YU loses in Sweet 16, as Zevi Samet puts up 43 points in his last game with the Maccabees
Coach Elliot Steinmetz said he was proud his players were ‘upset that they lost as opposed to just happy that they were here.’
Members of the Yeshiva University Maccabees huddle during their Sweet 16 game against Emory University, March 13, 2026, in Atlanta. Courtesy of MacsLive
(JTA) — The Yeshiva University Maccabees ended their NCAA championship run on Friday with a Sweet 16 loss to the Emory University Eagles.
The 101-80 loss to a higher-seeded team came amid the “electric atmosphere” that fans of the Orthodox flagship had promised, with star Zevi Samet putting up 43 points in his last game with the Maccabees and fans from near and far outnumbering the home crowd in Atlanta.
Videos posted by Maccabees Live showed Y.U. fans cheering Samet, the team’s all-time top scorer and the holder of the record for most points scored in a single game, with 52.
Yeshiva fans thanking Zevi Samet for 4 amazing years pic.twitter.com/PyRoEMknM7
— MacsLive (@MacsLive) March 13, 2026
In a postgame press conference, Samet was asked about his greatest accomplishment during his four years at Y.U.
“I think that’s an easy question,” he answered. “Getting to spend Shabbat together, Shabbos with all the guys, getting to spend minyan together every day after practice … The basketball part is fun, but at the end of the day, we’re here in this world for a bigger purpose. And I think friendship is one of the most powerful things. And fact that I’ve been able to build awesome friendships is probably my biggest accomplishment.”
Coach Elliot Steinmetz, who has built the Y.U. program over more than a decade, said that even though several of the Maccabees’ strongest players were graduating, he anticipated more success ahead for his team.
Just because it was the first time the Maccabees were playing in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Division III tournament (after having a game canceled by the pandemic in 2020), he said, doesn’t mean the team is resting on its laurels.
“I’m probably proud of the fact that these guys are sitting here upset that they lost as opposed to just happy that they were here,” Steinmetz said.
