Wolf shines as Yale outlasts Princeton to remain unbeaten in Ivy League play

Yale and Princeton have performed over 150 occasions previously 75 years, so it’s secure to say the 2 packages are fairly accustomed to each other on the hardwood. They confronted one another 3 times final yr, together with the Ivy League title sport. This time round, the vibes felt totally different from earlier than.

The Tigers, lower than a yr faraway from their magical Candy 16 run final March, entered the evening with a report 15-2, making them one of many high mid-majors within the sport.

The Bulldogs, however, entered the evening an ideal 4-0 in Ivy League play up thus far and look simply pretty much as good, if not higher, than final yr’s squad that gained a share of the common season title.

One thing’s gotta give, proper?

On Friday evening in New Haven, Yale used a giant second half increase to defeat Princeton 70-64 in entrance of a offered out crowd at John J. Lee Amphitheater to remain unbeaten in convention play.

“It’s onerous to lose when you will have that sort of surroundings,” Yale head coach James Jones stated.

In a sport nationally televised on ESPNU, the celebs for each side shined their brightest. For the Bulldogs, middle Danny Wolf scored 21 factors and had 12 rebounds and a pair of monster blocks. As for the Tigers, guard Xaivian Lee scored 18 factors to associate with 11 rebounds and 4 assists.

Wolf, a seven-footer, appeared like Nikola Jokic on the market the way in which he dealt with the ball and distributed it. In opposition to the Tigers, he had a sequence the place he blocked a shot off the glass on one finish and completed with a one-handed flush in transition on the different finish.

“Danny’s an incredible participant and he confirmed somewhat little bit of every thing he can do,” Jones stated.

Lee has damaged out as one of many extra underrated stars within the nation as a sophomore. From hitting one-legged, fading triples to discovering his open teammates in transition, each time he touched the rock you knew a spotlight play can occur.

“Xaivian Lee’s falling down with one second to go and the ball goes in,” Jones stated. “Typically that occurs to you.”

Princeton led a majority of the sport, however with 11 minutes left, John Poulakidas splashed a 3 to offer Yale its first lead of the second half at 46-44.

The 2 groups battled forwards and backwards from that time, however the undersized Tigers simply had no match for Wolf inside. Princeton ahead Caden Pierce had 20 factors, however he struggled to comprise the seven-footer, who was continuously double-teamed all evening.

“You’ll be able to’t play him one-on-one within the put up,” Jones stated. “Their tallest participant is 6-foot-7, so it’s onerous. I anticipated the double group to return, and it did.”

Lee had simply seven factors within the second half and was locked up by Yale’s finest defender Bez Mbeng. Mbeng compelled Lee to take some robust pictures and didn’t give him something simple.

“I wouldn’t need to should dribble the ball round [Mbeng],” Jones stated. “That wouldn’t go properly for James Jones. I’m glad he’s on our group.”

On the finish of the day, Yale made sufficient free throws to carry off the Princeton comeback, despite the fact that they had been 13-for-25 as a group from the stripe. Nonetheless, they avenged final season’s championship sport loss with a large resume-boosting win.

“We wished to deal with it like one other sport, in fact, however undoubtedly had some additional motivation for certain,” Mbeng stated.

The Ivy League has quietly been one of many high mid-major conferences within the nation. Each Yale and Princeton have vital expertise and will play with any excessive main on the market. Cornell has began league play 5-0 together with a 20-point win over the Tigers. Harvard has one of many high freshmen within the nation in Malik Mack.

The Ivy Event is ready for March 16-17 in New York.