Bulldogs topple national champion UConn 45–44

With a 7–2 record, the Yale men’s basketball team looked promising on Friday afternoon. By the end of the night, they looked like something else entirely after they stunned UConn, the defending national champion, on its own turf at Gampel Pavilion in Storrs. A three-point shot by guard Jack Montague ’16 with 1.7 seconds on the clock won the game for the Bulldogs 45–44.

“I thought our team was ready to do this,” said coach James Jones after the game. “We were ready for a signature win. When our players are old timers and have dementia, they will still remember this.”

To put it in perspective, perennial national power UConn had beaten Yale in every one of their last 13 meetings; the Bulldogs last won in 1986, well before any of the current Bulldogs were born. Another fun fact tweeted by ESPN sports business reporter Darren Rovell Friday night: “Last year, Yale spent $836K to run its basketball program, UConn spent $8.3 million.”

The win got the attention of ESPN’s SportsCenter, which made Montague’s winning shot the number-one play of the day.

The Bulldogs take on another major-conference opponent tonight in Gainesville, Florida: the Florida Gators, who were ranked 24th in the nation until losing to Kansas on Friday. Tipoff is at 7 pm.

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The Yale Alumni Magazine is published by Yale Alumni Publications Inc., an alumni-based nonprofit that is not run by Yale University. Its content does not necessarily reflect the views of the university administration.