Boston College head coach Steve Donahue has a history in the Ivy League.
Donahue was the head coach in the Ivy League at Cornell from 2000-2010, leading the Big Red to an overall record of 146-138. However, Donahue excelled in the Ivy League, guiding Cornell to a 78-62 record within the conference.
Now, Donahue will have a chance to build upon his success against the Ivy League when his Boston College Eagles host the Yale Bulldogs at Conte Forum on Thursday night (7 p.m. ET, WEEI).
Boston College leads the all-time series against Yale 8-2, and the first meeting was during the 1949-50 season.
The two teams last met on January 3, 2007, when the Eagles powered past the Bulldogs 72-56 at Conte Forum. Tyrese Rice and Sean Marshall each had 20 points in the win for Boston College.
The Eagles (1-0) opened up their season in style, defeating St. Francis (NY) 79-49 on Friday night at Conte Forum. Senior forward Joe Trapani scored a game-high 20 points for Boston College, which opened the game on an impressive 24-2 run.
Senior forward Corey Raji scored 17 points and grabbed nine rebounds and Reggie Jackson each scored 17 points and had 11 assists.
"I thought the overall effort was terrific," Donahue said after the game. "I thought we brought great energy throughout the 40 minutes. I thought our mental toughness was great. We did a lot of good things that, if we do it every game, I think we'll be very successful."
Yale (0-2) has not had similar success in the early going, losing two close games in a row. The Bulldogs dropped their season opener at Quinnipiac 84-75. The Bulldogs trailed 62-41 with 12:47 remaining in the game, but they fought back and cut the Bobcats' lead to six twice in the final minutes before ultimately falling short.
Greg Mangano scored a game-high 20 points for Yale. In the loss, the Bulldogs made 21-of-50 shots to shoot 42.0% from the field. Yale lost the battle of the boards, as Quinnipiac out-rebounded the Bulldogs 37-27.
In its second game, Yale lost a heartbreaker, 58-55, on the road against Providence. The Bulldogs trailed by one with 30 seconds remaining, but Porter Braswell (13 points) missed a three-pointer that would have given them the lead.
Providence's Marshon Brooks grabbed the rebound and was fouled by Austin Morgan (team-high 16 points), and he made both free throws to take a 58-55 lead.
The Bulldogs did have one last chance to extend the game, but Greg Mangano missed a three-pointer at the buzzer.
Yale was woeful as a team from the perimeter last season, shooting less than 30%, and it cost them dearly. The Bulldogs finished 12-19 and 6-8 in Ivy League play.
The biggest loss for Yale to overcome is that of Alex Zampier, who led the team in scoring and was third in scoring in the Ivy League.
However, 12-year head coach James Jones (142-168) thinks that senior big man Michael Sands can fill the void, via Rivals.com.
"He's a big strong kid who showed a lot of improvement after a good summer last year. We look for his leadership to grow. Hopefully, it started as soon as the season was over. I think he'll be the vocal, aggressive leader we need."-Coach James Jones, in the New Haven Register, on team captain Michael Sands.
Sands started every game last season for Yale and was an All-Ivy League honorable mention as a junior last season.
Entering Thursday's match up, Yale's probable starting lineup (via Rivals.com) is as follows: Greg Mangano (C), Michael Sands (PF), Reggie Willhite (SF), Austin Morgan (SP), Porter Braswell (PG).
For Boston College, the expected starters are the following: Cortney Dunn (C), Joe Trapani (PF), Corey Raji (SF), Reggie Jackson (SG), Biko Paris (PG).
The Eagles will be bolstered by the return of senior center Josh Southern, who missed the start of the season while recovering from minor surgery. Southern is not expected to start, but Donahue said that he will begin to work him in on Thursday.