Yale Bulldogs
Record: 22-6 (13-1 Ivy League)
Head coach: James Jones (17th season)
Season recap: A year after missing the tournament by just a two-point loss to Harvard, the Bulldogs are headed to the Big Dance for the first time since 1962. Their breakthrough season culminated in a 71-55 victory against Columbia to clinch their tournament berth, but was mired by controversy in February. Yale announced Feb. 24 that captain Jack Montague would not return to the team after withdrawing from school Feb. 10 amid campus rumors of sexual assault. Since Montague's dismissal, his Bulldog teammates sported t-shirts with the senior captain’s number and nickname on the back, angering their classmates and peers. The team has since apologized, but Jones will have his work cut out for him refocusing his players’ attention on tournament play.
For the first time in school history, Yale has a trio of first-team All-Ivy players in Brandon Sherrod, Makai Mason and Justin Sears—two-time Ivy League Player of the Year. Sears and Mason head the offense with 15.8 points per game apiece, and Sears leads the team in rebounds and blocks with 7.5 and 1.8 per game, respectively.
How they make a run: The Bulldogs and their all-conference players thrive in their underdog role and keep their historic season rolling with their first upset of the 2015-16 campaign, setting up a second-round rematch with Duke after the Blue Devils knocked off Yale at home during nonconference play.
How they falter: Off-court controversy remains the headline, and the Bulldogs are overwhelmed by a more-experienced Baylor squad which has earned a spot in the NCAA tournament six times in the past nine years.
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