Sports

Ivy League Buzzer Beater Sparks Fiery Debate As Yale Coach Takes Blame For Losing March Madness Bid

#College Basketball
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© Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images


The Penn basketball team is headed to the NCAA Tournament. The Quakers won the Ivy League Conference Tournament Championship in overtime over Yale.

The final moments of regulation provided drama. The last possession triggered a fiery debate surrounding coaching decisions.

Yale was the favorite to win the tournament and advance to the Big Dance. The Bulldogs were the one-seed. They won the league in the regular season.

Penn entered as the three-seed. They took down Harvard in the semifinal to reach the championship game. The Quakers booked their ticket to March Madness in dramatic fashion.

Penn basketball is going dancing.

In a highly contested finale, the Quakers emerged victorious. Yale led for much of the basketball game. The Bulldogs took a nine-point lead in the first half, but Penn went on a run after halftime to gain a slight advantage.

From there, it remained a one-to-two possession game.

Yale led by three points on the final possession of regulation. Penn tied it at the buzzer thanks to ACC transfer TJ Power.

They’d go onto win the game in overtime, 88-84. In doing so, the Quakers earned their first NCAA Tournament bid since 2018.

Yale basketball decision questioned.

There is a difference of opinion in late game strategy as it relates to fouling when up by three points. Sending a shooter to the free throw line ensures the opposing team cannot tie the game on the final possession.

Some coaches do it. Others don’t.

The Bulldogs chose not to. It cost them. Their head coach accepted blame.

“We had discussed about fouling to put them on the free throw line but decided not to do it,” said Yale coach James Jones. “I’ll take the hit for that.”

Penn coach Fran McCaffrey thought Yale would foul. They didn’t, allowing Power to send the game to overtime.

No strategy is perfect. There is a reason coaches are split on fouling in those late game situations. Some believe it’s best to play out the possession and force a difficult shot. They’d rather let it ride on one final prayer than risk losing on a missed free throw and offensive rebound.

Many, however, swear by the foul tactic.

Hindsight is always 20/20. In this case, the decision not to foul cost Yale a March Madness bid. They will now watch rival Penn play in the NCAA Tournament after having victory swiped from their hands.