Mike Kern's Friday night College Hoops Picks: Penn vs Brown, Princeton vs Yale, Akron vs Central Michigan, Buffalo vs Toledo
Hey, we hit both our teasers on Thursday, so let’s try to go after two more tonight. I’m not in love with either, but you have to have something to root for even on light nights, right? Just saying.
In the Ivy League, let’s take Penn laying 2 at home to Brown. Quakers have won five in a row. Brown has won four straight. But all of them were at home. The Bears are 1-6 in true road games, and most weren’t close. So I think the Quakes will figure out a way to get it done. Just not sure what they’ll do against the real spread. I’ll pair them with Yale getting 1.5 at Princeton. Princeton won all three meetings last season, but the Bulldogs might be best team in Ivies (they’re ranked 50th in Ken Pomeroy’s ratings). And they’re 7-4 on the road. It won’t be easy. But I’ll take a shot that they’ll at least have just enough to get the W.
And in the MAC, because the rules insist you have to have something going on in the MAC, I’ll take Akron getting 2.5 at Central Michigan. Both teams can score. Akron plays better D. CMU has lost its last two, and eight of the last 10 in this series. Zips have won four of their last six. Just a feeling that they’ll keep it going, even on road. And I’ll take Buffalo getting 7.5 at Toledo. Neither team is all that much to get excited about, but it sounds like too many points for Rockets to be laying. Again, don’t go nuts. Just something to whet your appetite, or something like that.