YALE AT PENN, PRINCETON

Friday vs. Penn,
Where: The Palestra, Philadelphia
When: 7 p.m.
Video: pennathletics.com

Saturday at Princeton
Where: Jadwin Gym, Princeton, N.J.
When: 6 p.m.
Video: goprincetontigers.com

Records: Yale (7-14, 1-3 Ivy), Penn (4-16, 1-2), Princeton (10-7, 3-0)

What to look for

Scouting Penn: The Quakers are coming off a split with Columbia and Cornell
last weekend. Miles Cartwright scored Penn's last eight points in a hard-fought 62-58 victory over Columbia. The next night, Cornell rallied from a 10-point second-half deficit to edge the Quakers 71-69. Fran Dougherty (13.8 ppg.) and Cartwright (13.7 ppg.) lead the team in scoring. Dougherty also averages 8.1 rebounds, while Cartwright has a team-best 66 assists. Jerome Allen is in his fourth year as the head coach of the Quakers.

Scouting Princeton: The Tigers, who host Brown on Friday, have won five straight games overall and have a 20-game winning streak in Ivy League games at Jadwin Gym. Ian Hummer
is second in the league in scoring (15.9 ppg.) and fourth in rebounding (6.7 rpg.). Hummer was named the Ivy League Player of the Week for the fi fth time this season after averaging 19.0 points in a sweep of Cornell and Columbia last week. Princeton (10-7, 3-0 Ivy) is No. 1 in the Ivy League and No. 14 in the nation (through Feb. 3) in scoring defense, now at 57.5 ppg. allowed. Mitch Henderson is in his second season as the head coach of the Tigers.

Scouting Yale: The lost a hard-fought game at Harvard last week and then were upset at Dartmouth dropping them to 1-3 in the league. Yale played both games without freshman star center Justin Sears due to an ankle injury. The Bulldogs appear to be getting healthy as both Brandon Sherrod and Jesse Pritchard have returned but only Sherrod played last week and in limited fashion. This is traditionally the toughest trip of the season for the Bulldogs but if they can't manage a split their Ivy League hopes appear to be in grave shape. After this weekend Yale plays four straight games at home.

- Bill Cloutier

PRINCETON, N.J. – The Quinnipiac University men's basketball team (18-13, 10-8 NEC) will make its third straight national postseason tournament appearance on Wednesday, March 14, 2012. The Bobcats have accepted a bid to the College Basketball Invitational (CBI) and will play Pennsylvania in the first round of the invite. The time has yet to be determined and will take place at historic Palestra in Philadelphia, Pa.

"I am thrilled to be playing in the 2012 CBI Tournament," said Head Coach Tom Moore. "This invitation marks the third straight year that Quinnipiac University will be participating in a national post-season tournament. This season may have posed our greatest challenge, considering we added nine newcomers to our program. I am very proud of how much we improved and matured during our 9-3 stretch to put us in position to receive a bid from the CBI."

QU attended its first national postseason tournament back in 2010 with a first round game against ACC member Virginia Tech. Last year, the Bobcats hosted Buffalo in the first round of the CIT, serving as the first national postseason game of the season.

The fifth annual CBI, presented by Zebra Pen, will consist of 16 teams vying for a national championship. Two of the eight First Round games will commence on Tuesday, March 13 with the remaining First Round games scheduled for Wednesday, March 14. The Quarterfinal Round will take place on Monday, March 19 with the Semifinal Round games taking place on Wednesday, March 21.

The CBI presents a unique feature with its best-of-three Championship Series, which begins on Monday, March 26. The second game will be on Wednesday, March 28, with a third game, if necessary, to be played on Friday, March 30.

