Over the last several seasons, Yale and Princeton have been leading the pack in the Ivy League.
Yale has represented the Ivy League in three of the last four NCAA Tournaments. The one year that Yale didn’t make it during this span was 2022-23 when Princeton was the Ivy League representative.
This season, Princeton was the Ivy League regular-season favorite, according to BetMGM, while Yale was second. In the early part of the Ivy League schedule, Yale has taken control, while Princeton is near the top.
These two will meet on Friday, with it being an almost must-win situation for Princeton if the Tigers have designs of winning the Ivy League regular-season title. Yale (11-6, 4-0) is the only unbeaten Ivy League team. Princeton (14-5, 3-1) and Cornell (11-6, 3-1) are right behind.
Cornell’s lone Ivy League loss came against Brown, while Princeton is coming off Saturday’s 85-76 home loss to Cornell. Princeton trailed by as many as 16 points early in the game but took a 37-36 halftime lead. In the second half, Cornell shot 15 for 22 (.681), including 6 of 11 (.545) from three-point range. The difference in the game was at the free throw line, where Cornell shot 28 for 34 (.824) while Princeton was 15 for 21 (.714).
Yale has won five in a row after Saturday’s 84-55 home victory over Harvard. Bez Mbeng, a 6-foot-4 senior, scored his 1,000th career point in the win. Not bad for the two-time Ivy League Defensive Player of the Year.
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Yale at Princeton Odds
Yale is a 2.5-point college basketball betting favorite on BetMGM against Princeton with the Over/Under 146.5.
The moneyline for Yale is -150 while it is +125 for Princeton.
Yale at Princeton On TV
The game between Yale and Princeton will be televised by ESPN2.
Tipoff is shortly after 5 p.m. ET.
Yale at Princeton Prediction
I like Princeton getting the points at home. The Tigers know that getting two games behind Yale, even at this juncture, will be difficult to make up, which suggests that Princeton will be playing with added urgency.
Yale is second in the Ivy in scoring (82.4 PPG), while Princeton is fifth (77.1). Both are strong defensively. Yale leads the Ivy in scoring defense, allowing 69.4 points per game, while Princeton is third (72.4).
Yale is first in both three-point percentage (.384) and three-point percentage defense (.327). Princeton is second in three-point percentage (.378) and fifth in three-point defense (.349).
The Bulldogs shoot .742 from the foul line, while Princeton stands at just .686.
Yale 6-foot-6 senior John Poulakidas is the Ivy League’s leading scorer, averaging 19.4 points. He is shooting .436 from three-point range, which is third in the league. The other double-figure scorers are 6-foot-7 junior Nick Townsend (14.5 PPG) and Mbeng (11.8). Casey Simmons, a 6-foot-6 junior, averages 9.1 points and leads the Ivy League in three-point field goal percentage. He has connected on 60 of 99 threes (.606).
Princeton’s leading scorer is 6-foot-4 junior Xaivian Lee (17.2 PPG) while 6-foot-7 junior Caden Pierce averages 12.7 points and is shooting .425 from deep. He is also third in the Ivy League in rebounding (7.4 per game).
In Ivy League contests, Yale is 2-0 on the road, while Princeton is 1-1 at home. Neither Yale nor Princeton has yet to beat an Ivy League team with a winning league record. That will all change this game.
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