The Bulldogs enter this year following a surprisingly strong showing in the Ivy League last season, finishing second in conference play in 2008-09.
However, after losing last year’s two best players, Ross Morin and Travis Pinick, Yale will struggle to duplicate its prior success.
In fact, Yale has already struggled against Brown, the 2008-09 Ivy doormat. The Bulldogs lost a close game to the Bears over a week ago before defeating them in a rematch Friday.
Yale has so far managed a 6-11 non-conference record, not too different from last year’s 5-9 start.
However, the team endured a slump from the end of December into the beginning of 2010. The Bulldogs lost five straight road games before winning at home against local opponent Albertus Magnus.
One major problem with Yale’s team is its lack of depth. The Bulldogs rely heavily on one player, Alex Zampier, to carry the entire team. The senior, who was named All-Ivy Honorable Mention last season, averages 18.6 points per game — eight more than any other player — and logs the most minutes per game with 30.6.
Zampier also has many more field goal attempts than his teammates. The guard has taken 255 shots, nearly double the next highest total of 139.
Shooting has definitely been an issue, as the Bulldogs are only making 42.3 percent of their shots. Meanwhile, Yale’s opponents have been shooting 45.3 percent this season.
On the other hand, the team has faced no problems outrebounding its foes. While Penn is averaging only 31.8 percent per game, the Bulldogs are averaging 35.5.
Penn played Yale pretty closely last year, with the two teams splitting the season series. In a low-scoring game at Yale, the Quakers prevailed 68-63. But when the Bulldogs came to the Palestra, Yale won the game by a rather high score of 87-79.
Although Zampier has only one year left for the Bulldogs, the rest of the team is relatively young, as half of the team is comprised of underclassman.
And despite Yale’s struggles in the non-conference stretch and a loss to Brown earlier this month, the Bulldogs should expect to finish in the middle of the pack in the Ivy League.
The Bulldogs will host the Quakers on Friday night when Penn kicks off its Ivy season.
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