In the end it was a rough night for the Yale men's basketball team.
The Bulldogs entered Friday night needing to sweep its weekend series with Princeton and Penn to have a chance at the Ivy League title.
It also needed Harvard to lose at Columbia and Penn to lose against Brown.
For a while, in the second half of all three games the scenario seemed possible. Yale was tied while Harvard and Penn were both losing.
But in the end it all fell apart. Yale's Greg Mangano had a tough shooting night and the Bulldogs fell at Princeton. Penn pulled away from a stubborn Brown team and Harvard won in overtime at Columbia.
While those results set up a frantic finish in the league, Yale won't be a part of the title race.
With four losses the Bulldogs were eliminated and on Saturday, Harvard will be rooting for Yale.
If Yale beats Penn and Harvard wins at Cornell, the Crimson will finally go back to the NCAA tournament. It's been over 50 years.
Here are some of the recaps. Harvard
Yale
Penn

Men’s basketball gamedays
YALE AT PRINCETON, PENN
Today at Jadwin Gymnasium, Princeton, N.J., 7 p.m.
Saturday at The Palestra, Philadelphia, 7 p.m.
Records: Yale (19-7, 9-3 Ivy); Princeton (16-11, 7-4); Penn (17-11, 9-2)
Video: goprincetontigers.com; pennathletics.com
Scouting Yale: The final weekend of the season is full of possibilities for the Bulldogs. Yale could actually win the title outright if all things go its way. Yale trails Harvard by a game in the Ivy League. If the Bulldogs sweep the weekend series and Harvard loses its last two games (at Columbia and Cornell) Yale would win the league and become the first school in the nation to earn an NCAA berth. While all four results will be considered upsets the fact that the Bulldogs are still alive is testament to how well they’ve played this season. Yale finished the season 11-1 at home and is currently 8-6 on the road. The Bulldogs are trying for their first 20-win season since 2002.
Scouting Princeton: The Tigers are 37-6 all-time against the Bulldogs at Jadwin. Princeton is still mathematically alive in the Ivy League race helped by their win over league-leading Harvard earlier in the season. Yale beat Princeton 58-54 at New Haven this season. Ian Hummer led the Tigers with 18 points in the game. Yale hasn’t swept the season series against the Tigers since 2008.
Scouting Penn: The Quakers ended Harvard’s 28-game home streak on Saturday to move to within a half-game of the Ivy League lead. Led by Zach Rosen, Penn has won fivestraight, four of which have come by three points or less. Rosen was named the Ivy League Player of the Week on Monday. He scored the Quakers' last 16 points in a win at Dartmouth and the last nine points in the victory over the Crimson.
Probable starters
Yale
Name, Ht, Year, Pos, PPg.
Jeremiah Kreisberg, 6-10, So., F, 7.7
Greg Mangano, 6-10, Sr, C, 18.5
Reggie Willhite, 6-4, Sr, F, 12.6
Austin Morgan, 5-10, Jr, G, 12.3
Michael Grace, 6-0, Jr.G, 5.5
Princeton

Name, Ht, Year, Pos, PPg.

Patrick Saunders, 6-8, Sr., F, 6.3
Ian Hummer, 6-7, Jr., F, 16.2
Brendan Connolly , 6-11, Jr.C, 5.3
T.J. Bray, 6-5, So., G, 7.2
Doug Davis, 5-11, Sr., G, 13.2

Off the bench: Yale: Brandon Sherrod, 6-6, Fr., F, 4.1, Jesse Pritchard, 6-5, So., G, 2.2. Princeton: Denton Koon, 6-8, Fr., F, 5.2, . Mack Darrow, 6-9, Jr., F, 6.8.
 Bill Cloutier

NEW HAVEN — A decade ago the Yale men’s basketball team entered its weekend series against Penn and Princeton with a 3-1 mark. The Bulldogs swept the pair of games and went on to share the Ivy League title.
They haven’t won a league crown since.

