No. 3 CORNELL vs. No. 2 YALE
Sat., Mar. 16 – 2 p.m.
Levien Gym
New York, N.Y.
TV: ESPNews
Watch on ESPN+ | Live Stats | Game Notes
 
NEW HAVEN, Conn. – Yale and Cornell played a pair of entertaining and tight games during the regular season with each winning on its home floor. So perhaps it's only fitting that the two teams meet again on a neutral court in the second semifinal of the Ivy League Tournament on Saturday. Tip off at Columbia's Levien Gym is set for 2 p.m. following the first semifinal between No. 1 Princeton and No. 4 Brown, which is an 11 a.m. start. The two winners meet in the championship game on Sunday at noon.
 
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:
 
• The Bulldogs (20-9, 11-3 Ivy) are the No. 2 seed in the tournament. Both of Yale's previous Ivy Tournament titles (2022, 2019) came as the No. 2 seed.
 
• Both Yale and Cornell finished the regular season 11-3. The teams split the season series, and both split with Princeton and Brown, so the Bulldogs were awarded the two seed based on NCAA Net Rating. Yale is currently No. 86 and Cornell is No. 88.
 
• The Bulldogs have appeared in each of the previous five tournaments and have a 6-3 all-time record in Ivy Madness. Yale has reached the championship game in four of the five tournaments – winning in 2022 and 2019 and losing in 2023 and 2017.
 
• Yale and Cornell met in the semifinals of last year's tournament as well, an 80-60 Bulldog victory.
 
• The Bulldogs are looking to earn the Ivy League's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament for the third time in the last four seasons and seventh time in school history.
 
• Yale leads the league in field goal percentage defense (.418), while Cornell is league's top shooting team (.493).
 
• Yale leads the league in rebound margin (+4.5) as well. The Bulldogs are 18-3 when they outrebound their opponent, 1-6 when they are outrebounded and 1-0 when rebounds are equal.
 
• Yale is 12th in the nation in fewest turnovers (9.5 per game).
 
• The Bulldogs have shot better than 50 percent from the field in each of their last four games.
 
• Danny Wolf, who leads the Ivy League and is 27th nationally in rebounding (9.7 rpg.), posted double-doubles in nine of 14 Ivy League games. He has scored in double figures in each of the last four games.
 
• Over his last seven games, August Mahoney is shooting 57.6 percent (19-of-33) from three-point range.
 
• Over his last seven games, Matt Knowling is shooting 62 percent (39-of-63) from the field. He scored in double figures in all but one of those games, including tallying 20 points in the victory at Columbia.
 
• John Poulakidas has made at least one three-pointer in all but one game (Gardner Webb) this season. He has scored in double figures in eight of his last nine games.
 
• Bez Mbeng, the Ivy League Defensive Player of the Year for the second straight season, has had 11 steals and 31 assists over his last five games.
 
HISTORY LESSONS
 
The Bulldogs and Big Red are playing for the sixth time in the last two seasons. Yale has won three of the previous five meetings, including an 80-60 win in the semifinals of last year's Ivy Tournament. Leading by just three, 34-31, at halftime, the Bulldogs scored the first 12 points of the second half and outscored the Big Red 46-29 over the final 20 minutes to advance to the title game. John Poulakidas scored 25 points to pace the Bulldogs. In the regular season, the home team has won the last six meetings. Yale has won 10 straight over Cornell at Lee Amphitheater. Yale leads the all-time series with Cornell 122-113. The first meeting came in 1899.
 
SCOUTING CORNELL

The Big Red (22-6, 11-3 Ivy) is making its third consecutive and fourth overall appearance in the Ivy League Tournament and is looking for its first tournament victory. Cornell's 22 overall wins are tied with the 2007-08 Ivy League champion team for the second-most in a season in school history. The Big Red features one of the most prolific offenses in the nation. Cornell ranks first nationally in bench points (36.29 per game), fifth in effective field goal percentage (.577), 11th in field goal percentage (.493) and 16th in scoring offense (83.0 ppg.). In addition, the Big Red average 29.5 three-point attempts per game, the sixth most in the nation. Cornell has two All-Ivy selections – Chris Manon a unanimous first team selection and Nazir Williams, who was named to the second team.