PRINCETON at YALE
Fri., Feb. 2 – 7 p.m.
John J. Lee Amphitheater
TV: ESPNU
Watch on ESPNU | Live Stats | Game Notes
 
PENN at YALE
Sat., Feb. 3 – 7 p.m.
John J. Lee Amphitheater
Watch on ESPN+ | Live Stats 
 
NEW HAVEN, Conn. – The first Ivy League back-to-back weekend is on tap for the Yale men's basketball team. The Bulldogs host Princeton in a rematch of last year's Ivy Madness championship game on Friday at 7 p.m. and then welcome Penn to Lee Amphitheater on Saturday, also a 7 p.m. tip. Friday's game will be nationally televised on ESPNU, while ESPN+ has the video on Saturday.
 
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:
 
• The Bulldogs (13-6, 4-0 Ivy) have won six straight games, including a 78-65 victory at Harvard last Saturday. Two of Yale's top scorers – Danny Wolf and Bez Mbeng – combined for only six points, but August Mahoney and John Poulakidas each scored 22 points to lead the Bulldogs to the convincing victory.
 
• Yale features a balanced scoring attack as four starters average double figures led by Wolf at 14.1 ppg. Poulakidas (13.1 ppg.), Mbeng (12.9 ppg.) and Matt Knowling (11.1 ppg.) are the other double figure scorers. Mahoney averages 9.2 points.
 
• Yale is seeking its first 5-0 Ivy League start since the 2015-16 team won its first eight league games on its way to an Ivy championship and a 13-1 mark.
 
• The Bulldogs have won all four of their Ivy games by double figures. Yale has a +16.8 scoring margin. The Bulldogs are shooting 49.2 percent from the field, while holding their opponents to 39.5 percent. Yale also has a +7.3 rebounding margin in league games.
 
• Yale leads the Ivy League in field goal percentage defense (.409) and rebounding margin (+5.5) and is second in scoring defense (66.9 ppg.).
 
• Over the last 5+ seasons, the Bulldogs are 30-6 (.833) at home in Ivy games. In its Ivy home opener on Martin Luther King Day, Yale knocked off Columbia 89-70. The Bulldogs have played only five of their 19 games in the friendly confines of Lee Amphitheater and are 4-1.
 
• Yale went 5-0 in the month of January, its first undefeated month since going 5-0 in January of 2020.
 
• Through games of Wednesday night, Poulakidas is third in the nation in three-point field goal percentage (.463). In last Saturday's win over Harvard, he was 4-of-7 from three-point range and over his last three games he is 14-of-22 (63.6 percent) from beyond the arc.
 
• Mahoney also had a hot-shooting afternoon vs. the Crimson. He was 6-of-10 from the field, all on three-pointers, en route to scoring a career-high 22 points. The six three-pointers matched his career best. Mahoney has 131 career treys and needs eight more to move into Yale's all-time top 10. His current career three-point percentage of .432 is the fifth best in school history.
 
• Wolf leads the Ivy League and is 29th in the nation in rebounding (9.6 rpg.). He is 17th nationally in defensive rebounds (7.2 per game) and also leads the league with 27 blocked shots.
 
• Mbeng's 70 assists are the most in the league.
 
HISTORY LESSONS
 
Yale and Princeton have played six times in the last two seasons. Two of those meetings came in the championship game of the Ivy League Tournament. In the 2022 title game, the Bulldogs edged the Tigers 66-64 at Harvard to earn the league's automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament. Princeton won last year's championship game, 74-65, on its home floor. Yale had won the two regular season meetings a year ago, including rallying from a 19-point second-half deficit to win 93-83 in overtime at Princeton. The Tigers lead the all-time series 152-97. The first meeting was in 1902.
 
The home team has won the last 11 games in the series with Penn. In games at Lee Amphitheater, Yale has won 10 of the last 11 meetings, including a hard-fought 70-63 victory last year. Trailing 54-53, the Bulldogs outscored the Quakers 17-9 over the final 5:52. August Mahoney played a key role, scoring seven of his team-high 17 points during the run. Penn leads the all-time series 153-85. The first game between the teams came in 1897.
 
SCOUTING PRINCETON
 
The Tigers (15-2, 3-1 Ivy) saw their six-game winning streak end with an 83-68 loss at Cornell last Saturday. Xaivian Lee scored 17 points and Caden Pierce grabbed 11 rebounds to pace Princeton. The Tigers' winning percentage is the seventh best in the nation, and Princeton also is in the top 15 nationally in free throw percentage (4th, 79.3 percent), fewest turnovers per game (9th, 9.3) and assist/turnover ratio (14th, 1.61). Three Tigers average double figures in scoring – Lee (17.7 ppg.), Pierce (14.6 ppg.) and Matt Allocco (13.4 ppg.).
 
SCOUTING PENN
 
The Quakers (9-10, 1-3 Ivy) play at Brown on Friday. After opening Ivy play with a dominant 80-51 victory over Dartmouth, Penn has lost three straight games, including 84-81 at Columbia last Saturday. Tyler Perkins, who scored 25 points against the Lions, was named the Ivy League Rookie of the Week for the second time in January. Perkins (14.7 ppg.) is one of four Quakers averaging double figures in scoring. He is joined by Clark Slajchert (17.4 ppg.), Sam Brown (11.3 ppg.) and Nick Spinoso (10.4 ppg.). Penn leads the league in three-point field goal percentage (.382) and is second in rebounding margin (+4.7).

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Be early, be loud & don't forget to wear white!

Friday Night. 7pm vs. Princeton#ThisIsYale | #ProtectJLA | #WhiteOut pic.twitter.com/jCoWEavusS

— Yale Men's Basketball (@YaleMBasketball) January 31, 2024