FAN ATTENDANCE POLICIES FOR YALE COMMUNITY THROUGH FEB. 21
 
Dartmouth at Yale
Friday, Feb. 4 – 5 p.m.
TV: ESPNU | Stream: WatchESPN
 
Harvard at Yale
Saturday, Feb. 5 – 7 p.m.
Video: ESPN+
 
Live Stats | Game Notes
 
NEW HAVEN, Conn. – The Yale men's basketball team reaches the midway point of Ivy League play with a pair of home games this weekend. The Bulldogs host Dartmouth on Friday at 5 p.m. in a game that will be televised nationally on ESPNU. Harvard visits on Saturday for a 7 p.m. tip. That game will be streamed live on ESPN+.
 
Yale (10-9, 4-1 Ivy) is coming off a decisive 80-74 victory at Princeton on Saturday that handed the Tigers their first Ivy loss. The Bulldogs played a near flawless first half, shooting 51.7 percent, while holding Princeton, the top shooting team in the league, to 30.8 percent. The result was a 43-26 lead after 20 minutes. Yale maintained a double-digit advantage for most of the second half. There were a few anxious moments in the final minutes, but Yale executed down the stretch to seal the win.
 
A pair of Bulldogs playing their first season of college basketball spearheaded the victory. Matt Knowling matched his career high with 17 points on 8-of-9 shooting from the field, while adding four rebounds, three assists and a steal. Bez Mbeng posted his first career double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds. Mbeng also made two, clutch free throws in the final seconds.
 
Knowling, who was named the Ivy League Rookie of the Week for the second time in the last three weeks on Monday, has excelled in league play. In 14 non-conference games, he averaged 3.3 points and 2.4 rebounds. In five Ivy games, he is averaging 12.8 points and 7.0 rebounds, while shooting 67.6 percent (25-of-37) from the field.
 
Yale features the league's leading scorer in Azar Swain (19.4 ppg.). Swain earned his second Player of the Week award on Monday after going off for 37 points in a victory over Columbia on Jan. 25 and adding 14 points and six rebounds in the win at Princeton. Swain, though, does more than score. He also leads the team in rebounding (4.5 rpg.) and assists (36). He also is Yale's all-time leader in three-point field goals with 246.
 
The Bulldogs played a very challenging non-conference schedule to get ready for the Ivy season. Yale's eight non-league losses came to teams that currently have a combined overall record of 125-40 (.758), and all eight are at least five games over .500.
 
Yale, the preseason Ivy League favorite, is in the midst of the most successful era in the long history of the program. Over the last 6+ seasons, the Bulldogs have a remarkable 67-22 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 Bulldogs have won 10 straight games overall and six straight at Lee Amphitheater vs. Dartmouth. The last meeting in 2020 was memorable for Yale, which clinched the 2020 Ivy League regular season title with a 72-61 win at Leede Arena. Azar Swain scored 14 points, and Jalen Gabbidon added nine in the victory. The Bulldogs lead the all-time series with Dartmouth 119-97. The first meeting came in 1900, a 10-8 Yale win in a game played in Boston.
 
Yale's 121 victories over Harvard are the most against any opponent. The Bulldogs' last two victories in the series have both been meaningful, 97-85 in the championship game of the 2019 Ivy League Tournament at Lee Amphitheater and 73-71 in the semifinals of the 2017 Ivy League Tournament at the Palestra. The Crimson won the last meeting, 83-69 on Mar. 7, 2019. That was the last game the Bulldogs played until the opener this season and came one day after Yale had clinched the 2020 Ivy League regular season title. The first meeting between the teams was a 41-16 Yale victory in 1901.
 
Yale's last home sweep of the Dartmouth-Harvard weekend came in 2016.
 
SCOUTING DARTMOUTH
 
The Big Green (5-12, 2-4 Ivy) is coming off a 76-63 victory at Columbia last Saturday. Aaryn Rai scored 18 of his 20 points in the second half — including 14 straight at one point — to lead Dartmouth. The Big Green is second in the Ivy League in scoring defense (69.8 ppg.) and third in three-point field goals made (9.4 per game). Brendan Barry (14.4 ppg.) and Rai (12.2 ppg.) lead the team in scoring. Two of Dartmouth's four league losses have come by four points or less – 84-80 to Princeton and 60-59 to Harvard.
 
SCOUTING HARVARD
 
The Crimson, which has lost two straight, plays at Brown on Friday. Harvard sits at 10-7 overall and 2-3 in Ivy play. The Crimson feature one of the league's top players in Noah Kirkwood, who has reached double figures in scoring in every game this season. His last six games have been particularly good. He has led the team in scoring and assists in each of those outings and was Harvard's team leader in rebounding four times. Over his last six games, he is averaging 22.3 points on 52-of-98 shooting (.531), 7.0 rebounds and 4.0 assists. He has also eclipsed the 20-point mark three times in his last four games (24.3 ppg).