Yale at Penn
Sat., Jan. 22, 2022 – 4 p.m.
Philadelphia, Pa.
ESPN+ Video | Live Stats | Game Notes
 
NEW HAVEN, Conn. – It's been a strong start to the Ivy League season for the Yale men's basketball team with victories over Cornell last Saturday and on the road on Monday at Brown. The Bulldogs seek their third straight win when they travel to Penn on Saturday. Tipoff at The Palestra is slated for 4 p.m., and ESPN+ will stream the game live.
 
The matchup features the league's top two scorers in Yale's Azar Swain (19.1 ppg.) and Penn's Jordan Dingle (17.9 ppg.). Swain scored 22 points in the victory at Brown on Monday and has had at least 20 points in nine of the last 13 games. Swain's contributions, though, go beyond scoring. He also leads the Bulldogs with 73 rebounds and 31 assists.
 
Swain has received plenty of support. In the two Ivy games, three other Bulldogs are averaging double figures in scoring – Matt Knowling (12.5 ppg.), Jalen Gabbidon (12.0 ppg.) and Isaiah Kelly (10.0 ppg.). Knowling was named the Ivy Rookie of the Week after scoring a career-high 17 points in the win over Cornell and grabbing a career-high 10 rebounds against Brown. In his last five games, Knowling is averaging 10.4 points, while shooting .714 (20-of-28) from the field.
 
Defense has keyed Yale's successful Ivy start. The Bulldogs have held their first two Ivy opponents to 39.2 percent shooting from the field, including just 23.3 percent from three-point range. Overall, Yale leads the league in field goal percentage defense (.419) and three-point field goal percentage defense (.316).
 
Those overall defensive statistics are even more impressive when factoring in Yale's challenging non-conference schedule. The Bulldogs' eight losses have come to opponents that currently have a combined 101-34 (.748) record, and their 16 opponents have a 152-97 record, which ranks as the 50th toughest schedule in Division I according to the NCAA.
 
Yale is looking to start Ivy play 3-0 for the second straight season. Over the last 6+ seasons, the Bulldogs have a remarkable 65-21 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.
 
HISTORY LESSONS
 
The home team was won the last seven games in the Yale-Penn series. The last meeting in 2020 was one of the most thrilling for the Bulldogs, who scored the final 13 points over the last 1:38 to overcome a 10-point deficit in a 76-73 victory at the John J. Lee Amphitheater. Jalen Gabbidon had nine points, six rebounds and five steals for Yale. The Bulldogs won five straight games over the Quakers at the Palestra from 2013 to 2017, but Penn has taken the last four, including a 69-61 victory in 2020. Yale's last victory in the historic arena was over Harvard, 73-71, in the 2017 Ivy League Tournament.
 
SCOUTING PENN
 
The Quakers (6-12, 3-2 Ivy) are coming off a 74-64 loss at Princeton on Monday at Jadwin Gym. Penn had played its four league games in the Palestra. Dingle is the only Quaker averaging double figures in scoring. Penn, though, has seven players averaging at least 5.1 points. Max Martz is the team's leading rebounder. The Quakers played a challenging non-conference schedule that included games against Florida State, George Mason, Davidson, Arkansas, Villanova and Temple.