Next stop March Madness: Penn men’s basketball upsets reigning champion Yale in Ivy Madness final

ITHACA, N.Y. — The Quakers are going dancing. 

No. 3 Penn men’s basketball stunned No. 1 Yale in an 88-84 overtime victory on Sunday to claim the Ivy League Tournament title and punch their first March Madness ticket since 2018. The Quakers (18-11, 9-5 Ivy) pulled off the upset in coach Fran McCaffery’s first season at the helm.

After beating Harvard (17-12, 10-4 Ivy) 62-60 in Saturday’s semifinal, Penn came into the Sunday contest a major underdog as defending back to back conference champions Yale (24-6, 11-3 Ivy) swept the regular season series and had not lost to the Quakers since 2023. 

In Saturday’s contest, Ivy tournament MVP and junior forward TJ Power was a monster for the Quakers — notching 44 points and 14 rebounds in his seventh double-double of the season. Power broke the record for most points scored in tournament history by a male player and tied the overall record with Harvard’s Harmoni Turner. 

The Quakers were without senior captain and guard/forward Ethan Roberts who is out due to a concussion. Roberts is expected to remain out for the rest of post-season play. 

In his first season at the helm, McCaffery has led the Quakers to one of their best seasons of late. Penn was projected to finish seventh in the 2025-26 preseason poll. 

In the final 30 seconds of regulation, only two points separated the Ivy League foes. Yale guard Trevor Mullin cut the silence with two free throws to extend Yale’s lead heading into the final seconds. When the title looked to be slipping out of Penn’s hands, Power notched back-to-back threes in the final seven seconds to send the game to overtime.

“I just hit one, so I was feeling good. I thought I was gonna catch, and they were gonna foul. They didn’t. They kept backing up, so I just kept pushing it down the floor,” Power said. “[Simmons] is a good shot blocker, so I put a little extra on it, a little extra arc, and it sunk through. But I think when it left my hand, I knew that if I could get one off, it was gonna go in.”

During extra time, Penn’s defensive efforts were crucial, forcing Yale to make difficult threes to stay in the game. A back-to-back three and layup from senior guard Cam Thrower, alongside crucial free throws from Power and senior guard/forward Michael Zanoni, helped the Quakers hold on for the title.

Here’s more on how the Quakers won the championship:

Power’s historic 40+ minutes

Starting from tipoff, it was Power’s show. After a three-minute Quaker scoring drought, he put up the first points on the board for Penn with a layup. Later in the first half, he put up a steal and a big three to claw Penn back to cut Yale’s lead by one. He then followed up with a response to Yale guard Casey Simmons’ three pointer on the following possession to keep Penn within one point with about seven minutes remaining in the half. 

And Power continued his tear until the final buzzer. He hit back-to-back triples — the second over the Ivy League Defensive Player of the Year — to send the game to overtime and was part of a crucial string of free throws in overtime to cement the Penn victory. Power ended the day a perfect 9-9 from the charity stripe after averaging 61.1% before Sunday. Outside of his historic 44 points while shooting 53% from the field, Power also racked up 14 rebounds, two assists, and a steal and a block.

Power, who transferred to Penn after stops at Duke and Virginia, had struggled in past seasons to break into the rotation. Now, he has etched his name in the conference history. And what brought him to his newfound home: McCaffery.

“I made the mistake twice of saying no to [McCaffery]. I didn’t want to make that the third time,” Power said. “But his style of play, what he’s done for me, it’s everything … That journey, man, it can beat you down, and I’m not really trying to live in that moment right now. I’m trying to live in this one. But I’m just so grateful for him taking a chance on me and letting me be myself.”

Power was one of two transfers that McCaffery recruited after being named Penn’s head coach less than one year ago. Now, at his alma mater, he has led the program to glory resembling his time with the program. McCaffery has now led five different programs to the NCAA tournament in his head coaching career.

“Not only coming home to my alma mater, coming home. I just feel blessed to have this opportunity, and I feel blessed that I had the group of guys that I had when I first met them,” McCaffery said. “From day one, they bought in. But the way that they love one another is something that is essentially the reason why we’re here.”

Effective defense down the stretch

The Quakers largely shut down Yale’s elite three-point shooting — holding the team that is second in the nation in three-point efficiency to just 37.5% shooting from beyond the arc. However, Yale kept themselves in the mix by being physical, but Penn ended the half with a 41-39 lead over the Bulldogs after outscoring them 25 to 14 in the final 8:41.

Penn’s defense remained a key to their success in the latter parts of the game. In overtime, the Red and Blue held the Bulldogs’ offense to just three of nine field goals and two of five from beyond the arc.

“We mixed in a little bit of zone there. Just to give them a different look. They got to run some different stuff. I think that was helpful,” McCaffery said regarding his team’s overtime defense. “They showed some grit. And when you’re coming down the stretch in a championship environment, you have to grit.” 

An unsung hero

After Saturday’s overtime win against Harvard, the Quakers were in a familiar spot, battling fatigue on the road to history. The hero of yesterday’s game —  sophomore guard AJ Levine who hit the game-winner in overtime — fouled out 70 seconds into extra time, which cut some momentum for the Quakers.

On Sunday, it was Thrower who made clutch plays in overtime to help the Quakers to a title. Thrower scored the first field goal of extra time, and seconds later, Thrower hit a tough lay-up to give the Quakers an 84-81 lead into the final minute of overtime.

Thrower ended the day as the only other Quaker in double digits with a career-high of 19 points while shooting four of six from beyond the arc.

In the college basketball world of transfer portal shake-ups — as seen by his teammate — Thrower is notably the only senior on the roster to have been with the program since his freshman year, as well as the only player to have experienced Penn’s appearance in 2023 Ivy Madness. 

“It feels amazing,” Thrower said of the win. “I appreciate [coach McCaffery] for trusting in me to make those types of plays … And for me, throughout the course of the year, it’s been about, ‘How can I help this team win,’ no matter in whatever capacity, and tonight, I was able to hit some shots, made some plays, and it paid off.”

As minutes turned to seconds in overtime, Yale fouls sent Penn to the line four times in the final 17 seconds. Zanoni’s free throws cemented the victory to send the Quakers dancing for the first time in eight seasons.

Penn’s seed in the NCAA tournament is set to be announced Sunday night during the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship Selection Show event.