The final score read Emory 101, Yeshiva 80, but that number doesn’t quite capture the fight the Maccabees brought to Atlanta in the sweet 16 on Friday afternoon. Facing the second-ranked team in Division III on its home floor, YU took an early punch, battled back behind a sensational 43-point performance from Zevi Samet and 20 more from Yoav Oselka, and for a stretch in the second half had the Eagles looking uncomfortable. Ultimately, Emory’s depth, transition attack, and dom

For years, the Sweet 16 was something Yeshiva basketball could only imagine. In 2020, the Macs earned their spot there. They dominated the first two rounds and were ready to take the next step. And then the world stopped. The tournament was cancelled. The moment disappeared before it ever arrived. Now, six years later, the Macs finally get to play the game. Here we are. For the first time in program history, YU are actually stepping onto a Sweet 16 floor. And the road to get

Last week, I wrote about enjoying the journey. About soaking in the season while it lasts and appreciating the growth of a group of seniors on their “one last ride.” About a team that had already accomplished something special before the NCAA Tournament even tipped off. But something changed this weekend. At some point during a magical season, the ride stops feeling like a surprise and becomes destiny. That’s what Montclair State felt like. The NCAA called it a neutral site.

After surviving a Round of 64 nail-biter against Bates on Friday afternoon followed by a relaxing Shabbat, the Yeshiva University Maccabees returned to the floor Saturday night and delivered something very different. Behind balanced scoring, relentless rebounding, and a roaring pro-Macs crowd that made the gym feel anything but neutral, YU overwhelmed the University of Maine-Farmington Beavers 92-69 at Panzer Athletic Gymnasium to punch its ticket to the Sweet 16 for the sec

March Madness doesn’t slow down for anyone. After surviving a thriller against Bates, the Yeshiva University Maccabees now head back to Montclair State and face the Maine-Farmington Beavers. Both teams arrive in the Round of 32 riding massive upsets. YU knocked off Bates 71–69 in a dramatic finish powered by Zevi Samet’s scoring explosion and Max Zakheim’s clutch free throws with 0.2 seconds left. Meanwhile, Maine–Farmington stunned host Montclair State Red Hawks men's basket

Behind a dazzling 21-point first-half explosion from Skyline Player of the Year Zevi Samet, clutch free throws from Max Zakheim with 0.2 seconds remaining, and a relentless effort from a team that refused to blink when the pressure peaked, Yeshiva stunned Bates 71–69 Friday afternoon in the NCAA Tournament First Round. For the Macs, the win is historic. It marks just the third NCAA Tournament victory in program history and the first since the magical 2020 run to the Sweet 16.

For months, this is the moment the Yeshiva Maccabees have been building toward. The long bus rides. The brutal non-conference schedule. The painful early losses. The early mornings in the Max Stern Athletic Center, trying to figure out what this team was going to become. It all leads here. Friday at 1:00 PM, inside the intimate gym at Montclair State University, the Yeshiva Maccabees will take the floor against the Bates Bobcats in one of the most intriguing matchups of the o

I went back this week and reread my season preview . At the time, it felt like a hopeful exordium. I called this the Macs seniors’ “one last ride.” A core that miraculously won the Skyline last year. A group dancing into their final season together. A team that had already etched its name into the program’s ledger with an indelible inscription. Guess what? They did it again — and this time it wasn’t magic. It was mastery. They went 19–0 in Skyline play. Undefeated. Back-to-b

Friday, the doors open at Montclair State University — and for the back-back Skyline Conference championed Yeshiva Maccabees, it's round one of the NCAA DIII Tournament, with an opportunity for validation. After running through the Skyline at 19–0 and finishing the year ranked #45 in NPI with a 20-8 overall record, the senior group has earned the opportunity to win the program’s first March Madness tilt since 2020. Yet in their way are the formidable Bates College Bobcats ou

In a rivalry measured by banners and heartbreak, by runs answered with runs and moments that echo for years, Sunday afternoon delivered exactly what it promised. YU perfection was on the line. Nineteen conference games. Eighteen wins already secured. One final hurdle standing in the way — Farmingdale State, again. Before a delirious crowd at the Max Stern Athletic Center, which sold out in three minutes, Yeshiva University defeated the Rams 79–72 to capture its second straigh

