PROVIDENCE, R.I. – With the victory secure and his postgame obligations complete, James Jones burst into the Yale locker room to celebrate with his team. They greeted him with a collective scream, mobbed him in a giant embrace and saluted him by dumping cups of cold water on his bald head. They hugged and hollered and danced in a moment of genuine joy.
What does the first time feel like? No. 12 seed Yale’s 79–75 win over No. 5 Baylor was the first NCAA tournament victory in school history. It’s not easy to make history at an elite institution that has produced five presidents in 315 years in existence.