Yale vs. Penn Prediction, Odds and Key Players for Friday, Feb. 16 (Back the Quakers)
Yale was pushed to the limit but held on for an 80-78 win over Cornell Feb. 10 to stay atop the Ivy League standings with a perfect conference record (7-0). Can the Bulldogs keep the momentum on the road as a modest favorite? Yale is in Philadelphia Friday night to take on the struggling Penn Quakers.
Penn is seventh in the Ivy League and have dropped six consecutive conference contests since opening league play with a win over Dartmouth. The Quakers are playing just their third home game in league play and first since Jan. 20. Can they hang with the first-place Bulldogs?
Here’s the betting preview for Friday’s matchup with a best bet.
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Yale vs. Penn odds, spread and total
Yale vs. Penn betting trends
- Yale is 10-8-2 ATS this season
- Penn is 8-12 ATS this season
- Yale is 7-7-1 ATS as a favorite this season
- Penn is 3-6 ATS as an underdog this season
- The OVER is 12-8 in Yale games this season
- The OVER is 9-10-1 in Penn games this season
Yale vs. Penn how to watch
- Date: Friday, Feb. 16
- Game time: 7 p.m. EST
- Venue: Palestra
- How to watch (TV): ESPN+
- Yale record: 16-6 (7-0 Ivy League)
- Penn record: 9-13 (1-6 Ivy League)
Yale vs. Penn key players to watch
Yale
Danny Wolf: The 7-footer played just 7.3 minutes per game in 21 appearances off the bench as a freshman last season. He’s made quite the second-year leap as a full-time starter, averaging 15.4 points per game (fifth in the Ivy League) while ranking second in the conference in field goal percentage (50.4%) and leading in rebounds (9.8). Wolf is coming off three consecutive double-doubles, with 20-plus points in each contest. He had 25 points and 10 rebounds in Saturday’s win over Cornell.
Penn
Nick Spinoso: Penn has had a leading scorer in each of the last four games and the 6-foot-9 junior forward and Spinoso turned in one of his best performances in Saturday’s 77-70 loss to Princeton. Spinoso had a 19-point, 14-rebound double-double, going 8-of-14 from the field. He’s shot over 50% from the field three times in the last four games.
Yale vs. Penn prediction and pick
Less than two weeks ago, Yale hosted Penn and turned in a stellar defensive effort en route to a 74-58 win. In that matchup, the Bulldogs held the Quakers to just 37% shooting and an 8-of-28 performance from beyond the arc. Yale shot 51.9% from the field and was still able to pull away despite an 8-of-15 performance from the charity stripe.
Yale is No. 92 in KenPom in both offensive and defensive efficiency. On the offensive side of the ball, Yale faces a Penn defense that is No. 325 in effective field goal percentage and struggles against shots from inside (No. 301) and outside (No. 298) the arc.
On the defensive side of the ball, Yale is No. 8 in the nation in defensive rebounding but its tall lineup (No. 25 in height) struggles to defend the perimeter. The Bulldogs are No. 252 against shots from 3-point range and Penn is No. 2 in the Ivy League in 3-point shooting, connecting on 36.7% of its triples.
Yale is just 3-2-1 ATS as a road favorite this season. Although Penn is only 1-3 ATS as an underdog in Ivy League action, this feels like a spot where Yale could sleepwalk. Yale is coming off a big win over Cornell to stay in first place in the Ivy League and has a big matchup Saturday on the road at third-place Princeton. Take the Quakers as a home underdog in their first game at Palestra in nearly a month.
Game odds update periodically and are subject to change.