No. 13 seed Yale pulled off the biggest upset of Friday's first-round NCAA Tournament action with a 78-76 takedown of No. 4 seed Auburn. The Bulldogs were 11.5-point underdogs entering the game, trailed by as many as 10 points with 7:16 to go and faced a six-point deficit with 4:07 to go before finishing on a 14-6 run to advance to the second round for the second time in school history.
John Poulakidas led the charge to the finish line with 28 points, 16 of which came in the second half. He hit three big 3s in the final 20 minutes and finished 6 of 9 from distance on the game. Danny Wolf and August Mahoney added 13 and 12 points, respectively.
Yale took the lead with 2:12 remaining in the second half off a Poulakidas 3-pointer and didn't relinquish it from there. Auburn had several looks at a game-tying or game-winning field goal in the closing seconds but failed to convert.
POULAKIDAS MASSIVE BUCKET 🪣#MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/Fl9Xxwoy75
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) March 22, 2024
The win marked the Bulldogs' second-ever NCAA Tournament victory and first since upsetting Baylor in 2016. They'll be seeking their first-ever Sweet 16 appearance when they meet No. 5 seed San Diego State on Sunday.
"I don't know if that's the best win in Yale basketball history," Bulldogs coach James Jones said. "But I will tell you that is the best basketball team we've beat in Yale basketball history as far as I'm concerned."
Yale earned the No. 2 seed in the Ivy League Tournament and benefited from chaos when No. 1 seed Princeton was upset by No. 4 seed Brown in the semifinals. The Bulldogs defeated No. 3 seed Cornell in the semis and stunned Brown with a go-ahead basket at the buzzer, 62-61.