With the circumstances identical to begin this weekend, Yale scored the final 10 points to defeat Penn 60-53 in a crucial league contest in front of 2,012 at the Lee Amphitheater Friday night.
With the victory, Yale (14-5) improves to 4-1 in league play with another big contest against Princeton on tap tonight.
"This was a huge win," Yale center Greg Mangano said. "After the way we played last week there were a lot of people doubting us, but we know how good we can be. It’s good to have the opportunity to bounce back and prove ourselves."
A week ago Yale made loads of careless turnovers and was hammered by Harvard. While they didn’t clean things up much on Friday night, they won the game with heart.

"The mark of a good team is when you can overcome your mistakes and we were able to do that," Yale coach James Jones said. "There were plenty of them tonight, but we were still able to overcome the bad play with desire."
Mangano led all scorers with 23 points, including a huge 3-pointer that tied the game at 53 with 2:27 to play. Austin Morgan and Michael Grace each added 11 points for the Bulldogs.
Penn was paced by electric guard Zach Rosen, a two-time All-Ivy first-team selection, with 16 points. Rob Belcore added 11 points and six assists for Penn (11-10, 3-1).
The Quakers missed a lot of open shots. Rosen was 0-for-5 from 3-point range and high-scoring forward Tyler Bernardini, who scored 29 points in a game at UCLA earlier in the season, finished with six points on 2-of-13 shooting.
The game was close throughout. Yale broke open a 29-29 halftime score with the first eight points of the second half, but the lead evaporated quickly. Rosen then began to take over and a jumper in the lane gave the Quakers a 53-50 lead with 4:50 to play.
Penn never scored again.
"We wanted to make sure Penn won the game and we didn’t give it to them," Jones said. "We didn’t play well last week and we wanted to learn from that."
After Mangano’s 3, Reggie Willhite picked Rosen’s pocket with just over a minute to play. Willhite’s ensuing layup was blocked from behind but Morgan was there for the rebound. His shot was also blocked, but it was ruled goaltending and Yale took the lead for good.
The Bulldogs put the game away on the free-throw line, but it was an adventure. Brandon Sherrod made the first of a 1-and-1 situation, but missed the second. Mangano got the rebound and he was fouled.
Mangano missed his free throw, but out-raced everyone to the baseline to pull in the long rebound — his 10th of the game — and was fouled again. This time he put the game out of reach, making both free throws.
"I’m very disappointed," Penn coach Jerome Allen said. "Not so much because we lost, but we looked like we didn’t work that hard. I know what it’s going to take to win a title and we didn’t have it tonight."
The same can’t be said for the Bulldogs, who clearly out-worked Penn down the stretch.
"Everyone was singing our praises and saying this weekend was going to be easy for us," Allen said. "I still think we’re a better team and I’m really disappointed to come up short."
Allen said that Mangano made the difference.
"Every time he was open he made the shot, and every time we didn’t box out he got the rebound and scored."
Yale was 7-for-14 from 3-point range in the game. Penn shot 38 percent from the field. Willhite finished with eight rebounds, five assists and three steals.

By Bill Cloutier
Assistant Sports Editor
bcloutier@nhregister.com
NEW HAVEN --Taking a peripheral look at the Yale men’s basketball team one might think that the window is closing on its chances to win the Ivy League and earn an NCAA Tournament berth. With superstars like Greg Mangano and Reggie Willhite in their senior seasons it seems like it’s now or never.

Then you talk to freshman Brandon Sherrod and feel that things might even get better.
Sherrod and the Bulldogs (13-5, 3-1 Ivy) play host to Pennsylvania (11-9, 3-0) tonight at the Lee Amphitheater to kick off a crucial weekend of action in New Haven. On Saturday night Yale hosts Princeton (10-9, 1-2).
“I think our guys understand that our season is still ahead of us,” Yale coach James Jones said. “We still can accomplish everything that we want to accomplish. There was some embarrassment on Friday night (a 65-35 loss against Harvard) and there should have been but 18-year-old kids forget very easily.”
Sherrod is one of class of five promising freshmen Jones brought in last year. They’re all big and have just scratched the surface of their burgeoning talent. They include St. Louis center Will Childs-Klein and guard Javier Duren along with New York forward Matt Townsend and guard Armani Cotton.

