Yale Wins 1st-Ever NCAA Tournament Game: Celebration Highlights and Reaction

The 12th-seeded Yale Bulldogs pulled off a stunner and captured the school's first-ever NCAA men's basketball tournament win Thursday afternoon with a 79-75 defeat of the fifth-seeded Baylor Bears at Dunkin' Donuts Center in Providence, Rhode Island:

Yale, which was making its first tournament appearance since 1962, earned the right to square off against the fourth-seeded Duke Blue Devils in the West Region after the Blue Devils outlasted the No. 13 seed UNC-Wilmington Seahawks, 93-85, in the day's first game:

Once the final buzzer sounded, the Bulldogs bench promptly went wild, as NCAA March Madness documented on Twitter:

Yale also had itself a raucous party in the locker room once the on-court celebration ceased: 

According to the Yale Daily News, teams from the Ivy League have now won five games over the past seven NCAA tournaments.

Baylor, on the other hand, hasn't been as fortunate, per ESPN Stats & Info: 

With another abbreviated tournament stint on their rap sheet, the Bears were promptly hit with the Internet's most infamous meme thanks to Twitter user J-Bone: 

And the Crying Jordan antics didn't stop there: 

Playing a de facto home game after making the quick trip from New Haven, Connecticut, Yale came out and shredded Baylor's zone defense in the first half with some sharpshooting before building a lead as big as 13 points with less than seven minutes to go in the second half. 

However, the Bulldogs hardly coasted down the stretch. Playing with a desperate streak, Baylor clawed back to within one point with 16 seconds remaining, as Taurean Prince led the charge with some ferocious dunks and clutch three-pointers. 

But with a chance to tie or take the lead following a missed Yale free throw, Baylor couldn't get a shot off, as Lester Medford committed a turnover and coughed the game up in the process. 

Yale shot 53.1 percent from the field and 31.3 percent from three-point range, as Makai Mason paced the Bulldogs with 31 points on 9-of-18 shooting from the field and a perfect 11-of-11 mark from the free-throw line.

And with a showdown against Duke looming, Mason and Yale figure to assume the role of lovable underdogs, as CBS Sports' Matt Norlander noted:

Based on Thursday's performances, Yale may have a shot at pulling off consecutive upsets and securing a spot in the Sweet 16 if it can replicate its defensive effort against Duke.

Yale held Baylor to 44.1 percent shooting from the field and outrebounded the Bears 36-32, which should give the Bulldogs a confidence boost against the Blue Devils.

So if Yale can control the pace and shoot efficiently against a defense that surrendered 85 points to the Colonial Athletic Association champions, Cinderella may wind up residing in the Ivy League.

Check out Bleacher Report's live updating bracket to track your picks along the road to the Final Four.