Yale Pulls Off Massive Upset After Late Auburn Collapse

The Ivy League has struck again in the NCAA Tournament. On Friday, No. 13 seed Yale took down No. 4 seed Auburn 78-76 in a massive upset. The Bulldogs were able to pull off the comeback win after Auburn led by 10 points with 9:53 remaining. Bruce Pearl's squad suffered a big-time collapse down the stretch. 

John Poulakidas led the way for Yale with a career-high 28 points, and put the Ivy League tournament champs up for good on a three-pointer with 2:11 to go. It took less than eight minutes for Auburn to lose its 10-point lead. Still, the Tigers did have a final shot to tie things up. 

Tre Donaldson was fouled and had two free throws with six seconds remaining and Yale up 78-76. He missed both charity shots. After the second, a wild scramble ensued, during which Yale's Sam Aletan blocked a short shot by Jaylin Williams, and a final three-point heave from K.D. Johnson miss off the back of the rim as time expired. 

Auburn was one of the SEC's better teams all season but couldn't close out Yale, which finished tied for second in the Ivy League. The Tigers lost despite shooting 50.9 percent from the field and out-rebounding Yale 35-30. They got 24 points and 13 rebounds from Johni Broome but it wasn't enough. 

This is the second year an Ivy League team has won a game in the NCAA Tournament. Last year, No. 15 seed Princeton took down No. 2 seed Arizona 59-55 on the opening day of the event. It marks the first time since 1968 Ivy League teams have won NCAA Tournament games in consecutive seasons.

This Yale team is no stranger to comeback wins. The Bulldogs trailed Brown by six points with 27 seconds remaining in the Ivy League Tournament final and managed a furious rally to win at the buzzer. 

Yale will now move on to face San Diego State, the defending national runners-up. 

Ryan Phillips is a senior writer at The Big Lead