“We call ourselves the Fab Five,” Sherrod said. “I’m blessed enough to be in that class. We could be very good in a couple of years.”
Sherrod stays after practice working with Townsend, a rugged 6-7 forward, on his perimeter game which he wants to add to his repertoire. He’s already a presence under the boards. At 6-foot-6, 230 pounds, Sherrod, an All-Stater for Stratford High who helped Choate win a prep school title last year, hunts down rebounds and has strong moves around the boards.
“The thing that strikes you most about Brandon is his athleticism,” Jones said. “He’ a big strong man for a 19-year-old kid. Then you meet him and he’s got a tremendous personality. He’s very well-spoken and has great faith.
“He’a a rabbit chasing the ball. He had eight rebounds in 10 minutes against Harvard and it’s amazing how he goes after the ball. Offensively he goes to his left very well and a lot of big guys struggle going to the opposite hand. There’s no question he can be a big scorer and he puts a lot of time into it.”
Penn provides a major test. Entering the contest undefeated in the Ivy League after cruising past rival Princeton on Monday, the Quakers are led by the high-scoring duo of Zach Rosen and Tyler Bernardini.
“Both teams have two exceptional players,” Jones said. “Zach Rosen is playing as good as anybody I’ve seen in the country. I don’t know that he’s had a bad game shooting the 3-pointer all season long. He made some shots from (near half-court) against Princeton and hit nothing but the bottom of the cup.”
Bernardini poured in 29 points earlier in the season in a game at UCLA.
“You can’t forget about Bernardini. He’s finally has his legs back after all the injuries that he’s had. He’s about 45 or 46. He graduated high school the same year that I did,” Jones quipped.
Sherrod knows the competition will be stiff but he’s ready for most any challenge. He even calls his plight as a kid from Bridgeport going to Yale amazing and he has seen the most action of the freshmen class averaging 3.6 points and 2.9 rebounds in 11 minutes a game.
“I think it’s a pretty good story, a kid from Bridgeport which is a pretty tough city coming to such a prestigious university,” Sherrod said. “To have my friends and family be able to come and see me develop as a player is even more special.
“Becoming a student at Yale was a wild adjustment as far as my time-management skills go because I’m so involved in a lot of things. I was singing a cappella with an all-Christian group called ‘Living Waters.’ I’m also a part of the Yale Faith in Action group.”
On the court Sherrod also continues to develop.
“I’ve learned a lot from Greg Mangano and (forward) Jeremiah Kreisberg,” he said. “I’ve worked hard and I’m happy how I’ve played so far. It’s nice to be the sixth or seventh man off the bench. I’m blessed with what I’ve been given. I like where I’m at right now. My role now is just to rebound and get after it, play defense and score when I need to in the paint. I’m here to provide a lot of energy for my team.”
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Yale's split against Harvard and Dartmouth certainly didn't seal its fate in the Ivy League but it made this weekend very important.
The Bulldogs welcome Penn into town on Friday night and then have to turn around and meet Princeton.
While Princeton also has the quick turnaround, playing Brown the previous night, it frankly isn't as difficult as getting ready to play Penn.
Brown is 1-3 in the league and actually is quite similar to Yale.
The difference between preparing for Penn and Princeton is night and day.
Chatted with Greg Mangano's dad the other day and he said his son is tired.
It certainly hasn't hindered his play but think about Mangano's grueling schedule in the past year.
Twice he went to China, the first time playing exhibitions with his teammates. Then he tried out for the World University Games and earned a spot on Team USA.
You know how hard he had to work to make that team.
Now he's the focal point of opposing defenses every night of the season at Yale.
After the season is over he'll get little time off as you can be sure he'll be headed to every NBA camp he can to get more exposure.