Yeshiva Uni In Heights Has Nation's Longest Basketball Win Streak

WASHINGTON HEIGHTS, NY — There is no hotter team in the men's college basketball world than the Yeshiva Maccabees squad. The Washington Heights-based school has won a staggering 36 games in a row, the longest win streak in the entire country of any team competing within the top three levels.

The Maccabees' success is garnering much deserved national attention, with a Wednesday feature on CNN, and recent stories about the No. 3 ranked team in Division III basketball from the Daily News, Fox 5, ABC 7, and more.

Unfortunately, the Jewish university at 500 West 185th Street won't be able to compete for a national championship. Unlike Division I March Madness, the Division III basketball championship was called off for the second year in a row due to the pandemic.

"We know every time we step on that court we're representing the Jewish community, we're representing Jewish people," Ryan Turell, a junior All-American guard, told the Daily News. "And we want to lead by example. We want to show the world that Jews can play basketball, too."

The red-hot Yeshiva squad hasn't lost a game since November 2019, while already achieving the third-longest win streak in Division III history. The all-time record is 60 straight wins by SUNY Potsdam from 1985 to 1987.

The coaching staff is led by Yeshiva alum Elliot Steinmetz, but also boasts, somewhat unexpectedly, Assistant coach Michael Sweetney — who played college basketball for Georgetown before playing a year on the New York Knicks.

The Maccabees will have to wait until next season to continue their winning stream, but the Upper Manhattan school has already done its part in doing Washington Heights proud.