Yale stuns No. 4 seed Auburn in NCAA opener

The Yale men’s basketball team never flustered, overcoming a 10point second half deficit in the final 10 minutes to stun No. 4 seed Auburn and pull off a dramatic 7876 first round upset in the NCAA Tournament Friday at Spokane (Wash.) Veterans Memorial Arena.

“The guys had enough guts and stuck together enough to get us to a great victory,” Yale coach James Jones said. “I couldn’t be prouder of my guys. I know everybody says that but I actually really mean it. I couldn’t be prouder and I couldn’t love these guys more than I do now.”

Yale, the 13th seed and Ivy League tournament champion, advances to Sunday’s second round game against No. 5 seed San Diego State, a 69-65 winner over Alabama-Birmingham. A victory Sunday could set a up a potential Sweet 16 match up with No. 1 UConn.

Yale junior guard Yassine Gharram, a 60-percent free throw shooter who comes off the bench, made 1 of 2 free throws with 13 second left to put Yale up 78-74. Auburn’s KD Johnson then made a layup to pull Auburn within two with 9 seconds left, but Johnson missed the and-one free throw attempt. A scramble for the rebound led to a jump ball call, giving Auburn possession Auburn’s Tre Donaldson was fouled with six seconds remaining, but the 80percent free throw shooter missed both attempts. Auburn came up with the rebound, but a layup attempt was blocked by Yale’s Samson Aletan into the hands of Johnson, whose last second 3-pointer clanged off the back of the rim.

“I don’t know if that is the best win in Yale basketball history,” Jones said. “But I will tell you, that’s the best basketball team that we have beaten in Yale basketball history as far as I am concerned. Auburn (ranked 7th in the AP Top 25 poll) is one of the better teams in the country, I couldn’t believe they were a four seed in terms of what they have been able to do with their metrics.”

The Bulldogs (23-9) are making their fourth NCAA Tournament appearance under Jones, who arrived in New Haven in 1999. The Bulldogs have made seven NCAA Tournament appearances and are 2-7 overall, with a four-point win over Baylor in Providence during the 2016 tournament.

Yale junior guard John Poulakidas led the Bulldogs with a seasonhigh 28 points. Poulakidas’ 3pointer from just right of the top of the key put the Bulldogs up 73-72 with 2:11 left. Poulakidas’ baseline jumper pulled Yale within 70-66 with 3:39 left, forcing Auburn to call timeout.

“After I hit my first couple of shots, obviously the flood gates opened,” said Poulakidas, who connected on 10 of 15 shot attempts, including 6 of 9 from 3-point range. “But I am just so glad that we had this opportunity first and could capitalize on it today.”

The NCAA Tournament win is the second straight opening-round win for the Ivy League. Princeton, a No. 15 seed last year upset secondseeded Arizona and No. 7 seed Missouri to reach the Sweet 16 in 2023.

“We have a very undervalued league,” Poulakidas said. “Everybody saw what Princeton did last year and this year they had a tremendous season. Cornell almost went up to Ohio State and beat them. For us to come into the building today against a top 10 team in the country and preform how we did, I am very proud of everybody in our locker room.”

The Bulldogs, who have won 16 of their 19 games, played at thenNo. 2 Kansas and then-No. 11 Gonzaga prior to Iyy League play. Yale lead both teams by double-digits, but lost both games.

Senior guard August Mahoney added 14 points for Yale, none bigger than two free throws with 33 seconds left to put Yale up 77-74 with 33 seconds left.

“It is a dream come true,” Mahoney said. “Every basketball player grows up watching March Madness and you see Cinderella stories every year and you see underdogs win some big games. It is a dream come true when you come from a school like Yale to not only make (the tournament), but to win that game. As a senior this is my last chance, I don’t have a grad year. To do it with this locker room, with these guys that each and everyone I love so deeply, it hasn’t hit me yet, but I am sure when it is all said and done I will look back and be really proud. This is just really special and I am lost for words a little bit.”

Mahoney took an elbow to the chest area with 16:59 left in the first half that resulted in a flagrant 2 foul being called on Auburn’s Chad Baker-Mazara. The flagrant 2 carries a game ejection, so the Tigers were without their 6-7 junior guard the rest of the way. A flagrant 2 foul is described as “brutal, harsh or cruel or dangerous or punishing.” Baker-Mazara is Auburn’s third-leading scorer at 10.3 points per game and was also third in assists with 76.

Yale’s 7-foot sophomore center Danny Wolf, who quickly removed a mask he wore to protect his face, ended the game with 11 points and five rebounds. Wolf calmly sank two free throws with 45 seconds left to put Yale up 75-72 after doing the same with 2:33 left to tie the game at 70. Wolf fouled out on the ensuing defensive possession.

Former East Catholic star Matt Knowling had seven points. It was Knowling’s game-winner which helped Yale overcome a six-point deficit in the final 27 seconds of its Ivy League tournament championship win over Brown to earn its NCAA Tournament berth. Two free throws from Knowling pulled Yale within 70-68 with 2:53 left.

Auburn (27-8) was coming off an SEC tournament championship.

Johni Broome, Auburn’s powerful 6-foot-10, 240-pound junior All-America center and consensus third-team All American coming off an SEC Tournament MVP performance, led the Tigers with 24 points and 13 rebounds. Broome sank two free throws with 34 seconds left to pull Auburn within 7574. Auburn junior guard Denver Jones added 17 points.

A 10-0 run put Yale up 44-43 with just more than 16 minutes remaining, but Auburn responded with an 11-3 run of its own to take a 55-46 lead with 11:51 left. Auburn’s lead would grow to 61-51 with 9:53 left.

Auburn, which led 41-34 at halftime, had dominated in its wins this year, with 26 of 27 being by double figures. The Tigers pushed their size advantage, outscoring Yale 21-10 in the paint in the first half. The Bulldogs stayed close in the half with guard play, as Poulakidas (12 points) and Mahoney combined for 22 points, including making 4 of 7 3-point attempts.

Wolf, Yale’s leading scorer, was held to just two first half points. Wolf and Knowling were a combined 1 for 10 from the field in the first half

Yale’s 23 wins ties the modernday record set when the Bulldogs went 23-7 in the 2019-20 season. Prior to Jones’ arrival, Yale had not made an NCAA Tournament appearance since 1962, when it lost to a Wake Forest team led by future CBS color analyst Billy Packer.