Howard at Yale
Wed., Nov. 30 – 7 p.m.
John J. Lee Amphitheater
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NEW HAVEN, Conn. – The Yale men's basketball team has been dominant in the friendly confines of the John J. Lee Amphitheater so far this season, winning its first three games by an average of 47 points. Game No. 4 brings a visit from Howard on Wednesday night at 7 p.m. and then the Bulldogs won't play at home again until Jan. 6 against Dartmouth.
 
The most impressive of the home wins came two days before Thanksgiving, a 73-44 victory over a Vermont team that won 28 games last year and played in the NCAA Tournament. The Bulldogs trailed by three at halftime but then proceeded to outscore the Catamounts 46-14 over the next 20 minutes.
 
In its three home games, Yale is averaging 93.7 points, shooting 57.7 percent from the field and has a +25.7 rebounding margin.
 
Success at Lee should not come as a surprise. Since the start of the 2014-15 season, the Bulldogs have posted a 74-15 (.831) record in the historic arena.
 
Of course, Yale, ranked No. 23 in this week's CollegeInsider Mid Major top 25 poll, has been tough to beat everywhere recently. Over the last seven seasons, the Bulldogs have posted a 74-24 (.755) Ivy League record, won four Ivy championships, two Ivy League Tournament titles and earned four NCAA Tournament berths, including notching the first NCAA victory in school history – over Baylor in 2016.
 
Yale, which won its first six games of the season for the first time since 1945-46, suffered its first loss on Sunday, falling 65-62 at Colorado. The Bulldogs had the ball in the final minute, trailing by one, but couldn't convert. Yale outscored Colorado 34-27 in the second half, shooting 55.6 percent (15-of-27) from the field, while limiting CU to 39.1 percent.
 
John Poulakidas was 6-of-8 from three-point range and scored a career-high 22 points against the Buffaloes. Matt Knowling added 16 points on 8-of-11 shooting from the field. Both were named to the Ivy League Honor Roll on Monday.
 
Knowling (19.6 ppg.) leads the team in scoring and is second in the Ivy League. He is third in the nation in field goals made (62) and 12th in field goal percentage (71.3 percent).
 
As a team, Yale leads the Ivy League in scoring defense (53.6 ppg.), scoring margin (+26.3), field goal percentage defense (.346), rebounding margin (+12.1) and blocked shots (35).
 
After Wednesday, the Bulldogs play their next six games on the road, starting on Saturday at Stony Brook. Trips to Butler (Dec. 6), Kentucky (Dec. 10), Fairfield (Dec. 12), Monmouth (Dec. 22) and the Ivy opener at Columbia (Dec. 31) round out the stretch.
 
HISTORY LESSONS
 
Yale and Howard are playing for the second time overall and the first time in New Haven. On Martin Luther King Day in 2020, the Bulldogs rolled to an 89-75 victory over the Bison at Burr Gymnasium in Washington, D.C. The teams were scheduled to play last season in New Haven, but the game was canceled due to COVID protocols.
 
SCOUTING HOWARD
 
The Bison (4-5) has already played nine games and is coming off a 56-55 victory at Austin Peay on Saturday. Steve Settle (17 points), Jordan Wood (16 points) and Jelani Williams (14 points) combined to score all but nine of Howard's points. Williams is a familiar name to Bulldog fans. He is playing as a graduate student at Howard after graduating from Penn. Elijah Hawkins (14.3 ppg.) leads the Bison in scoring. Settle (12.4 ppg.) also averages double figures. Yale is the first of two Ivy League opponents for the Bison, who play at Harvard on Dec. 18. Howard head coach Kenneth Blakeney previously served as an assistant coach at both Harvard and Columbia.