All games at 7 pm. Brown Even @ COLUMBIA (138.5); Dartmouth +6 @ PRINCETON (136); Harvard +1.5 @ PENN (138); Yale -6 @ CORNELL (141)
The Ivy Mix-and-Match Teaser went 6-2 last night (27-13 after 5 nights of round robins) and, of course, the game we got wrong was the team we know best - Penn. But Dartmouth was well-prepared defensively for everything Penn did on offense and if not for a career high 36 points from junior AJ Brodeur, the Big Green would have left the Palestra with a W. Tonight the slate of games is probably the toughest of the season as you’re adding in the Saturday night fatigue factor to four teams who went to overtime last night. Remember, when you mix-and-match you can’t tease the spread and the O/U in the same game.
Brown Even @ COLUMBIA (138.5) 7 pm. We start in manhattan with an impossible game to figure. Columbia is 6-15, 1-6, but lost by 1 at Cornell, by 2 in triple OT at Harvard, by 2 to Penn and by 6 to Yale after coming back from a double-digit deficit. The Lions one league win is a 3 point win over Cornell at home, where they are always tough. Brown (14-9, 2-5) was once 12-4 and has been stymied in league play and is coming off a 4-point OT loss last night at Cornell that is going to make their path to the 4-team Ivy Tournament very tough. There’s no way I would put actual money on this spread but for the sake of making a choice, I’ll say:
Pick: Brown +5 Over COLUMBIA and Under 143.5.
Dartmouth +6 @ PRINCETON (136) 7 pm. Dartmouth (11-12, 2-5) played a heckuva game last night against Penn while Princeton (12-8, 4-3) struggled down the stretch and lost to Harvard. This is now a big game for the Tigers who’ve lost three straight since un-suspending guard Devin Cannady (karma?) and the Big Green, who’ve lost four Ivy games by 5 points or less, may be due for some luck -- or another close loss.
Pick: Dartmouth +11 Over PRINCETON and Under 141.
Harvard +1.5 @ PENN (138) 7 pm. Another spread to avoid. Penn (15-8, 3-4) squeaked by Dartmouth last night in OT and in the process had five guys play over 35 minutes with the two starting guards (Antonio Woods, Devon Goodman) going 43 each. And tonight they have to stick with Bryce Aiken of Harvard (12-8, 5-2) who put up 33 last night at Princeton. That will be a challenge. Additionally, Penn’s AJ Brodeur shot a ridiculous 15-20 last night on 2-point FGs and tonight has to bang against Harvard’s Chris Lewis and Henry Welsh. Another challenge. Penn, however, has been gritty all season and they can sure play a lot less carelessly than they did last night -- but one or two players are going to have to step up offensively to take some of the heat off Brodeur.
Pick: Harvard +6.5 Over PENN and Under 143.
Yale -6 @ CORNELL (141), 7pm. Yale (16-4, 6-1) is playing for seeding, Cornell (13-10, a surprising 5-2) can go a long way toward clinching a spot in the 4-team Ivy Tournament with an upset win. Yale has too much size and athleticism for Cornell, but the athleticism is sometimes minimized by that 4-hour bus ride to Ithaca. On the other hand, the Big Red’s key players (Matt Morgan and Josh Warren) went for 41 minutes last night in the OT win over Brown. Yale shot the lights out last night at Columbia, and that’s unlikely to repeat, but we still think they’ll find a way to win. One factor that makes us nervous: Cornell hasn’t beaten Yale since 2013 and hasn’t beaten them at home since 2012 -- tonight may be the night.
Pick: Yale -1 Over Cornell and Under 146.
