Yale pulls upset in only part of society they can be considered underdogs

John Poulakidas scored a season-high 28 points to lead the No. 13 seed Bulldogs to the upset win. Auburn had chances to win or tie late, after they got a layup and a foul from K.D. Johnson down 78-74.

When Johnson missed the and-one, Johni Broome forced a jump ball, then corralled another offensive rebound after Tre Donaldson missed both of his own free throws.

The Tigers couldn't make their free throws, missing three of their last four freebies and their last four field goal attempts. In fact, after Poulakidas' three-pointer gave Yale the lead with 2:11 left, neither team made a shot from the floor until Johnson's late layup.

This is a classic Cinderella team. The problem with Yale being Cinderellas is that Cinderella was a servant; she didn't employ servants. Yale may not have players with the same athleticism as Auburn, but they have more powerful attributes: Generational wealth and nepotism. These players might not end up in the NBA, but there's an excellent chance they have connections at the NSA.

Yale is developing into a consistent March Madness participant, making the tournament in four of their last seven eligible seasons. (Yale was leading the Ivy League when the 2019-20 postseason was canceled, and the Ivy League didn't play basketball the next season.) Friday was their second NCAA Tournament win in school history, after knocking off Baylor in 2016.

Still, unlike in every other aspect of society, these Yale students are underdogs on the court. They battled back from being down ten points in the second half, a novel experience for Elis who should rarely have to come from behind again in life.

It helped that Auburn's Chad Baker-Mazara was controversially ejected three minutes into the game for a flagrant 2 foul. But just as the justice system in America favors the rich, so does college basketball officiating favor the elite schools.