Yale vs. Fairfield
Saturday, Nov. 23 – 2:30 p.m.
Mohegan Sun Arena
Uncasville, Conn.
ESPN+ | Live Stats
 
Yale vs. Delaware
Sunday, Nov. 24 – 6 p.m.
Mohegan Sun Arena
Uncasville, Conn.
ESPN+ | Live Stats
 
Yale men's basketball will play a pair of games as they open the 2024 Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame Tip-Off, hosted at Mohegan Sun. The event has been held since 2013 with North Carolina winning the inaugural tournament, while Maryland were the 2022 victors. This will be the first time that the Bulldogs compete in it.
 
Last Time Out

• Yale picked up a dominant road victory at Stony Brook on Nov. 20, 86-64.
• Yale opened the game on a 22-4 run through the first seven minutes of play and led by double-digits from the 11:50 mark of the first half and on.
• John Poulakidas put up a solid offensive performance with 22 points on 8-12 shooting from the field and 4-6 shooting from beyond the arc.
• Two other Bulldogs brought in double-figure point totals as Nick Townsend registered 18 points and Yassine Gharram brought in 13 points.
• Townsend, Gharram, and Isaac Celiscar led the team in boards, with nine, seven, and seven, respectively.

Bulldog Facts

• Three Bulldogs are averaging in double figure points per game. John Poulakidas averages 20.7 points per game, Nick Townsend is averaging 11.3, while Bez Mbeng is averaging 10.8.
• John Poulakidas has scored in double-figures in every game this season and has hit the 20-point mark in three of those contests.
• Poulakidas has a three-point shooting percentage of 47% in 49 attempts, while his shooting percentage from the field is 48%.
• Isaac Celiscar is lead the team in total rebounds (39) and offensive rebounds (18). Yassine Gharram has a team-high 30 defensive rebounds.
• Seniors John Poulakidas and Bez Mbeng were named to the 2024-25 Lou Henson Early Season Watch List. The award is presented annually to the top player in mid-major college basketball. Poulakidas and Mbeng are two of six Ivy League players on the list. They join Princeton's Xavian Lee and Caden Pierce, Brown's Kino Lilly, Jr., and Columbia's Geronimo Rubio De La Rosa.
• Head coach James Jones, in his 26^th season at the helm, is just one win shy of 400 career wins.

 
A Look at History Against Fairfield

• Yale has taken two of the last three matches, but it was the Stags who took a 75-71 victory last year at John J. Lee Amphitheater.
• All five Yale starters scored in double figures, led by Knowling, who had 14 points. Mbeng and John Poulakidas each added 13, August Mahoney had 12 and Wolf finished with 11.
• The first meeting between the teams was in 1977.
• Fairfield leads the all-time series 14-11. 

Scouting the Stags

• Fairfield is coming into the contest with a 2-3 overall record.
• They opened the season with two straight losses on the road to Rhode Island (58-96) and Georgetown (57-69).
• The Stags won the next two New Hampshire (62-56), John Jay (93-44) before falling to Drexel earlier in the week 61-67.
• Prophet Johnson has been their hot hand. He is the only player on the team averaging in double figures per game, being solid on the rebounding front. He leads the team in that category as well with 8.6 rebounds per game as well as 43 total rebounds.

 
A Look at History Against Delaware

• Yale and Delaware will meet for the fourth time overall.
• The last time they met was in 2017 when Yale took at 76-66 win on Nov. 27, 2017. Miye Oni (16), Blake Reynolds (15), and Alex Copeland (12) led the way on the offensive front.
• In 2016 at home, Alex Copeland scored 17 points to lead four players in double figures as the Bulldogs rolled to an 81-63 victory. Blake Reynolds added 16 points. Yale shot 51.9 percent from the field, had 17 assists and made 13 three-pointers.
• The Bulldogs won the first meeting, 66-64 in double overtime at the 1982 United First Federal Classic in Lakeland, Florida.

 
Scouting the Blue Hens

• Delaware goes into their Saturday contest with a 2-2 overall record. They will face Vermont at noon.
• After losing their first game of the season, they picked up two wins over Robert Morris (81-77) and Iona (64-58).
• The Blue Hens have four players averaging in double figures: John Camden (15.8), Niels Lane (15.5), Reilly Cavan (10.0), and Erik Timko (10.8)

 
Up Next
Yale wraps its trip on the road on Monday, Dec. 2 when they head to Kingston, R.I. for a meeting with the University of Rhode Island.