PROVIDENCE, Rhode Island -- In the 2016 NCAA Tournament Round of 64, the No. 12 Yale Bulldogs upset the No. 5 Baylor Bears, 79-75. With the win at Dunkin' Donuts Center, Yale will advance to play the No. 4 Duke Blue Devils in the West Region.
The win over Baylor was huge for Yale. It was the first-ever NCAA Tournament win in program history and the first appearance in the Big Dance since the 1962 NCAA Tournament. The Bulldogs did it all without captain Jack Montague, who was expelled after a Yale University-Wide Committee determined on February 10, 2016 that the senior was culpable of sexual assault on the campus.
Late Game Madness
With 1:26 minutes left to play, Taurean Prince hit a three-pointer to cut Baylor's deficit to four points. Seconds later, Ishmail Wainright stole the ball and scored to put the Bears down by two points, 72-70, with 59 seconds to play in the game. After Makai Mason of Yale made back-to-back free throws, Prince was called for an offensive foul on Nick Victor, which gave the ball back to Baylor with 43 seconds left.
Justin Sears missed two free throws for Yale with 39 seconds left and Baylor went on and scored a layup to make it a 74-72 deficit against the Bulldogs. After Mason hit two free throws, Prince buried a triple to cut the Bears deficit to one point with nine seconds left.
One-of-two free throws were made by Victor, which put Yale ahead by two points. Lester Medford of Baylor ran down the court with seconds left, lost control as he tried to go behind the back and the rest was history.
Who Shined?
For the Bulldogs (23-6), Mason logged 31 points on 9-for-18 shooting from the field and 11-for-11 from the charity stripe, six rebounds and four assists in the victory.
Makai Mason #11 of the Yale Bulldogs shoots the ball as he is defended by Lester Medford #11 of the Baylor Bears and Ishmail Wainright #24 in the first half . (March 16, 2016 - Source: Jim Rogash/Getty Images North America)
Sears was second on the team with 18 points, four rebounds and three assists, while Brandon Sherrod chipped in 10 points and six rebounds.
Prince scored a team-high 28 points to go with four rebounds, three assists and one steal for the Bears (22-12). The senior forward went 12-for-24 from the field and 4-for-7 from the three-point line.
Taurean Prince #21 of the Baylor Bears drives against Nick Victor #21 of the Yale Bulldogs in the first half of their game during the first round of the 2016 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament. (March 16, 2016 - Source: Jim Rogash/Getty Images North America)
Sophomore forward Johnathan Motley added 15 points and seven rebounds, but did not record an assist in the action. Motley scored five of his 15 points from the free throw line.
Extra Stats
The Bulldogs won the rebounding game over the Bears, 36-32. Yale went 26-for-49 (53.1 percent) from the field, 5-for-16 (31.3 percent) from three-point range and 22-for-29 (75.9 percent) from the free throw line. Meanwhile, Baylor went 30-for-68 (44.1 percent) from the field, 6-for-16 (37.5 percent) from three-point range and 9-for-15 (60.0 percent) from the free throw line. The Bulldogs turned the ball over five more times than the Bears, but Baylor struggled to capitalize all game long.
Up Next
Yale will advance to play the No. 4 Duke Blue Devils in the West Region. Duke defeated the No. 13 North Carolina Wilmington Seahawks, 93-85.
"I think we might surprise some people," Mason said regarding the game against Duke.