Yale vs. Princeton Game Preview, Odds, Picks & Predictions
There is no talk about potential at-large berths into the March Madness bracket to the loser in this tournament title game,
Princeton is No. 102 in the NCAA NET rankings while Yale comes in at No. 147. Yale has played four Quad 1 teams while Princeton does not have a game against a Quad 1 team so there aren’t any March Madness predictions that feature Ivy League teams in the NCAA tournament.
The No. 1 seed won two of the three previous Ivy League tournaments including Princeton taking the inaugural event. Yale won in 2019 as the No. 2 seed although that came on the Bulldogs’ home court. Princeton is seeded first in this year’s event.
Also check on these NCAAM betting lines.
Swain Hoping To Lead Yale Back into NCAA Tournament
Yale Bulldogs‘ roster looks much different from the team that won the most recent Ivy League tournament back in 2019. Miye Oni has seen time in the NBA, Jordan Bruner finished his career at Alabama, Paul Atkinson is one of the top players for the Notre Dame team that could land a spot in the NCAA tournament while Alex Copeland, Blake Reynolds, and Trey Phills graduated. The only holdover from that team is Azar Swain, who had 15 points in the championship game win against Harvard.
Swain has made the transition from sweet-shooting role player to the go-to performer. He had 25 points in Saturday’s win over Pennsylvania.
MEN'S BASKETBALL: Yale’s semifinal featured a scoring battle between the Ivy League’s top two scorers, guard Azar Swain ’22 and Penn’s Jordan Dingle. Yale’s defense gave it the extra edge, setting the Bulldogs up to face No. 1 Princeton Sunday at noon.https://t.co/yY9LFVJ3SY
— YDN Sports (@YDNsports) March 12, 2022
It was his 14th game with at least 20 points this season. Five of the first 13 came against Ivy League foes with Yale going 5-0 in those games.
Swain averaged 16 points in the two meetings against Princeton.
Each of Yale’s last four games finished under the Las Vegas odds total.
Experienced Princeton Looking To Seal the Deal
Ivy League rules prohibit players from competing for more than four seasons so, despite the temporary eligibility changes made as a result of the global pandemic, some of the performers who could be dominating in the Ivy League were forced to finish their collegiate careers elsewhere.
Jaelin Llewellyn, Drew Friberg, Ethan Wright, Ryan Langborg, and Tosan Evbuomwan started between 9-27 games during the 2019-20 season. All five were in the starting lineup when the Princeton Tigers topped Cornell 77-73 to advance to the Ivy League title game.
Llewellyn had 23 points and Evbuomwan added 21 as the Princeton team moved a win away from clinching the Tigers’ first NCAA tournament appearance since 2017 when Princeton topped Yale in the Ivy League title game.
With all that experience, it was no wonder that Princeton won the Ivy’s regular-season title and is favored to win in Sunday’s title game.
The March Madness odds favor Princeton in Sunday’s final with the Tigers showing up on the CBS Sports bracketology as a No. 13 seed.
Despite winning its last eight games, Princeton is 1-3 against the college basketball spreads in its last four games.
Yale Bulldogs vs. Princeton Tigers Head-to-Head
Princeton ended a seven-game losing streak to Yale with an 81-75 road win on February 19 as a one-point underdog. It was the third straight game in the series decided by six points or less.
Yale had covered in six of the previous eight matches including the Bulldogs’ six-point win at Princeton as a 3½-point underdog on January 29.
Something of interest to those who bet online, four of the last five games in the series went over the total.
This is the first meeting between the programs in the Ivy League Tournament since Yale’s 83-77 win in the 2019 semifinals.
Yale Bulldogs vs. Princeton Tigers Game Information
Game: Yale (18-11) vs. Princeton (23-5)
Location: Lavietes Pavilion, Cambridge, Massachusetts
Day/Time: Sunday, March 13, 12 p.m. ET
Television: ESPN2
Yale Bulldogs vs. Princeton Tigers Prediction
Princeton is the top shooting team in the Ivy League at a shade under 50% while Yale has the best field-goal percentage defensive numbers so Sunday’s title game will be quite the matchup. Princeton has the most 3-pointers in the league while Yale has made the most free throws.
Yale is the defending champion and was favored to win the title in 2020 before the tournament was canceled due to COVID-19. There isn’t much to separate the two teams with each winning by six on the other’s home court. However, it is hard to go against a Princeton team that came into the season featuring five players with starting experience.
