Yale Athletics

The Ivy League season is a long one, with twists and turns throughout, but early on this season the Yale men’s basketball team (10–6, 3–0 Ivy) has sprung out to an impressive start. Just three games into the fourteen game regular season the Bulldogs stand undefeated with a matchup against rivals Harvard (6–10, 1–2 Ivy) looming on Saturday afternoon.

In the standings, Yale is tied for the top spot with the also undefeated in league play Princeton Tigers (14–4, 3–0 Ivy). While both teams share identical Ivy records, a closer look reveals why ESPN, CBS, and others all project Yale to come out of the competitive conference.  

Yale’s recipe for success

This year’s version of the Bulldogs hasn’t gone 3–0 by accident, as the team boasts a unique ability to get different contributions from a number of players, going 10 players deep in some games. 

The team boasts the second best offense in the Ivy’s at 82.3 points per game — ppg — while also maintaining the top defense, allowing only 70.3 ppg. On the offensive end much of this comes from the team’s deadly accurate deep ball shooting, as the Bulldogs knock down an impressive 38.3 percent of their three pointers. On the other side, the story is an active defense not afraid to contest shots. Opposing shooters more often than not have to contend with a hand in their face as they shoot, leading Yale’s opponents to an Ivy-low field goal percentage of 41.2 percent.

While these are all stats that are sure to make head coach James Jones proud, what truly sets this Yale team apart is their rebounding. The Bulldogs are eighth in the entire nation in rebounding margin and have simply wiped opponents out on the boards. With their bigs cleaning up inside and the rest of the team crashing hard, Yale dominates the paint, leading to extra opportunities on offense and limiting opponents to one-and-done possessions. 

The Poulakidas flamethrower

Like all great teams, Yale has a star player capable of taking over a game at any moment and flip momentum in their favor in an instant. John Poulakidas ’25 leads the Ivy’s in scoring at 19.8 ppg, shooting 42.9 percent from three.

What makes Poulakidas special is his ability to both hit shots he’s set for and to make his own space on the offensive end. The senior guard demonstrated his ability to stuff the statsheet recently with a 29 point showing in the Bulldogs 92–88 win over Columbia on Saturday. 

In Poulakidas the Bulldogs have a player that they can turn to and ask to carry the offense for extended stretches, something crucial in the close games that are sure to come. 

The Mbeng spark plug

While Poulakidas may get many of the headlines, the player sparking nearly everything for the Bulldogs is point guard Bez Mbeng ’25. Mbeng is a player that clearly feels the energy of the game perfectly, playing off of the energy of the crowd and his opponents in every moment. 

Known for his defense, Mbeng already seems ready to win a third consecutive Ivy League Defensive Player of the Year award. On Monday against Dartmouth the crafty defender wrote his name in the record books for the Bulldogs, recording his 168th, 169th and 170th career steals, the most of any Yale player in history. 

However, where he has really taken off this season has been as an engine of the offense. Currently leading the Ivy League with 5.9 assists per game, Mbeng is involved in nearly every offensive possession and excels at putting his teammates in position to score. 

Unmatched depth

Beyond the two star guards that garner much of the attention, the Yale roster is littered with important contributors. Nick Townsend ’26 has grown tremendously in his third year in New Haven and has blossomed into the team’s second leading scorer and top rebounder. 

The same is true for the two remaining starters, Casey Simmons ’26 and Samson Aletan ’27. Both have grown into their new roles and contribute on both ends of the floor. 

The bench depth is also tremendous, with Coach Jones showing trust to play up to five deep on the bench consistently. First year Isaac Celiscar ’28 has particularly impressed, averaging more than 20 minutes a night on a team that doesn’t typically show the rookies much time on the floor. 

Collision incoming

Right now, the regular season looks like it may very well come down to the two matchups against Princeton, with the first coming in under two weeks on Jan. 31.

As far as common opponents in the Ivy League are concerned, Yale looks well positioned for those clashes with the Tigers. Both teams have played and defeated Dartmouth and Columbia. Princeton beat the Big Green by a single point and the Lions by four points, while Yale blew out Dartmouth by 67 and Columbia also by four. 

Rivalry week

This weekend is the rare single game one for the Bulldogs as the team will face off against Harvard for the first time this season. The Crimson have suffered early losses to Princeton and Penn, but as with any rivalry game, records won’t matter much for this matchup. The game should be a good test for the Bulldogs in front of what is sure to be one of the biggest crowds of the season inside Payne Whitney Gymnasium.

The Bulldogs and Crimson will tip off in New Haven at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday with the game being streamed live on ESPN+. 

SPENCER KING
Spencer King is a former Editor for the Sports desk. Currently he covers football for the News. He has also previously covered the Yale men's lacrosse team, women's hockey team and most things Bulldogs sports. Spencer is a senior in Davenport College and is majoring in Political Science.