Yale at Cornell
Friday, Jan. 13 – 5 p.m.
Ithaca, N.Y.
TV: ESPNU
ESPNU Video | Live Stats | Yale Game Notes
 
NEW HAVEN, Conn. – Throughout the season, Yale has been ranked among the nation's best defensive teams. That prowess will be put to the test when the Bulldogs travel to Cornell on Friday. The Big Red average 83.2 points per game, which leads the Ivy League and is 12th nationally. Tipoff at Newman Arena is slated for 5 p.m., and the game will be televised on ESPNU.  Dave Leno (play-by-play) and Noah Savage (analyst) will be on the call.
 
Yale (11-5, 1-2 Ivy) is coming off a hard-fought 58-54 victory over Harvard on Saturday at the John J. Lee Amphitheater. It was defense that played a big role in the win. The Bulldogs limited the Crimson to just 32.7 percent shooting from the field. That performance came on the heels of an uncharacteristically off night the day before against Dartmouth in an 81-77 loss. The 81 points were the most allowed by Yale this season. The Bulldogs have held nine of their 16 opponents to 60 points or less.
 
Yale is eighth in the nation in rebound margin (+8.8) and ninth in scoring defense (58.2 ppg.) and scoring margin (+16.1) through games of Wednesday night. Seven of the Bulldogs' 11 victories have been by 10 points or more.
 
Balance has been a key to Yale's success this season. Nine different Bulldogs have scored in double figures at least once, seven have led the team in scoring and 11 have led the team in rebounding.
 
EJ Jarvis is coming off a strong game against the Crimson when he scored a career-high 18 points and grabbed eight rebounds. In addition, his blocked shot with five seconds remaining and Yale in front by two helped seal the victory. He is third in the Ivy League with 21 blocks.
 
Jarvis (10.5 ppg.) is second on the team in scoring, one of three Bulldogs averaging double figures. Matt Knowling (15.8 ppg.) leads the team and is fourth in the league. John Poulakidas (10.4 ppg.) is the other double figure scorer.
 
The Bulldogs feature two of the top three most accurate shooters in the league. Knowling is 18th in the nation and second in the league with a .620 field goal percentage, while Jarvis is third in the league at .593.
 
Friday is Yale's only road game in January. The Bulldogs play their next three games in the friendly confines of the John J. Lee Amphitheater, starting with Monday's Martin Luther King Day contest against Brown.
 
Yale went the entire month of December without playing a home game, finishing 3-3, including competitive losses to Butler and Kentucky.
 
HISTORY LESSONS
 
Yale's 16-game winning streak against Cornell was snapped in a 71-65 loss to the Big Red in the last meeting between the teams in Ithaca last February. The Bulldogs held Cornell nearly nine points below its scoring average but committed 20 turnovers. It was the second-to-last game of the regular season, and the win helped the Big Red earn a spot in the Ivy League Tournament. In the first meeting last year, Yale cruised to a 96-69 victory at Lee Amphitheater. The Bulldogs shot 54.2 percent from the field, outrebounded the Big Red 41-25 and had a season-high 20 assists on 32 field goals. Isaiah Kelly scored 18 points and Matt Knowling added 17 to lead the way. Yale leads the all-time series 119-111. The first meeting came in 1899.
 
SCOUTING CORNELL
 
In addition to scoring, the Big Red leads the Ivy League in assists (19.5), field goal percentage (.483), 3-pointers (10.2) and 3-point percentage (.367). Cornell (12-4, 2-1 Ivy) suffered its first league loss last Saturday, falling to Princeton 75-68 at Newman Arena. The Big Red went 10-3 in non-league play, posting the third-most non-league wins in school history with its only losses being road decisions at ACC foes Boston College, Miami and Syracuse — the first two by two points each. Greg Dolan leads the league and sits 12th nationally in assist/turnover ratio (3.18), and his career 2.65 is the best mark in school history. Over his past nine contests, Dolan has 41 assists and just 10 turnovers in 267 minutes of action and it's 58 assists and 15 turnovers over the past 13 contests. Nazir Williams has reached double figures in 13 of 16 games this season.