Completed Event: Men's Basketball at Yale on January 30, 2026 , Loss , 68, to, 83
Final
Men's Basketball
at Yale
68
83
Men Shooting to End Slide at Brown and Yale
2/11/2010 2:02:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Complete Game Notes | Brown Video ($) | Yale Video ($) | Audio | Live Stats
Opponents: Brown, Yale
Date: Friday, Feb. 12; Saturday, Feb. 13
Arena: Pizzitola Sports Center, Lee Amphitheater
Location: Providence, R.I., New Haven, Conn.
Tip-off: 7 p.m.
Radio: Dartmouth Sports Network (WTSL FM 94.3 and AM 1400)
First Ivy Victory Proving Elusive
• Not only would a Big Green victory be their first in Ivy play this year, it would also be their 300th Ivy League triumph since the conference began play in 1954-55.
• Dartmouth nearly got that elusive Ivy victory last Friday against Penn, as Ronnie Dixon and David Rufful each scored 17 against the Quakers.
• In the final six seconds, the Big Green got four shots off before the buzzer, none of which would fall through the iron in the 53-51 loss.
• The next night, Dartmouth had the good fortune of leading Princeton at the half by two. But the Tigers roared back to hand the Green their first loss of the year after holding a lead at the break.
• Rufful found the zone from three-point range last weekend, connecting on 6-of-8 from downtown.
• Although this Ivy trip is the shortest weekend two-game swing for Dartmouth, it has proven to be difficult as the Green have lost at both Brown and Yale each of the last four seasons.
• Statistical goals for the Big Green should be to shoot at least 41 percent from the floor (4-0 when they do this year) and grab at least as many rebounds as their opponent (3-1 when they accomplish that feat).
Series vs. Brown (7-16, 1-5)
• The Big Green holds the lead in the all-time series against Brown at 75-64.
• The two squads split the two contests last year, each winning on their respective home court.
• At the Pizzitola Sports Center, Dartmouth has a respectable 9-11 record, but has dropped nine of the last 10, including the past four.
• Over the past five seasons, Dartmouth and the Bears have each won five times against each other.
• The first game between the two schools on the hardwood came on Feb. 1, 1902, with the Big Green winning handily, 70-14. They met again less than three weeks later, and Dartmouth came away with a victory once again, 39-20.
Scouting the Bears
• Since winning its first conference game of the year at Yale, Brown has lost five straight. The Bears did hang tough at Cornell last Saturday, trailing by four with less than eight minutes to play before the Big Red pulled away to win by 14.
• Every common opponent played thus far for Brown and Dartmouth has ended in the same fashion — a victory over St. Francis (N.Y.) and losses to Army, Quinnipiac, Penn, Princeton, Columbia and Cornell.
• Senior center Matt Mullery is the star of the team, averaging 15.3 points and 6.0 rebounds a game while shooting 55.3 percent from the floor. Mullery also surpassed 1,000 points in his career during the loss at Cornell.
• The Bears feature several three-point threats, most notably Matt Sullivan (33 threes) and Peter Sullivan (31) who both have been fairly accurate. Garrett Leffelman has hit 44.4 percent of his long-range bombs, but the most prolific outside shooters have been Adrian Williams and Tucker Halpern despite shooting less than 30 percent.
• Andrew McCarthy gives Brown another inside presence, as his 5.6 boards per game and 28 blocks attest.
• The Bears are one of the most polite teams in the country, ranking fourth in fewest fouls committed.
Series vs. Yale (9-14, 3-3)
• This is the 195th game played between Dartmouth and the Bulldogs, and Yale holds a slight 99-95 advantage.
• The Big Green are 27-48 all-time against Yale at Lee Amphitheater with their last win coming in 1999. Dartmouth also played an Ivy playoff game at this venue in 1959, beating Princeton, 69-68.
• Last year these two split with each other, winning on their respective home court. But the Bulldogs have won 15 of the last 18 meetings.
• Dartmouth played Yale in the Big Green's first varsity season, 1900-01, defeating the Elis, 22-15.
Scouting the Bulldogs
• Yale has been playing better of late, winning five of its last eight contests, including wins on the road at Brown and Columbia.
• While the Bulldogs do have nine victories, the best by RPI came last Saturday against the Lions, who have an RPI of 248.
• Alex Zampier led Yale with 18 points at Columbia, while Greg Mangano came off the bench to post a double-double (12 points, 10 rebounds).
• Yale is a solid free throw shooting squad, ranking 47th nationally at 72.8 percent. Alex Zampier leads the way at 88.0 percent, 19th in the country.
• Zampier is a do-everything kind of player for the Elis, ranking second in the league with 17.5 points and 2.3 steals per game.
• Three Bulldogs grab at least 5.5 boards a game — Michael Sands (5.8), Mangano (5.6) and Paul Nelson (5.5). Sands also pitches in 10.3 points on a nightly basis.
• Yale does not rely on the three-point shot much, save for Zampier with 41 triples. As a team, the Bulldogs shoot under 30 percent from downtown.
Tightening the Turnovers
Taking care of the basketball is a major point of emphasis, and the Big Green did their best at Columbia with a season-low seven turnovers. It was the fewest for the team in over a year (six at Harvard on Jan. 24, 2009). Earlier in the season, Dartmouth had just eight at New Hampshire, coughing the ball up just once in the first half. Over the last three games, the Green have given the ball away less than nine times on average. Dartmouth has the third best turnover margin in the Ivy League (+0.8).
Halftime Lead Fades Away
Through 19 games, the winner of a Dartmouth basketball game could be determined by the score at the half: a Big Green lead meant a Big Green victory; a Dartmouth deficit or deadlock denoted a defeat. That pattern came to an end against Princeton on Feb. 6 as the Green's 21-19 advantage at the break became a 54-38 loss.
Put Two Halves Together
Since the new year began, Dartmouth has generally been able to put together at least one good half in a game, earning at least a tie in one of the halves in all but two of the eight games. That was not more apparent than the home weekend against Penn and Princeton. Between the second half of the Penn game and first half of the Princeton game, Dartmouth allowed just 37 points combined, yet ended up losing both games due to poor complementary halves of those games.
Rare Scoring Leader
It has been 60 years since Dartmouth last had its leading scorer average less than 10 points a game. Unless something drastic happens over the final 10 games, Emil Hudak '50 will no longer have that distinction (9.96 ppg in 1949-50). Any one of Robby Pride, Ronnie Dixon and David Rufful would have to average about 15 points over the last eight games to avoid that fate.
Players Mentioned
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/ Men's Basketball
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/ Men's Lacrosse
G/F
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