Brown was on the precipice of program history, having jostled back-and-forth with mighty Yale for 39 action-packed minutes. Unfortunately for the Bears, the final tick of the clock belonged to the Bulldogs.
Yale snatched its golden ticket to March Madness in style, vanquishing Brown via buzzer-beater to capture the 2024 Ivy League title — and a spot in the NCAA tournament.
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times for the Bulldogs (22-9), who for most of Sunday's clash appeared on the cusp of a shocking loss. The Bears were the hottest team in the conference, having picked up seven straight wins.
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They looked destined for an eighth, climbing out to a 61-60 lead over Yale with seconds left on the clock. The Bears were in the driver's seat when Malachi Ndur stepped to the free throw line with 11 seconds to go.
Ndur's first attempt struck iron. His second rattled out of the cup entirely. After the ball found Aaron Cooley's grasp, it was the Bulldogs who had a chance to conjure up some magic.
James Jones' side did just that. Bez Mbeng raced into the trees before delivering a dump-off pass to a wide-open Matt Knowling underneath the basket. All Knowling had to do was drop his effort into the bucket to send those in white-and-blue into raptures.
Brown misses BOTH free throws with a 1 point lead and it leads to a Yale buzzer beater!
— College Basketball Report (@CBKReport) March 17, 2024
Heartbreaking loss for Brown who hasn’t been in the tournament since 1986.
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It took Yale all of 30 seconds to rally from a seemingly insurmountable six-point Bears advantage. The Bulldogs sealed their conquest with a kiss, nabbing their seventh tournament appearance in the process. If that's any indication of what March Madness could bring this year, we're in for a treat over the next few weeks.
