Yale men's basketball remains the gold standard. Here's how they won Ivy Madness on Sunday.
PROVIDENCE — That’s how the current gold standard of Ivy League men’s basketball looks.
Yale offered a 40-minute public viewing Sunday afternoon at Pizzitola Center, exiting the Brown University campus with its fifth NCAA Tournament bid in the last decade secured.
The Bulldogs have progressed from a 54-year wait to reach March Madness — one that ended downtown in 2016 — to a seemingly annual invitation. They used a brilliant offensive performance in the second half to close out Cornell, 90-84, and become the first No. 1 seed to win at Ivy Madness since its 2017 debut.
John Poulakidas and Bez Mbeng delivered like veterans. Nick Townsend extended what has been a breakout junior season, one created through untold hours of work behind the scenes. James Jones continues to hide in plain sight as one of the premier coaches in the sport, part basketball man and part Wall Street banker with a fresh white net draped around the shoulders of his sharp dark suit.
“They clearly are hungry with whatever group they have,” Cornell coach Jon Jaques said. “It seems like they lose borderline NBA guys every year and the next guy is ready to fill a role.”
Mbeng’s harmless traveling violation with 0.1 seconds left was noteworthy — it was the only turnover Yale committed in the second half and one of just three for the game. The Bulldogs shot 62.1% overall, 9-for-12 from 3-point range and poured in 53 points over the final 20 minutes. Poulakidas was a perfect 7-for-7 from the floor after a 1-for-7 start into the locker room, ending with a game-high 25 points and Most Valuable Player honors.
“It was a long time coming,” Poulakidas said. “That was a long first half.”
Yale used a late 12-0 run to build a 37-32 lead into the break and wasted no time adding to it from there. Poulakidas netted eight straight points on a pair of deep jumpers and another hit from the right baseline, the spark behind what became a 55-39 cushion with 12:34 left. A technical foul against Casey Simmons gave the Big Red what seemed an unlikely lifeline, and it was a 60-58 game with 9:18 to play after a Guy Ragland Jr. 3-pointer from the right wing.
“I thought our team dug in and played hard,” Jones said. “We met some adversity in the game and we were able to overcome it.”
Cornell (18-11) never pushed in front again, answered each time down the stretch by a team that simply expects to win in such situations. Townsend’s left-handed hook in the lane and Mbeng’s quick drive down the right both opened an eight-point lead inside the final 6:29, and Poulakidas was stone-cold at the foul line while converting two 1-and-1 chances over the last 44.2 seconds. The Bulldogs (22-7) have dropped just one of their 17 games since the calendar flipped to 2025, a March 1 loss to rival Harvard.
“A goal?” Mbeng said. “Advance. Win.”
Poulakidas racked up 28 points while Yale posted a 78-76 upset of Auburn to open last year’s edition of March Madness. It was a second win in the event under Jones — a 79-75 stunner against Baylor at the former Dunkin’ Donuts Center nine years ago came thanks to 31 points from electric guard Makai Mason. The Bulldogs also threw a 79-74 scare into LSU in the 2019 opening round.
“Younger guys have got to learn,” Jones said. “We’ve been able to develop kids. We’ve done a really good job at selecting the talent.”
Jones debuted nondescriptly in New Haven with a 7-20 season in 1999-2000. Yale reached the NIT in his third year, but it was another decade before two CIT appearances in 2011-12 and 2013-14. The Bulldogs didn’t win their first outright league championship until 2015-16, taking with it the corresponding berth to the NCAA Tournament.
“I think all our guys are really hard workers, and that’s a testament to who our coaches are recruiting,” Townsend said. “When your time comes, you work hard to get ready.”
Townsend is part of a frontcourt pair that has taken the biggest jump in production this season, something Yale needed after standout big man Danny Wolf transferred to Michigan. Sophomore center Samson Aletan has improved from 2.2 points per game to 7.9, 1.5 rebounds per game to 3.9 and 11 blocked shots to 47. Townsend climbed from 6 points per game to 15.3, 3.9 rebounds per game to 7.3 and 35 assists to 100.
“Nick is probably one of the hardest-working people I know,” Mbeng said. “I see him put the work in day in and day out. It’s inspiring to the rest of the team.”
Moments like these make Jones flash back to the first group that won at Cornell and was on a bus ride to Columbia with laptops and iPads in hand. They watched Harvard beat Princeton, a result that ensured his team would finish atop the conference. The Bulldogs went out and drilled the Lions the following night for good measure, posting a 13-1 league mark that was equaled by this year’s team.
“It was like a bunch of 6-year-olds winning the Little League championship just going crazy and nuts,” Jones said. “This year we won a championship and there wasn’t much celebration at all.
“It’s become an expectation of what you are and what you think you should do.”
CORNELL (84): AK Okereke 8-12 6-6 22, Guy Ragland Jr. 6-10 0-0 16, Nazir Williams 5-7 8-8 20, Jake Fiegen 5-10 0-0 11, Cooper Noard 3-9 0-0 8, Ryan Kiachian 0-0 0-0 0, Jacob Beccles 0-0 0-0 0, Adam Hinton 2-4 1-2 7, Gioacchino Panzini 0-0 0-0 0, Anthony Nimani 0-0 0-0 0, DJ Nix 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 29-52 15-16 84.
YALE (90): Nick Townsend 8-14 2-3 19, Samson Aletan 0-3 1-2 1, Bez Mbeng 4-14 4-6 15, John Poulakidas 8-14 4-4 25, Casey Simmons 5-8 2-3 13, Isaac Celiscar 3-5 2-3 9, Trevor Mullin 3-4 0-0 8, Jack Molloy 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 31-62 15-21 90.
Halftime — Y, 37-32. 3-pointers — C 11-27 (Okereke 0-2, Ragland 4-6, Williams 2-3, Fiegen 1-5, Noard 2-8, Hinton 2-3), Y 13-23 (Townsend 1-1, Mbeng 3-6, Poulakidas 5-9, Simmons 1-3, Celiscar 1-2, Mullin 2-2). Rebounds — C 30 (Okereke 8), Y 27 (Mbeng 7). Assists — C 15 (Okereke 5), Y 15 (Townsend 4, Mbeng 4).
On X: @BillKoch25
This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Yale Bulldogs beat Cornell, 90-84, to win Ivy Madness, head to NCAAs
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