Yale Athletics

The Bulldogs (11–6, 2–0 Ivy) defeated Columbia (9–6, 0–2 Ivy) Sunday night 89–70, capitalizing on a hot shooting night from guard John Poulakidas ’25 and strong play by forward Danny Wolf ’26.

Yale led Columbia by just two points at halftime, but the Bulldogs found their groove in the second half, cruising to their 19-point win. 

“The second half was some of our best basketball of the year. We rebounded well, we defended and we made shots,” head coach James Jones told the News. “John was beyond hot, and his teammates were able to find him.”

Poulakidas finished with 26 points on 9-12 shooting, including 7-9 from three point range. Wolf added 17 points, 15 rebounds and three blocks, his third straight double-double performance. He earned the Ivy League’s “player of the week award.”

The blowout victory is the latest in a string of strong performances following Yale’s back-to-back losses against Vermont and Fairfield in early December, which saw them fall to 5–5 on the season.

The Bulldogs have now won six of their last seven, their only loss coming against No. 3 Kansas in a game where they led at halftime. Sunday night’s 89 points scored is the most Yale has scored this season against a Division I opponent.

“We’ve grown as a group,” Jones said of the progress his team has made since the Fairfield loss.  “Even though we had a lot back from last year, we were trying to identify roles. A lot of that is handled on the court, and we played a good non-conference schedule that showed us some things we needed to improve upon.”

Yale was picked to finish first in the Ivy League’s preseason media poll, following an offseason in which they returned four of their five starters from the previous season and retained more points among their top five scorers than any other Ivy team.

However, an inconsistent start to the season, along with the strong play of Princeton (14–1, 2–0 Ivy) and Cornell (12–3, 2–0 Ivy) indicated that Yale’s path to the NCAA tournament may be murkier than anticipated. 

Poulakidas acknowledged that while the non-conference schedule provides an important challenge, Ivy League games hold “a little more weight.”

“Obviously when it comes to the Ivy League, we know this is what it’s all about,” he said. “This is what’s gonna get us to March Madness.”

The Elis finished first in the Ivy League last season but lost to Princeton in the finals of the Ivy tournament, falling one game short of March Madness, the NCAA’s 64-team national tournament.

Wolf echoed Poulakidas’ sentiments. 

“The non-conference schedule definitely motivates us to prove ourselves against the best, but when Ivy League comes about I think everyone realizes it’s time to start fixing mistakes and keying in on what we can do better.”

The Bulldogs play their next two games on the road against Dartmouth (4–11, 0–2 Ivy) and Harvard (9–6, 0–2 Ivy). Awaiting them when they return will be a Friday night matchup against Princeton. The Tigers, with just one loss on the season, are 30th in the NCAA’s NET rankings and have received votes in the AP Top 25 Poll. 

But Jones said that the matchup with the Tigers is not “circled” on the calendar.

“Certainly, when we play Princeton it’s gonna be a big game for both teams, and we’re gonna make sure we’re ready,” he said. “But for now I’m focused on Dartmouth and then Harvard after that.”

Tipoff against Dartmouth will be at 2 p.m. in Hanover, New Hampshire.

BEN RAAB
Ben Raab covers faculty and academics at Yale and writes about the Yale men's basketball team. Originally from New York City, Ben is a sophomore in Pierson college pursuing a double major in history and political science.