 lost 84–81 in overtime on Saturday afternoon to Brown Nabs (12–17, 8–6) after Aaron Cooley of Brown made a...){kind=link}
The Bulldogs (20–9, 11–3 Ivy) lost 84–81 in overtime on Saturday afternoon to Brown Nabs (12–17, 8–6) after Aaron Cooley of Brown made a fadeaway three with.5 seconds left.
Regarding Cooley’s last-second heave, Yale head coach James Jones commented, “You got to tip your hat to him.” We had excellent defensive play and prevented him from getting a clear look. The child made the disputed, off-balance shot.
With 4:40 left in the game, Jones’ team, who was favored by 11.5 points going into the game, was up 69-58. The Bears tied the score at 73-73 on a corner three with 35 seconds left in the game. Brown’s lone lead of the game came on Cooley’s OT shot.
With 16 points, guard August Mahoney ’24 led the Elis in scoring. For the majority of the game, Yale’s offense appeared cohesive, making fast cuts and often finding shooters with open looks. Five players scored in the double digits in the end.
On defense, meanwhile, Yale found it difficult to stop Kino Lilly Jr. of Brown, who finished with 26 points. The Bulldogs, who are usually among the top rebounding teams in the country, lost the rebounding battle 39–26 and gave up 16 offensive rebounds.
Jones remarked, “We got our butts kicked on the glass.” “What they did on the inside helped them win the game.” It was a lackluster group endeavor.
According to kenpom.com’s college basketball rankings, Yale’s loss caused them to slide from 80 to 90th in the country, which was their greatest decline since they lost to Fairfield on December 6 and dropped 20 spots at the time.
Nonetheless, the season’s trajectory is unaffected by the defeat. Ivy League tiebreaker rules, which take into account each team’s NCAA NET ranking, would have kept Yale as the second seed in the tournament even though the two teams were tied for first place in the conference standings going into the game (23–3, 11–2 Ivy).
Princeton is certain to receive the top seed in the tournament and will take on Penn at 6 p.m. Yale would still finish second or third at Ivy Madness but would at least split the regular season Ivy crown if the Tigers lost.
Regardless, Yale will play Cornell (22–6, 11–3 Ivy), who, depending on which team is ranked higher in the NET, will either be the second or third seed in the tournament and share the title if Princeton loses. This season’s event will be held in Columbia, and the higher seed has no competitive advantage.
The Big Red was defeated 80–60 by the Bulldogs in the opening round of the previous year’s competition. Nonetheless, Cornell is a lot better than they were the previous year, with an outstanding offensive and a quick style of play that is sixth quickest in the country. They have a 1-1 season series split this year.
“This game has a lot to teach us,” Jones remarked. And we’ll have a week of practice to come back to playing our best hoops.
The game on Saturday will begin at 2:00 p.m. in Levien Gymnasium in Columbia.
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