Yale at Penn
Fri., Feb. 17 – 7 p.m.
Philadelphia, Pa.
TV: ESPNews
ESPN Video | Live Stats
 
Yale at Princeton
Sat., Feb. 18 – 6 p.m.
Princeton, N.J.
ESPN+ Video | Live Stats
 
Yale Game Notes
 
NEW HAVEN, Conn. – The Yale men's basketball team begins the stretch drive of the Ivy League regular season with a trip to Penn and Princeton. The Bulldogs and Quakers meet Friday at 7 p.m. at The Palestra in a game that will be televised nationally on ESPNews. Yale then has a 6 p.m. Saturday date with Princeton at Jadwin Gym.
 
Only two games separate the top six teams in the league at the moment. Yale sits in a tie with Princeton for first place at 7-3. Penn and Brown are one game back at 6-4, while Cornell and Dartmouth are each 5-5. The top four finishers earn a spot in the Ivy League Tournament.
 
The Bulldogs (17-6 overall) are the hottest team, currently riding a six-game winning streak. The last four have come by double digits, including last Saturday's 99-68 dismantling of Columbia at Lee Amphitheater. Yale had a big second half against the Lions, scoring 58 points while shooting 65 percent from the field. Strong final 20 minutes have been common for the Bulldogs this season. In a 73-44 win over Vermont in late November, Yale outscored the Catamounts 46-14 in the second half. Against Fairfield on Dec. 12, the Bulldogs used a 53-35 second half to post a 77-64 victory, and in the first meeting with Princeton on Jan. 28, Yale outscored the Tigers 52-29 over the final 20 minutes in an 87-65 win. Over the full season, the Bulldogs have outscored their opponents 914-718 in the second half. In addition, Yale has won five games when trailing at the intermission.
 
Two other constants throughout the season have been rebounding and defense. The Bulldogs are ninth in the nation in rebound margin (+7.7), 12th in field goal percentage defense (.393) and 13th in scoring defense (61.3 ppg.).
 
Yale also has done an outstanding job of taking care of the ball. During the six-game winning streak, the Bulldogs have 96 assists and just 47 turnovers. Yale leads the league in fewest turnovers (11.2 per game) and is 12-0 when committing fewer turnovers than its opponent.
 
Individually, Matt Knowling is shooting 74.4 percent (29-of-39) from the field over his last four games. Last Saturday against Columbia, he scored 22 points on 9-of-10 shooting which earned him Ivy League Player of the Week recognition. Knowling is 15th in the nation in field goal percentage (.627) and is the Ivy's fourth leading scorer at 14.9 ppg.
 
John Poulakidas (10.7 ppg.), EJ Jarvis (10.7 ppg.) and August Mahoney (10.0 ppg.) join Knowling in averaging double figures in scoring.
 
James Jones, The Joel E. Smilow, Class of 1954 Head Coach of the Bulldogs, is approaching another significant milestone. Jones has guided the Bulldogs to 198 Ivy League regular season victories and needs just two more to reach 200. The only other coach to win 200 Ivy games is Princeton's Pete Carril, who led the Tigers to 310 league victories.
 
Jones, who is in his 24th year, has guided the Bulldogs to five Ivy League championships – 2002, 2015, 2016, 2019, 2020 – two Ivy League Tournament titles – 2019, 2022 - four NCAA Tournament berths – 2016, 2019, 2020, 2022 - and seven postseason appearances.
 
HISTORY LESSONS
 
The Bulldogs are seeking their first regular season sweep of the Quakers since 2016. Back on Jan. 21, Yale outscored Penn 17-9 over the final 5:52 to earn a hard-fought 70-63 at Lee Amphitheater. August Mahoney scored seven of his team-high 17 points over the final six minutes. EJ Jarvis added a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds. Bez Mbeng also scored 14 points. The home team has won the last 10 regular season games in the series. The Bulldogs won five straight games over the Quakers at the Palestra from 2013 to 2017, but Penn has taken the last five. Yale's last victory in the historic arena was over Harvard, 73-71, in the 2017 Ivy League Tournament. The first game between the teams came in 1897. Penn leads the all-time series 152-85.
 
Yale has won its last three games against Princeton at Jadwin Gym, including an 80-74 victory last year when Matt Knowling scored 17 points. In the first meeting this season on Jan. 28, the Bulldogs shot 72 percent from the field in the second half and made 14 three-pointers in the game in an 87-65 victory. John Poulakidas was 5-of-6 from three-point range and had 19 points. Overall, Yale has won nine of the last 10 meetings with the Tigers. Princeton, though, leads the all-time series 151-96. The first meeting was in 1902.
 
The Bulldogs last swept the Penn-Princeton road weekend in 2015. They also did it in 2013.
 
SCOUTING PENN
 
The Quakers (14-11, 6-4 Ivy) haven't lost since they left New Haven on Jan. 21. Their five-game winning streak started with a 76-52 win at Hartford two days later. Penn features one of the most prolific scorers in the nation in Jordan Dingle, who averages 24.0 ppg, which is second in the country. Dingle had 25 points, his seventh straight game with at least 20 points, in Penn's 80-72 victory at Harvard last Saturday. The Quakers play their next three games in the Palestra where they are 8-4 on the season. Penn leads the Ivy League in free throw percentage (.743) and three-point field goal percentage defense (.317).
 
SCOUTING PRINCETON
 
The Tigers, who host Brown on Friday, are coming off an 83-76 loss at Dartmouth last Saturday. Princeton is 12th in the nation in rebound margin (+7.4) and feature reining Ivy League Player of the Year Tosan Evbuomwan, who averages 14.4 ppg., 6.0 rpg. and 4.6 assists. His 105 assists lead the league. The Tigers are second in the league in scoring offense (76.4 ppg.) and have made 194 three-pointers, the third most in the league. Ryan Langborg (12.0 ppg.) and Matt Allocco (10.8 ppg.) join Evbuomwan as double figure scorers.