After a roller coaster non-conference season, the Bulldogs will begin the quest for an Ivy League championship this weekend.
On Saturday, the Bulldogs (7–7) will travel east to Providence, R.I. for a 2 p.m. game against the Brown Bears (6–7).
There, Yale will look to build on last Saturday’s 85–57 win over Baruch.
In the Baruch game, center Greg Mangano ’12 recorded another double-double with 18 points and 11 rebounds. Guard Brian Katz ’12 added a career-high 16 points.
Brown also cruised in their last game to an 88–55 obliteration of Lyndon State. Senior forward Peter Sullivan scored a game-high 14 points in the victory; Sullivan is the Bears’ leading scorer at 13.8 points per game and leads the team with 6.0 rebounds per game. Fellow senior Garrett Leffelman is averaging 10.8 points per game.
The matchup against Brown is the first step on the Elis run toward an Ivy League title. Mangano, the reigning Ivy League Player of the Week, is averaging nearly a double-double per game at 14.0 points and 9.7 rebounds per game. The center has shown the ability to dominate the paint but is prone to getting in foul trouble and is averaging 3.4 fouls per game. Guard Austin Morgan ’13 leads the Bulldogs with 14.6 points per game and is shooting an Ivy League best 48.5 percent from beyond the three-point arc. Point guard Porter Braswell ’11 is also averaging double figures at 10.6 points per game and shooting 40.4 percent from three-point land.
The Bulldogs will need a balanced offense in order to make a run at the Ivy League championship, head coach James Jones said.
“When you have several guys who can lead you in scoring, it makes it difficult for the opposing team to shut anybody down,” Jones said. “We have somebody stepping up every game, which is important for us.”
Despite a sub-.500 overall record, Brown has a 4–1 record on its home court, and the Bulldogs know that they will need to bring energy into Saturday’s matchup.
“We’re going to be on the road at the start so we’re certainly going to have to try to exceed their intensity especially on their home court,” head coach James Jones said. “We’re going to have to play well to win it.”
The Bulldogs won last year’s game at Brown 71–63.