Yale Athletics

The Yale men’s basketball team has a number of valuable pieces this year, but it may take some time to put them together. 

The Bulldogs (4–3, 0–0 Ivy) had an up-and-down stretch of games over the break, winning two of three games at the Atlantic Slam tournament in New Brunswick, Canada, and then falling to the University of Rhode Island (5–2, 0–0 A10) this past Sunday.

The Bulldogs have now allowed opposing teams to score over 70 points in five of their last six games. Two of those games went to overtime, but it’s something they did just twice during last year’s 13-game non-conference schedule. 

As a team, they are allowing more points, grabbing fewer rebounds and forcing fewer turnovers than last season.

“We need to be more connected as a defense unit and have a greater sense of urgency when rebounding on the offensive end,” head coach James Jones told the News.

Yale headed into the Atlantic Slam tournament on Nov. 17 as a favorite in all three matchups. However, after a promising 68–50 Friday night win against Colgate (3–3, 0–0 Patriot), the Elis sputtered in an overtime loss on Saturday against Weber State (4–2, 0–0 Big Sky) and did just enough to earn a 71–70 overtime victory over Gardner Webb (3–4, 0–0 Big South) on Sunday, despite blowing an early 19–2 lead.

The following Sunday, Yale held a 39–21 lead over Rhode Island with five minutes remaining in the first half, but the Bulldogs left Kingston, Rhode Island, with a 76–72 defeat after a second-half collapse. 

The loss capped a six-game road trip for the Bulldogs, who have yet to play a home game against a Division I opponent. 

“It’s always great to be back playing at home,” August Mahoney ’24, the team’s captain, wrote. “We just have to execute our coach’s game plan and play Yale basketball.”

The team hosts Stony Brook (2–3, 0–0 America East) tonight in John J. Lee Amphitheater.

Strong performances on offense

Forward Danny Wolf ’26, a newcomer to the starting lineup this season, starred offensively for the Bulldogs, averaging 18.7 points and 9.3 rebounds over the three-game tournament and earning the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player award. Against Rhode Island, he scored 19 points and recorded five rebounds and four assists.

Guards Mahoney, John Poulakidas ’25 and Bez Mbeng ’25 all had strong individual performances at times throughout the break. 

Mahoney shot 75 percent from three-point range over the three-game tournament and was named to the All-Tournament team alongside Wolf. The Mahoney-Poulakidas sharpshooting duo has picked up where they left off from last year, shooting a combined 45 percent from beyond the arc on 55 attempts on the year.

Mbeng also looks to build off of a strong sophomore season. The reigning Ivy Defensive Player of the Year has increased his scoring to 14.1 points per game from 10.4 last season while increasing his field goal percentage to 46.8. He’s also boosted his rebounding and steals to 5.7 and 1.9 per game, respectively.

As an offensive unit, the Bulldogs are 75th in adjusted offensive efficiency, a slight improvement  from last season’s 86th. The seven-foot Wolf, shooting 8-14 from deep this season, gives Yale another threat from the perimeter and his development throughout the season, along with Mbeng,  will make this team more dangerous on offense.

Defensive woes

But on the other side of the ball, Yale — whose team motto is ‘defend, rebound, share’ —  has been uncharacteristically weak this season.

Through seven games — including the opener against Division III Vassar — the Bulldogs are allowing 70 points a game, good for just 161st in the nation and far higher than last year’s average of 63.2 points allowed. Their adjusted efficiency metric of 101.7, which is measured by points allowed per 100 possessions and accounts for factors like the quality of opposing offenses, ranks 114th in the nation, indicating that this team is better than the numbers suggest but still far behind last year’s defense, which ranked 50th.

Yale’s defense has regressed in nearly every aspect, but most notably the team is lacking in their rebounding and interior defense.

Last year’s unit was elite at beating opposing teams on the boards. Even against high major competition like Kentucky and Colorado, Yale consistently matched or exceeded their opponents in the rebounding column. So far this year, they have only done it in half their Division I matchups.

Specifically, last year’s team held opposing offenses to an offensive rebounding of just 23.2 percent, ranking 11th in the nation. Now, that mark is up to 27.9, 132nd nationally.

On their own offensive glass, the Bulldogs recorded offensive rebounds at a 28-percent rate, right around the D1 average of 28.5. This year’s team has plummeted that number to 22.1, 328th in the country. This means that Yale is earning fewer second-chance possessions while granting opponents more time on the ball.

Though it’s still early in the season, these data suggest that the Elis have struggled to make up for the production of departed seniors EJ Jarvis ’23 and Isaiah Kelly ’23 on the defensive end.

Mainstays in the starting lineup last season, the two produced offensive rebounding percentages of 10.9 and 7.8 percent, respectively. This season, nobody in Yale’s starting lineup has above 5 percent. 

The void left by Jarvis and Kelly is bigger than just rebounding, though. Yale blocked shots and defended 2-point shots at a nearly elite rate last season, thanks in large part to the big man duo’s presence on the interior. Jarvis blocked shots at a stellar 8.7-percent rate, and the added presence of Kelly made it difficult for teams to score around the rim, with the Bulldogs holding teams to 45.7 percent on 2-pointers. Now, Yale ranks 210th in team block percentage and allows 2-pointers at a paltry 49.6 percent.

On the bright side, the Elis do have a promising defensive asset in first year Samson Aletan ’27, a highly athletic 6’10” center who is the school’s most highly ranked recruit of all time. Aletan, in 9.4 minutes per game this season, has rebounded at a 14.4-percent rate on the offensive end when he’s on the floor and recorded two blocks against Rhode Island.

Jones, who called Aletan a “defensive-minded, rebounding player,” may need to turn to Aletan to provide balance on defense.

Minimal bench production

Jones, speaking to the News after the team’s home opener against Vassar, called this year’s team one of his greatest ever from a depth perspective.

Coming into the season, Yale appeared to have several exciting options off the bench, notably  Nick Townsend ’26, who led the team in scoring in offseason exhibition games, and Casey Simmons ’26, a Northwestern transfer and former top-100 recruit. 

But Townsend has struggled since strong performances against Vassar and Gonzaga, recording just seven points on 3-19 shooting in the last five games. Simmons, though a steady presence on defense, is averaging just three points on 12 minutes per game. Nobody on Yale’s bench is averaging over five points per game.

Jones has also gone to his bench less than he has the past two seasons, awarding 27.4 percent of total minutes to bench players compared to 31.2 and 33.9 last season and the season before.

Looking ahead

One silver lining to Yale’s current standing is that they’ll now get to play back at home. The Bulldogs were 10–1 last season in New Haven, and will look to continue that success against Stony Brook tonight and against Fairfield on Dec. 6. 

Matt Knowling ’24 was held out of Sunday’s game due to a groin injury, and his injury status is “day to day,” according to Jones

Tonight’s game will tip off at 7 p.m. in the John J. Lee Amphitheater.