Ivy League Rundown
The Ivy League was ahead of the curve when it canceled the league tournament at the beginning of the global pandemic and other conferences quickly followed their lead. It was a different story when the Ivy League pulled the plug on the entire 2020-21 season. It resulted in many of the league’s best players choosing to play their final collegiate seasons elsewhere. Yale’s Paul Atkinson headed to Notre Dame and Cornell’s Jimmy Boeheim joined his brother Buddy in playing for their dad at Syracuse.
There are still scheduling issues within the Ivy League. A recent Yale-Columbia game was postponed and it was announced that it will be played on January 25.
Not all the stars left. Penn’s Jordan Dingle, Yale’s Azar Swain, Princeton’s Jaelin Llewellyn, Brown’s Tamenang Choh as well as the Harvard duo of Noah Kirkwood and Chris Ledlum are among the top scorers in the early part of the season.
Here’s a look at the top games to watch with some information for those who bet online.
Cornell Big Red at Penn Quakers
Date, time, TV: Friday, January, 7, 7 p.m. ET, ESPN+
A matchup of the only Ivy League teams currently 1-0 in the conference. It could be a high-scoring affair since four of the last five games between the teams have gone over the total.
Penn (10-3) has won 14 of the last 15 games. The Quakers have won the last seven meetings at home against Cornell including 5-2 against the spread.
The Big Red have covered against the Las Vegas odds in 11 of their last 12 games against Division I competition.
Penn’s win over Brown in its Ivy League opener snapped a six-game losing streak. George Smith and Jordan Dingle combined for 43 of the Quakers’ 77 points in the victory.
Cornell (9-3, 1-0) has six games with at least 23 assists.
Columbia Lions at Princeton Tigers
Date, time, TV: Friday, January, 7, 7 p.m. ET, ESPN+
Princeton won 12 of the last 13 meetings in the series with Columbia. The Lions’ last win at Princeton came in 2014. The Tigers covered in each of the last four meetings.
Columbia (3-9) has lost six of its last seven games. The Lions were favored in just one of those contests.
Nine of Princeton’s last 10 games against Division I foes went over the total set by the college basketball spreads.
Geronimo Rubio De La Rosa, who leads Columbia with 42 assists, is one of two players for the Lions who average at least 10 minutes per game who has more assists than turnovers for the Tigers (10-3).
After being held to two points in the season opener, Princeton’s top scorer Jaelin Llewellyn has scored in double digits in every game. He has at least 20 points in three of his last six contests.
Brown Bears at Harvard Crimson
Date, time, TV: Friday, January, 7, 7 p.m. ET, ESPN+
Brown (8-8, 0-1) has won the last three games against Harvard and covered in each of the victories after the Crimson won the previous 19 meetings.
The last four games in the series at Harvard went under the total set by the college basketball spreads. However, Brown’s last seven games have gone over the total although the Bears are just 3-4 in those contests.
Harvard (8-4) has failed to cover in four of its last five games.
Freshman Kino Lilly has scored in double figures in each of the last five games for Brown. He leads the Bears in scoring (12.7 points per game), three-pointers, assists and steals.
Noah Kirkwood is averaging 15 points, nine rebounds, three assists, 3.3 steals and one block in the last three games for Harvard.
Cornell Big Red at Princeton Tigers
Date, time, TV: Saturday, January, 8, 6:00 p.m. ET, ESPN+
Cornell won the previous two meetings including an 85-82 win when listed by the college basketball odds as 12-point underdogs in the most recent meeting on March 7, 2020.
Princeton had won 11 of the last 12 contests with Cornell before dropping the last two.
Three of the last four games between Cornell and Princeton have gone under the total while seven of Cornell’s last eight games have gone over the total
Princeton, winners of five games in a row, has made at least 10 three-pointers in 11 games of 13 games this season including the last four.
Cornell’s only double-digit scorer Jordan Jones has missed three games including the Ivy League opener against Dartmouth.
Columbia Lions at Penn Quakers
Date, time, TV: Saturday, January 8, 6 p.m. ET, ESPN+
The last four games between the Lions and Quakers went over the total.
Penn has won six of the last eight games in the series but is only 4-4 against the spread during that span.
Ike Nweke, who leads Columbia in scoring, has been limited to three games and last played on December 13 against Sacred Heart.
Penn played just three of its first 14 games at home including the win over Brown in the conference opener.
Brown Bears at Dartmouth Big Green
Date, time, TV: Saturday, January 8, 7 p.m. ET, ESPN+
Brown has won the last four games against Dartmouth with three of those contests decided by three points or less.
Dartmouth is 6-3-1 against the spread in its last 10 games against the Bears.
Dartmouth has lost its last eight games with four of the last five decided by eight points or less.
Tamenang Choh has 51 points and rebounds in Brown’s last two games while Aayn Rai led four Dartmouth players scoring in double figures with 16 points in a loss to Cornell in the Big Green’s Ivy League opener.
Brown was stuck trying to rally for the majority of this one. Penn led for 38:41, including by 14 late in the first half.
Tamenang Choh was immense with 26 and 13. Quakers were +15 from the 3-point line. https://t.co/I4MGvIg8Mu
— Bill Koch (@BillKoch25) January 2, 2022
Yale Bulldogs at Harvard Crimson
Date, time, TV: Sunday, January 9, 2 p.m. ET, ESPNU
Harvard has won five of the last six games in the series and is 6-1 against the spread in the last seven. The one win for Yale straight up and against the spread came in the championship game of the 2019 Ivy League Tournament giving the Bulldogs a spot in the NCAA tournament.
Harvard’s Chris Ledlum had back-to-back double-doubles and leads all Ivy League players with six double-doubles this season.
Yale (6-8) has failed to cover in six of its last seven games.
Yale is just 1-4 on the road. Azar Swain is averaging 23.3 points over the last four games with 15 three-pointers during that stretch for the Bulldogs.
