Harvard Crimson vs. Princeton Tigers Picks, Predictions, Odds

Dave Schwab Sports Betting Expert

5 minute read

ESPNNEWS will feature a Friday night college basketball showdown in the Ivy League between the Harvard Crimson and the Princeton Tigers. Game time from Jadwin Gymnasium in New Jersey is set for 7 p.m. (ET).

Score Prediction

Princeton 81, Harvard 68

Best Bet

Princeton -9 (-110)

HARVARD CRIMSON vs. PRINCETON TIGERS PREDICTIONS

Harvard will look to even its record in the Ivy League standings after going 5-6 straight-up in its first 11 conference games this season. Taking a step in the right direction, it is coming off back-to-back victories over Columbia and Cornell closing as a home favorite. The Crimson have lost three of their last four road games SU.

The Tigers remain in excellent position to win the Ivy League’s regular season title at 9-2 SU. They are coming off a crucial six-point win over Yale this past Saturday to gain the inside edge for first place in the conference standings overall. Princeton has now won its last four games SU with three more remaining on the schedule.

The Crimson have bee able to generate some momentum down the stretch run of the regular season but getting past their rivals on the road is going to be too tall of a task. There is much more on the line for Princeton this Friday night to set up an excellent opportunity to bet the Tigers covering the spread.

HARVARD CRIMSON vs. PRINCETON TIGERS BETTING ODDS

Harvard +8.5 (-110)
Princeton -8.5 (-110)
Over 142.5 (-110)
Under 142.5 (-110)

More Odds | Futures Odds

HARVARD CRIMSON vs. PRINCETON TIGERS BETTING RESOURCES

Matchup: Ivy League
Date: Friday, February 25, 2022
Venue: Jadwin Gymnasium
Location: Princeton, New Jersey
TV-Time: ESPNN - 7:00 p.m. ET

HARVARD CRIMSON BETTING ANALYSIS

Straight Up - SU, Against the Spread - ATS, Over-Under (O/U)

SU: 13-10
ATS: 8-13
O/U: 10-11

Harvard has been a losing proposition ATS this season in conference play at just 3- 8 ATS over those 11 games. The Crimson did manage to cover as 4.5-point home favorites in Saturday’s 77-72 overtime win against Cornell. However, that has been a rare feat. The total went OVER 146 points in that game after staying UNDER in six of the team’s previous eight games.

Guard Noah Kirkwood was the big story for Harvard his last time out with a career-high 31 points against Cornell. He has led the way all season long with a team-high 18 points per game. Kirkwood has actually led Harvard across the board with highs in rebounds (5.7), assists (3.0) and steals (2.1).

Forward Chris Ledlum is second on the list in scoring with 16.7 points but he has been out of the lineup since early January. Guard Luka Sakota has stepped up to help fill that void in scoring with 11.6 PPG. He is shooting 41.6% from the field and 38.7% from three-point range. Harvard comes into this game averaging 72.7 points and 34.9 rebounds a game. It is shooting 43.2% from the field and 33.8% outside the three point line. Foul shooting has been an issue all season long at 69.3%. The Crimson are giving up an average of 68.4 PPG as another notable issue for Friday night’s game.

PRINCETON TIGERS BETTING ANALYSIS

Straight Up - SU, Against the Spread - ATS, Over-Under (O/U)

SU: 19-5
ATS: 11-10-1
O/U: 15-7

Princeton has been able to cover the closing number in each of its last four wins after going just 1-5-1 ATS in its first seven conference games. Closing as one-point underdogs on the road, the Tigers played one of their best games this season in Saturday’s 81-75 victory over Yale. The total went well OVER the closing 146-point line in that game after staying UNDER in the team’s previous three outings.

Forward Tosan Evbuomwan led the way against Yale with 26 points and 11 rebounds. Guard Ethan Wright came close to posting his own double double with 23 points and nine boards. Each of these players have been instrumental in Princeton’s success all season long. They are both averaging just over 15 points a game and each player is connecting on better than 50% of their shots from the field. Wright leads the team in rebounds (7.3) and Evbuomwan is averaging a team-high 4.9 assists per game.

The Tigers, as a team, are scoring 80.6 PPG and shooting 48.6% from the field and 38.1% from outside three point range. They are pulling down 36.7 rebounds a game and holding opposing teams to 69.3 PPG on defense.

**Princeton is 2-7 ATS in its last nine matchups against Harvard.**

INSIDE THE STATS - HARVARD CRIMSON

Record: 13-10
PS/G: 72.3 (153rd)
PA/G: 68.4 (164th)
ORtg: 101.8 (196th)
DRtg: 96.3 (90th)

INSIDE THE STATS - PRINCETON TIGERS

Record: 19-5
PS/G: 80.6 (9th)
PA/G: 69.3 (192nd)
ORtg: 114.6 (9th)
DRtg: 98.6 (156th)

KEY PLAYERS TO WATCH

HAR: Noah Kirkwood - G (18 PPG, 5.7 REB, 3 AST)
HAR: Chris Ledlum - F (16.7 PPG, 9.3 REB, 1.2 AST)
PRIN: Tosan Evbuomwan - F (15.4 PPG, 6.3 REB, 4.9 AST)
PRIN: Ethan Wright - G (15.3 PPG, 7.3 REB, 1.9 AST)

HARVARD CRIMSON vs. PRINCETON TIGERS BETTING CONCLUSION

Friday night will be the first game in a weekend home-and-home series. The two rivals will face one another again at Harvard on Sunday. Going back over the past 10 meetings, the Crimson have won six of those games SU and they hold the 7-3 edge ATS. The total has stayed UNDER in the last three meetings.

The gap between these two teams this season creates a heavy lean towards the Tigers at home. You might want to even bet the weekend sweep with a tighter spread in Sunday’s rematch.

HARVARD CRIMSON vs. PRINCETON TIGERS BETTING TRENDS

Harvard is 4-12 ATS in its last 16 games.
Princeton is 2-7 ATS in its last nine matchups against Harvard.
The total has gone UNDER in six of Harvard's last nine games.
Princeton is 4-1 ATS in its last five games.
The total has gone UNDER in four of the last six matchups between Princeton and Harvard.
The total has gone OVER in 12 of Princeton's last 17 games.

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Dave Schwab

Dave Schwab has been covering the sports betting industry for the past 12 years as the main focus of his specialty marketing company for online content. This endeavor followed a previous career in the field of sales and marketing in the wholesaling sector.Most of his weekly pieces focus on the rapidly expanding legal US sports betting industry. However, he still does extensive work covering betting angles that can provide a competitive edge to avid players. Dave believes that it is always a challenge to take past results and current form to try and correctly determine a future result. Sports brings out the unpredictability in what should be a fairly predictable outcome based on the stats, facts and recent trends in a particular matchup. More from Dave Schwab