Princeton vs. Yale Prediction, Odds and Key Players for Friday, Feb. 2 (Take the Under)
Two of the top teams in the Ivy League will meet up in New Haven Friday night. Yale had a tough non-conference schedule and started 7-6, but the Bulldogs have won six straight games and are 4-0 in league play with four double-digit victories. Yale went on the road and cruised past Dartmouth and Harvard. Will they stay hot as a small home favorite?
Princeton is 15-2 on the year and is coming off an 83-68 loss at Cornell that snapped a six-game winning streak. Cornell and Yale are tied for first place in the Ivy League, so Princeton has another chance at taking out a team at the top of the conference standings.
Can they do it as small underdogs Friday?
Here’s the betting preview for the Ivy League tilt with a best bet.
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Princeton vs. Yale odds, spread and total
Princeton vs. Yale betting trends
- Princeton is 9-6 ATS this season
- Yale is 8-7-2 ATS this season
- Princeton is 3-1 ATS as an underdog this season
- Yale is 5-6-1 ATS as a favorite this season
- The OVER is 7-7-1 in Princeton games this season
- The OVER is 11-6 in Yale games this season
Princeton vs. Yale how to watch
- Date: Friday, Feb. 2
- Game time: 7 p.m. EST
- Venue: Payne Whitney Gymnasium
- How to watch (TV): ESPNU, ESPN+
- Princeton record: 15-2 (3-1 Ivy League)
- Yale record: 13-6 (4-0 Ivy League)
Princeton vs. Yale key players to watch
Princeton
Xaivian Lee: The sophomore guard is in his first season as a starter for the Tigers and is one of the best offensive threats in the Ivy League. Lee is fourth in the conference in scoring at 17.7 points per game while shooting 46.8% from the field, 35.6% from beyond the arc and 87.1% from the free-throw line. Lee is trying to bounce back from a poor shooting performance, going 3-of-13 in Princeton’s loss to Cornell. He did finish with 17 points, going 10-of-11 from the charity stripe.
Yale
August Mahoney: The 6-foot-4 senior guard is averaging 9.2 points per game this season but is coming off his best offensive performance of the season. Mahoney, coming off a scoreless outing in a win over Dartmouth, connected on six 3-pointers and went 4-for-4 at the stripe for a season-high 22 points. He was Yale’s leading rebounder, too, grabbing 7 boards.
Princeton vs. Yale prediction and pick
Princeton might be 3-1 ATS as an underdog this season, but it’s a role they haven’t since Nov. 15, beating duquesne 70-67 while getting a half-dozen points on the spread. In a step up in class in its last game against first-place Cornell, Princeton’s offense was held to just 32.2% shooting (5-of-27 from 3-point range) and the Tigers missed eight free throws in a 15-point loss.
Defensively, Princeton allowed Cornell to shoot 57.6% from the field.
Princeton’s offense highlights this matchup, ranked No. 32 in efficiency, according to KenPom. The Tigers are No. 28 in effective field goal percentage, don’t commit turnovers and are No. 11 in 2-point shooting.
Yale’s offense is No. 79 in KenPom and features a deep lineup with a quartet of double-digit scorers. The Bulldogs have been dominant in Ivy League action, going 4-0 straight up and against the spread, winning by 16.7 points per game.
Keep an eye on the defense in this matchup. Both offenses play at an extemely low pace (Princeton is No. 334 in adjusted tempo and Yale is No. 314). Yale is No. 1 in the Ivy League in rebounding and Princeton is No. 2.
The Tigers have the No. 1 scoring defense in the conferenc and the Bulldogs are No. 2. Princeton’s defense is due for positive regression after allowing Cornell to shoot at such a high rate the last time out. Trust two top defenses and take the under.
Game odds update periodically and are subject to change.