Yale is the lone unbeaten team in Ivy League play, and the Bulldogs take a nine-game winning streak into Saturday’s home game against Princeton.
After escaping with Friday’s 72-71 home win over Penn, Yale improved to 15-6, 8-0.
Isaac Celiscar, a 6-foot-6 freshman, scored the game-winning layup with eight seconds left and then secured the victory on a steal with four seconds remaining.
Yale was able to overcome a rough three-point shooting night. The Bulldogs were just 3 of 16 (.188). Penn was 11 for 30 (.367). Penn attempted just five foul shots (making four) while Yale was 9 for 14. The key stat of the game was that Yale committed just three turnovers while forcing 12 against a Penn team that dropped to 6-15, 2-6.
Princeton (16-7, 5-3) saw its two-game winning streak snapped during Friday’s 70-56 loss at Brown (11-10, 3-5). Dalen Davis, a 6-foot sophomore, led Princeton with 15 points, while 6-foot-4 junior Xaivian Lee scored 11 points. Caden Pierce, a 6-foot-7 junior and reigning Ivy League Player of the Year, scored nine points, giving him 1,007 for his career. He became the 39th 1,000-point scorer in school history.
Princeton shot just 7 for 32 from three-point range (.219), but Brown wasn’t must better (5 for 21, .238). The difference was at the foul line, where Princeton was 5 of 10 (.500) while Brown was 15 for 21 (.714).
With the 8-0 Ivy League record, Yale holds a comfortable three-game lead over Princeton, Cornell, and Dartmouth, who are all 5-3.
Princeton at Yale Odds
Yale is a 7.5-point college basketball betting favorite on BetMGM with the Over/Under at 146.5 points.
The moneyline for Yale is -375 while it is +290 for Princeton.
Princeton at Yale on TV
The game between Princeton and Yale will be televised on ESPNU.
Tipoff is shortly after 8 p.m. ET.
Princeton at Yale Prediction
I like Yale laying the points.
Friday’s win over Penn snapped a string of four consecutive games that Yale has covered, according to teamrankings.com.
Still, Princeton has been inconsistent this season.
This will be the second meeting between Princeton and Yale. On Jan. 31, Yale won 77-70 at Princeton. The difference in that game was Yale’s marksmanship. The Bulldogs shot 31 for 54 from the field (.574) including 9 of 16 from three-point range (.563). Conversely, Princeton shot 24 for 69 from the field (.348), including 14 for 42 (.333) from three-point range. In points in the paint, Yale outscored Princeton, 40-18.
Leading the way for Yale was 6-foot-6 senior John Poulakidas, who scored 23 points. He currently leads the Ivy League with a 19.9 PPG scoring average. Nick Townsend, a 6-foot-7 junior, added 14 points. He is seventh in the league in scoring (15.2 PPG).
Princeton was paced by 6-foot-2 freshman Jack Stanton, who scored 17 points. Princeton’s Lee was held to just two points. For the season he is averaging a team-high 16 points. In last week’s 61-59 win over Penn, Lee went over 1,000 career points.
Yale is second in the Ivy League in scoring, averaging 83.0 points, and first in scoring defense, allowing 70 PPG. Princeton averages 74.8 points and allows 70.9. Yale leads the Ivy League in three-point percentage (.394), and the Bulldogs are second in defending the three, holding teams to a .334 percentage.
Princeton shoots .364 from deep and allows teams to shoot .347.
A big difference between the two is at the foul line, where Yale shoots. .740 and Princeton .695.
Yale’s three-point and free-throw shooting should be the difference.
