The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
For Bulldogs, road to NCAA bid travels through Penn
NEW HAVEN — For years James Jones was among the most vocal proponents of an Ivy League basketball tournament. It was a glacial process. But the notoriously neophobic league finally instituted a four-team playoff last year.
Jones, in his 19th season as Yale’s coach, has other ideas to improve the tournament and level the playing field. The event begins today at The Palestra in Philadelphia. He’d like to see the venue switched to a neutral site.
Yale, seeded third, draws the unenviable task of playing second-seeded Penn on its home court (3 p.m., ESPN2). Cornell plays topseeded Harvard in the first semifinal today at 12:30 p.m.
The comfort of home is no small advantage for the Quakers (22-8). The building was near capacity — close to 8,800 — and deafeningly loud when fourthseeded Penn played topseed Princeton last March, a game that went to overtime before heavily favored Princeton won.
Much of the crowd left for the nightcap. Yale and Harvard played to about half-capacity.
The Palestra is the Ivy League’s largest basketball venue and best suited to handle larger crowds and media coverage of the tournament. But yielding home court advantage to Penn on a yearly basis is a concern.
Jones believes Carnesecca Arena in New York, which seats a bit over 5,600, would be a better site.
“I was told it won’t be at the Palestra next year,” Jones said. “I don’t know what’s going to happen. But if I was in charge, I’d play at St. John’s, a 5,000-seat arena that would sell out. It’s in New York, a place everybody could get to easily, with plenty of hotels, and a large alumni base already there. In my mind that’d be a great venue for the league.”
Penn may have the crowd on its side today. But the Quakers, who lost only two league games, will have their hands full with surging Yale (16-14), a team that’s won seven of its last eight and shown a knack for pulling out close games.
Just last weekend the Bulldogs stunned Penn in New Haven, a game the Quakers led by three points with three seconds remaining. A pair of made free throws cut the deficit to one before Yale forced a turnover to regain possession. Miye Oni drove the lane and dished to Paul Atkinson, who laid in the winning shot as time expired.
A night later the Bulldogs knocked off Princeton in overtime, ending a fourgame losing streak to the Tigers, who beat Yale for
the Ivy championship last March.
Yale’s ability to pull out close games is a positive trend for the postseason. It’s first three league losses were by one, two and three points. Aside from a 15point loss to Harvard on Feb. 17, the Bulldogs have been consistent night in and night out.
“It’s not like we weren’t playing well,” Jones said. “We’re certainly playing better. Our defense has gotten sharper. That’s helped a lot. Individually our guys have done a better job and that’s helped. We’re winning the close games now. That’s something that for a young team takes a while to do.”
Yale will be without senior point guard and captain Makai Mason, who tweaked the foot injury that’s kept him out of all but one game this season. Still, Yale has received stellar play from its guards and leads the league in assists. It’s also the league’s best shooting team at 47 percent, led by Atkinson’s league-best .682.
Penn, which split the season series with Yale, defends the 3-point shot better than any team in the Ivy League. The Bulldogs picked their spots last Friday. Guard Trey Phills made 4-of-4 from beyond the arc. Atkinson and Oni had big nights and will be called upon once again.
Perhaps the key for Yale will be defending the perimeter itself. The Quakers made 10 of 20 3-pointers last week; five coming from reserve guard Caleb Wood. Forward A.J. Brodeur made 8-of-9 shots from the floor. Guard Ryan Betley is also dangerous.
Two years ago Yale broke a 54-year drought and qualified for the NCAA tournament. It was the final season under the old format that rewarded the Ivy regular season champ. Now, any one of the league’s top four teams can snatch the coveted spot.
“It’s a good thing we have the tournament,” Jones said. “We haven’t played our best the entire year but the fact that we’re playing our best now gives us a chance.”