The streak is over! The Yale Bulldogs are dancing for the first time since 1962, after winning the battle for the Ivy League crown. After coming within seconds of clinching a bid last season, the Bulldogs entered this season determined. It showed, as they coasted through the Ivy League slate, losing only once. With a tournament berth in hand, Yale will look to add to the history books and win the school's first NCAA tournament game.
ESPN Insider has your answers on whether the Bulldogs can achieve it, as Joe Lunardi has enlisted a team of Bracketologists to compile advanced metrics, key scouting intel and best- and worst-case tournament scenarios for all 68 teams to help you make smart picks in your bracket.
TOURNEY PROFILE
Best wins: Princeton, Columbia (twice)
Worst losses: none
Regular season conference finish: 1st, Ivy League
Polls and metrics: Throughout the season, the Bulldogs did not reach either of the national polls, but currently sit at No. 41 in the RPI.
All-time tourney record: 0-4 (3 appearances)
Coach's tourney record: James Jones (first NCAA tournament appearance)
Bracketology chart | BPI information
PERSONNEL
(Note: Player statistics are through games of March 6.)
STARTING LINEUP
F Justin Sears (15.8 PPG, 7.5 RPG)
F Brandon Sherrod (12.5 PPG, 7.1 RPG)
G Anthony Dallier (4.7 PPG, 3.1 RPG)
G Nick Victor (7.0 PPG, 7.3 RPG)
G Makai Mason (15.8 PPG, 3.7 APG)
Key Bench Players
F Sam Downey (5.6 PPG, 3.4 RPG)
G Khaliq Ghani (2.7 PPG, 1.6 RPG)
Biggest strength: The boys from Yale might have hit the glass harder than they hit the books. Yale ranks seventh in the nation in offensive rebounding percentage and eighth nationally in opponents' offensive rebounding percentage. The trio of Sears, Sherrod and Victor have dominated the boards, with each grabbing more than seven rebounds per game. That means more scoring opportunities for Yale and fewer for its foes.
Biggest weakness: For a team that plays as slowly and carefully as Yale, it turns the ball over far too often. In each of the Bulldogs' six losses, they've turned the ball over more than 13 times. Yale's 20.1 turnover percentage ranks among the bottom 60 in America.
Best player: Sears has been a beast inside for Yale this season. The 6-foot-8 senior has notched five double-doubles in 2015-16, and has been a menace for opposing bigs. Sears led the Ivy League in offensive rebounds, offensive rebounding rate and player efficiency rating. He was second in blocks per game and fifth in rebounds per game. He'll leave school as the all-time Ivy leader in free throw attempts, after drawing 6.3 fouls per game this season.
X factor: Sherrod was the perfect addition to a team that nearly won the league last season, and has been the difference this season. He missed the entire 2014-15 basketball season while traveling the world with the Whiffenpoofs, Yale's prestigious a cappella singing group. His return to the team has helped in many ways. Sherrod's free throw rate (80.4, ninth best in the nation) has been a constant and reliable source of points for Yale during the 2015-16 campaign.
SCOUTING REPORT
Offensive approach: Yale plays slowly and methodically on offense. The average Bulldog possession lasts 18.7 seconds, the 36th longest in Division I. Inside looks to Sears and Sherrod have been a major factor for the Bulldogs, opening up an inside-out attack. Mason and Victor are both very capable shooters, taking advantage when teams pack the lane to stop the bigs and protect the glass.
Defensive approach: The Bulldogs play man-to-man defense most of the time, with the key to their defense being their ownership of the glass. Yale grabs 76 percent of its opponents' misses, leaving them with one opportunity so many times down the floor. Sherrod and Sears patrol the paint, grabbing rebounds and each picking up more than one block per game.
How they beat you: The yin and yang of Yale's offensive approach will wear on teams. Sherrod and Sears were first and third, respectively, in the Ivy League in free throw attempts this season. Opponents are forced into foul trouble or need to double-team down on the block. When they do, Mason and Victor find open shots beyond the arc or can slash and dump to the big men for an easy finish.
How you beat them: Yale is comfortable playing at its own tempo. Speed the Bulldogs up and add a little pressure? Then, that pesky turnover problem rears its ugly head. If they don't have the time or aren't comfortable enough to settle into their offense and get post-touches, the Bulldogs' shot selection and scoring chances suffer greatly.
WHAT THE NUMBERS SAY
(Note: All statistics in this section are courtesy of kenpom.com and are accurate through games of March 6.)
NATIONAL RANKS
Offensive efficiency, 91st (108.0)
Defensive efficiency, 20th (95.0)
3-point percentage, 61st (37.1)
3-point percentage D, 43rd (31.8)
Free throw rate, 50th (42.1)
Free throw rate D, 101st (33.8)
TO percentage, 293rd (20.1)
TO percentage D, 175th (18.2)
Good stat: 39.2 percent offensive rebounding rate
Yale grabs almost four out of every 10 shots it misses, placing the Bulldogs among the nation's elite on the offensive boards. Sears spearheads this effort, with a 13.8 percent offensive rebounding rate of his own, 39th best in the nation. He grabbed 16 more offensive rebounds than any other Ivy Leaguer, with teammate Sherrod finishing second in the league. Sears and Sherrod finished as the top two in the Ivy League in both total offensive rebounds and offensive rebounding rate.
Bad stat: 10.0 percent offensive steal rate
On one-tenth of Yale's offensive possessions, opponents grab a steal. For Yale, that means not only a turnover, but a live ball turnover, likely leading to a transition scoring opportunity at the other end. In a conference that plays as slow as the Ivy (21st fastest of the 32 conferences) that won't hurt the Bulldogs as badly as it will against some of the run-and-gun teams in the tournament.
HOW FAR WILL THEY GO?
Best-case scenario: Yale grabs its first ever tournament win ... and its second.
This team is stocked with upperclassmen, starting three seniors and a junior. Along with every Yale alum in America, the Bulldogs have been waiting for this chance for years. If Yale can ride its elite rebounding and keep its offense efficient -- avoiding the kind of high pressure defense the team struggles against -- the Bulldogs could dance into the second weekend.
Worst-case scenario: Yale makes its first tournament appearance in years, but still can't pick up its first win.
Yale's schedule included quite a few tests, like road games at SMU, Duke and USC. But the Bulldogs lost all of those games, and the only tough road game in conference (at Princeton). For a team whose second-best win is Columbia or Lehigh, the NCAA tournament could prove too challenging and send Yale packing without that elusive first win.