Yale vs. Southern Utah
Tues., Nov. 23 – Noon
Fort Myers, Fla.
Live Stats | Yale Game Notes
 
NEW HAVEN, Conn. – The Yale men's basketball team is spending the early part of Thanksgiving week in Florida for the Rocket Mortgage Fort Myers Tip Off. The Bulldogs meet Southern Utah in the first game on Tuesday at noon at the Suncoast Credit Union Arena. Milwaukee and Bowling Green follow at 2:30 p.m. with the consolation and championship games set for Wednesday.
 
After opening the season with a pair of home games, the Bulldogs (3-2) are in the midst of five straight games away from home. It's been a strong start to the season for Yale, which has blowout victories over UMass and Siena on its resume. The Bulldogs' two losses have come to Seton Hall, which now sits at No. 22 in the latest national rankings, and perennial America East power Vermont.
 
Azar Swain, who was named to the Ivy League Honor Roll on Monday, leads the team in scoring at 17.6 ppg. He is coming off back-to-back 20+ point games – (23 in the win at Siena, 22 vs. Vermont). Swain scored the 1,000th point of his outstanding career against the Saints and is closing in on Yale's all-time three-point field goals made record. He enters the tournament with 210 treys, 19 shy of Ed Petersen's school record.
 
Matthue Cotton (12.0 ppg.) and Jalen Gabbidon (10.6 ppg.) are Yale's other double figure scorers. Gabbidon (6.4 rpg.) also tops the team in rebounding.
 
The Bulldogs will again be testing themselves against a top mid major program. The Thunderbirds finished 20-4 last year, posting the best winning percentage in school history. They are coming off a double overtime loss at California.
 
Yale is in the midst of the most successful era in the long history of the program. Over the last six seasons, the Bulldogs have a remarkable 63-21 Ivy record. During that stretch, they have won four league titles and earned three NCAA Tournament berths, including notching the first NCAA victory in school history.
 
The Bulldogs return to the friendly confines of Lee Amphitheater on Sunday when they host Stony Brook at 1 p.m.
 
HISTORY LESSONS
 
This will be the first meeting between the Bulldogs and Thunderbirds. Yale is playing a current member of the Big Sky conference for the first time since Dec. 22, 1969, a 64-59 loss to Idaho. Two days earlier that year, the Bulldogs knocked off Montana State 78-65 in Bozeman. Yale also traveled to Bozeman for the 1994 Montana State Bobcat Classic.
 
Yale has played Bowling Green once, an 82-78 overtime victory at the 1981 Blade Glass City Classic in Toledo, Ohio.
 
The Bulldogs have never faced Milwaukee
 
SCOUTING SOUTHERN UTAH
 
The Thunderbirds (1-3) feature three players scoring in double figures, led by John Knight III at 19.5 ppg. Dre Marin (12.5 ppg.) and Tevian Jones (11.5 ppg.) are the others. Maizen Fausett (10.8 rpg.) is the team's top rebounder. Southern Utah has a +10.0 rebounding margin through four games. Todd Simon is in his sixth season as the coach of the Thunderbirds.
 
SCOUTING BOWLING GREEN
 
The Falcons (1-3) have dropped two straight, including an 89-58 decision at No. 19 Ohio State in the campus game of the Fort Myers Tip Off. Daeqwon Plowden (11.5 ppg.) leads Bowling Green in scoring, while Joe Reece (7.5 rpg.) is the team's top rebounder.
 
SCOUTING MILWAUKEE
 
The Panthers (1-2) are coming off an 81-45 loss at Florida last Thursday. Patrick Baldwin Jr., the son of Milwaukee's head coach, leads the team in scoring (17.7 ppg.) and rebounding (8.3 rpg.). DeAndre Gholston (13.7 ppg.) and Josh Thomas (11.3 ppg.) also average double figures in scoring.