Amidst the heartbreak and shock of how the 2014-15 Yale basketball season came to an abrupt conclusion with losses at the buzzer to Dartmouth and Harvard combined with a subsequent baffling snub by the NIT, most of the players that would return for 2015-16 found a silver lining.
Continue reading “Memories Linger, But Yale Ready For New Challenge”
The beauty of the Ivy League 14-game tournament is that every game matters, there is no getting them back in March when it matters or hoping to peak at the right time as the season winds down. Continue reading “Columbia Puts Dent In Yale’s Ivy Hopes, Sweeps Weekend”
All the signs pointed to this being the time for a changing of the guard in the Ivy League. Harvard’s 27-point output at Virginia in December coupled with a season-opening loss to Holy Cross made the three-time defending champ (plus a share of a fourth) Crimson look vulnerable and when they collapsed at home to Dartmouth two weeks ago, well the door swung wide open for Yale.
Meanwhile, the Bulldogs were a veteran team who had their time the last couple of seasons, getting ever closer and taking advantage of that Dartmouth slip up to grab the lead. Saturday, they had a chance to take command of the Ivy race, putting two games between themselves and the rival Crimson as they chased their first NCAA Tournament berth in more than a half-century.
Continue reading “Harvard’s Defense Refuses To Turn Control Of Ivy Over To Yale”
As it always does in the 14-Game Tournament, the Ivy League keeps throwing hurdles of different shapes and sizes at Yale, and so far at least, the Bulldogs have cleared them all. Friday, Dartmouth set up their obstacle in the middle of the paint and Yale went right around it, shooting 13-21 from three-point range to post a fairly comfortable 81-66 victory over the pesky Big Green at Lee Amphitheater.
The Bulldogs (16-6 overall) now stand at 5-0 in the Ivy League and will host rival and three-time defending Ivy champ Harvard Saturday night in what is expected to be a sellout.
Continue reading “Three Thoughts: Yale 81, Dartmouth 66 (Harvard Coming Saturday)”
As Leland King got hot and Cedric Kuakumensah found room to get a layup forcing James Jones to call a time out, the memories started to flood back into the veteran Yale basketball team, and they weren’t good ones.
Glimpses of a lost Saturday afternoon in January of 2014 in Providence when Brown handled a lackluster Yale squad easily, 73-56, a defeat that proved costly while trying to chase Harvard down a couple of months later.
Continue reading “Yale Clears First (of 14) Ivy Hurdle With Ease At Brown”
For a nine-minute span to start the second half, Yale showed why Hartford coach John Gallagher was able to say afterward, “I know people are going to say Harvard, but I think Yale is the best basketball team in the Ivy League right now.”
After slogging through a first half and being stymied at every cut and screen by what has turned out to be an extremely tough Hartford defense, Yale exploded coming out of the locker room, getting good looks in transition and outscoring the Hawks – who came into the game in the top 15 nationally in scoring defense – by a 25-7 margin over the first nine-minutes of the second half. As they have all season, the Hawks battled and clawed (almost literally) until the end, and made things a little too uncomfortable for James Jones’ liking, although the result was never truly in doubt in a 69-57 win Sunday afternoon at Lee Amphitheater that pushed Yale to 6-2 on the season.
In the end, Vegas usually knows. So while the Providence fans, and even coach Ed Cooley to some extent, was a little upset the Friars didn’t bury Yale at various points of Friday afternoon’s 72-66 win, the Bulldogs can be equally peeved that they weren’t able to pull off the upset on a day where starting guard Kris Dunn (and freshman Jalen Lindsey) didn’t play.
No one heard whether or not Justin Sears called his shot, so it’s a good thing they don’t play by playground rules at Yale. Continue reading “Yale 69, Quinnipiac 68 (CIT)”
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