So…round three? Ah, Farmingdale,  we meet again! First Sunday of March. Same circumstances: Winner takes all. Behind closed doors? We probably rooted for each other to get here. Why? Because what is a championship without the only other team that understands the weight of it?  Last year, we walked into your building and ended a reign. Back-to-back champs, no more. The torch wasn’t passed—it was taken by a miraculous comeback capped by a Zevi Samet three-pointer around the h

For eight minutes Friday afternoon, it appeared the Purchase Panthers would shock the D3 Hoops world, and the power of an upset had purchased the Macs' perfect Skyline season. Then the YU seniors on their final ride decided the ride wasn’t ending here. The top-seeded and conference-undefeated 18-0 Yeshiva Maccabees weathered an early 12–0 Panthers surge before detonating a 25–7 second-half surge, pulling away for an 86–71 victory at the Max Stern Athletic Center to advance to

The Macs sent one group of Panthers packing; now it’s time for an encore in the Skyline Semifinals. Win, and You’re Playing for a Banner. This is the third meeting between the clubs, but it’s the only one that matters. Purchase is playing its best basketball of the season. They’re confident. They’re physical. And they’re letting it fly — nearly 50% of their shots come from three. Purchase mainly plays a man-man defense. This is going to be forty minutes of force. YU has beat

We spent all week talking about the moment. Sixteen–zero. Reigning champs. A senior class that reshaped the trajectory of YU basketball. Adar in the air. Playoff lights at the Max Stern Athletic Center. And for about seven minutes, it looked like we might get the “feel-it-out” game we warned against. 12–12. Four ties. Old Westbury loose. Confident. Playing like a team with nothing to lose. Then the #1 seed decided to act like it. YU ripped off a run, pushed it to 24–13, and n

Tonight, the doors of Yeshiva University swing open, and it won’t feel like just another game. It’s playoff time. The Yeshiva Maccabees are 16–0 in Skyline play. Undefeated. Reigning champs. The #1 seed for just the second time in program history. Across from them stand the Old Westbury Panthers, back in the postseason for the first time in six years. Yet tonight isn’t about them. It’s about a Macs group that walked onto campus together and quietly changed the trajectory of t

Perfect Isn’t Loud. It’s Ruthless. This one wasn’t about the standings. The #1 seed was already locked. Hosting rights already secured. Mount Saint Mary came in 0–14 in conference. On paper, it felt procedural, and it was. And after a sluggish first half, the Macs reminded everyone exactly who they are. Yeshiva closed the regular season the right way — a 73–60 win in Newburgh — finishing a flawless 16–0 in Skyline play. Perfection. Wire to wire. Mount Saint Mary punched first

This one isn’t about the standings. The Yeshiva Macs head into the regular-season finale at 15-0 in Skyline play, already locked into the #1 seed and hosting rights throughout the conference tournament. Across from them? Mount Saint Mary — still searching for its first conference win at 0–14. On paper, this feels straightforward. Yet the regular-season finale is never about paper. It’s about tone. The Macs don’t need Zevi Samet grinding 38 high-stress minutes. They don’t need

We’ve been saying it in these spaces for months now: “One last ride.” Not as a slogan. Not as fluff. As a feeling. As a recognition that this core —that has grown together, bled together, carried the program together, and played its final regular season minutes at the Max Stern Athletic Center. Yet Saturday night wasn’t just a tilt but a clincher, a celebration, and a pre-playoff test. And the Macs passed all three. Yeshiva defeated Sarah Lawrence 81–74 in a heavyweight Skyli

The Yeshiva University Maccabees enters 14–0 and on aneight game heater in Skyline play. The Sarah Lawrence Gryphons aren’t some afterthought. They’re 11–2, battle-tested, disciplined, and very capable of turning this into another 72–64 grinder which was the car when the Macs bested them back in January. If YU wins, they clinch the division and lock up a top-two seed in the Skyline playoffs. This isn’t just a Senior night. This is positioning night. They Know What This Fee

If the preview was about habits, this was about proof. After flirting with disaster the last time these two met, the Yeshiva Macs made sure there would be no fourth-quarter suspense, no late free-throw exhale, no “why is this a two-point game?” anxiety. Instead? A statement. Playing in their penultimate home game of the regular season, the Macs dismantled Mount Saint Vincent 107–71 on Tuesday night at the Max Stern Athletic Center — moving to 14–0 in Skyline play and looking