
The Bears (7-7, 0-1 Ivy) have three players averaging double figures in scoring, led by Brandon Anderson (19.1 ppg.). Tamenang Choh (13.3 ppg.) and Zach Hunsaker (10.0 ppg.) are the others. Brown blocked eight shots in last Friday's loss at Yale, including five from Jaylan Gainey. Gainey also had 11 points and eight rebounds off the bench. Brown's bench outscored Yale's reserves 29-8.