Yale Bulldogs
Ivy League (22-6, 13-1)
The big story is that Yale made their first NCAA Tournament since 1962. However, the Bulldogs and Coach James Jones are not just happy to be in the tournament, they want to make some noise. After going 13-1 in a pretty tough Ivy League, the Bulldogs are ready to keep on rolling.
Big Wins: 11/13 vs Fairfield (70-57), 1/30 Princeton (79-75), 3/5 at Columbia (71-55)
Bad Losses: 11/29 at Albany (54-88), 12/9 at Illinois (65-69), 12/13 at USC (56-68)
Coach: James Jones
Why They Can Surprise:
Yale relies heavily on senior forward Justin Sears and he has delivered throughout his entire collegiate career. Sears does it all and leads the team with 15.8 points, 7.5 rebounds and 1.8 blocks per game. But Sears is also a great passer and Yale is a very dangerous team when they remember to work through their big man. Sears does a lot of work on the glass, but the Bulldogs are one of the best rebounding teams in the country because of forward Brandon Sherrod and guard Nick Victor. Those two also average over seven rebounds per game. Like Sears, Sherrod is an experienced senior who can score in the paint consistently. Victor is not much of a scorer, but the 6-5 guard adds another dimension to the team in every other aspect of the game.
Why They Can Disappoint:
After the dismissal of Jack Montague in February, the Bulldogs back court was suddenly inexperienced and lacked depth. Makai Mason has been very productive as a sophomore running the show. On top of his 3.7 assists per game, Mason is averaging 15.8 points per game. The problem is Mason is really the only shooter left on the team. Anthony Dallier has stepped into the starting shooting guard spot, but he makes a much bigger impact on the defensive end of the floor. Dallier and Khaliq Ghani have to help out Mason in the backcourt and they have to knock down a few shots to at least keep the competition honest. The Bulldogs will continue to work through their talented frontcourts, but when the matchup is tougher for the frontcourt, Yale will need the backcourt to help reduce the pressure on Sears and company.
Probable Starters:
Makai Mason, Sophomore, Guard, 15.8 ppg, 3.7 apg
Anthony Dallier, Junior, Guard, 4.7 ppg, 1.2 apg, 3.1 rpg
Nick Victor, Senior, Guard, 7.0 ppg, 2.6 apg, 7.3 rpg, 1.3 bpg
Brandon Sherrod, Senior, Forward, 12.5 ppg, 7.1 rpg
Justin Sears, Senior, Forward, 15.8 ppg, 7.5 rpg, 2.8 apg, 1.8 bpg
Key Roleplayers:
Sam Downey, Junior, Forward, 5.6 ppg, 3.4 rpg
Khaliq Ghani, Senior, Guard, 2.8 ppg
By the Numbers:
Scoring Offense: 75.2 (128th in nation, 3rd in conference)
Scoring Defense: 63.1 (15, 1)
Field-Goal Percentage: 47.1 (37, 1)
Field-Goal Defense: 40.7 (49, 2)
Three-Point Field Goals Per Game: 6.5 (227, 7)
Three-Point Field-Goal Percentage: 37.4 (52, 4)
Free-Throw Percentage: 66.4 (295, 6)
Rebound Margin: 11.1 (2, 1)
Assists Per Game: 15.2 (65, 1)
Turnovers Per Game: 13.4 (237, 5)
Recent Postseason Appearances:
2014 CIT First Round win over Quinnipiac
2014 CIT Second Round win over Holy Cross
2014 CIT Quarterfinal win over Columbia
2014 CIT Semifinal win over VMI
2014 CIT Championship loss to Murray State
2012 CIT First Round loss to Fairfield
*all team stats through 3/6
