Columbia at Yale
Friday, Jan. 31, 7 p.m.
Lee Amphitheater
ESPN+ Video | Live Stats | Tickets
 
Cornell at Yale
Saturday, Feb. 1, 7 p.m.
Lee Amphitheater
ESPN+ Video | Live Stats | Tickets
 
NEW HAVEN, Conn. – The Bulldogs are off and running in Ivy League play after taking down travel partner Brown on back-to-back Friday nights. Now comes the first full weekend of Ivy play and visits to the John J. Lee Amphitheater from Columbia and Cornell. Tipoff Friday night vs. the Lions and Saturday night vs. the Big Red is slated for 7 p.m. ESPN+ has the video.
 
Yale (14-4, 2-0 Ivy) has won four straight games and 11 of its last 12. The Bulldogs received votes in this week's national coaches' poll and are ranked No. 3 in the CollegeInsider Mid-Major top-25 poll. In addition, Yale sits at No. 53 in both the NCAA Net and KenPom rankings.
 
The Bulldogs' four losses have been by a combined 17 points and are all to teams that currently sit in the top-100 in the NCAA Net ratings – Penn State (No. 27), Oklahoma State (No. 77), North Carolina (No. 92) and San Francisco (No. 95).
 
Yale has been one of the top defensive teams in the nation throughout the season. The Bulldogs are second in defensive rebounds per game (31.00), fourth in field goal percentage defense (.364) and eighth in three-point field goal percentage defense (.279).
 
The start of Ivy play did nothing to slow down Yale's defensive success. The Bulldogs limited Brown to 34.8 percent shooting from the field and just 25.5 percent from three-point range in two games.
 
Yale has enjoyed offensive success as well The Bulldogs lead the Ivy League in three-point field goal percentage (.366) and assists (16.2 per game) and are second in scoring (75.7 ppg.) and field goal percentage (.463).
 
Individually, Paul Atkinson is 10^th in the nation in field goal percentage (.634) and Jordan Bruner is ninth in defensive rebounds per game (7.76).
 
Yale also features the Ivy League leaders in rebounding (Bruner, 9.6 rpg.), field goal percentage (Atkinson, .634), three-pointers (Azar Swain, 48) and assist/turnover ratio (Eric Monroe, 2.2).
 
Three Bulldogs average double figures in scoring, led by Atkinson at 16.9 ppg. Swain (14.6 ppg.) and Bruner (12.2 ppg.) are the others.
 
Yale has been receiving a spark off the bench from sophomore Matthue Cotton, who scored a career-high 20 points in last Friday's win at Brown. In his last two games Cotton is shooting 59 percent from the field and averaging 17.5 points.
 
The Bulldogs are 5-0 in the friendly confines of Lee Amphitheater, outscoring their opponents by nearly 30 points per game.
 
HISTORY LESSONS
 
The Bulldogs are 8-2 in their last 10 games with Columbia. The Lions, though, won the last meeting, 85-73 last February at Lee Amphitheater. Yale has won nine of the last 11 games in New Haven. Columbia leads the all-time series 126-111. The first meeting between the teams came in 1902.
 
Yale has won 13 straight games against Cornell, including an 88-65 victory in the last meeting last March at Lee Amphitheater. Cornell's last victory in the series came in 2013, 68-61 in New Haven. The Bulldogs lead the all-time series 116-110. The first game between the teams was in 1899.
 
Yale has swept the Columbia-Cornell home weekend in three of the last four years.
  
SCOUTING COLUMBIA
 
The Lions (6-12, 1-1 Ivy) opened Ivy play by splitting two games with travel partner Cornell. Columbia won 75-61 at Levien Gym before dropping a 62-50 decision in Ithaca. Mike Smith ranks No. 15 in the NCAA, averaging 20.7 points per game, and has led the Lions in scoring in 16 of 18 games this season. In addition, he is the Ivy League leader in assists (4.8 per game) and free throw percentage (.806). Junior Tai Bibbs has scored in double figures in three of the last five contests and is averaging 11.2 points during that stretch.
 
SCOUTING CORNELL
 
The Big Red, who play at Brown on Friday, has won three of its last four games. Cornell is coming off a 62-50 home win over Columbia last Saturday, limiting the Lions to .317 shooting in salvaging a season split between the teams. Jimmy Boeheim, the Ivy League's third-leading scorer, had 18 points and 10 rebounds in the win and is now averaging 18.6 ppg. Cornell's 4-11 overall start is a little deceiving, as it has lost five games by four points or less.

Huge round of appaws ??for this week's Handsome Dan's Best Plays!
3??@yalegymnastics
2??@yalewbasketball
1??@yalembasketball#ThisIsYale pic.twitter.com/iWzM5mdASj

— Yale Athletics (@YaleAthletics) January 28, 2020