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(NCAAB) Princeton vs. Pennsylvania,
Point Spread: 7.50 | -106.00 Pennsylvania (Home)
Result: Loss
Point Spread: 7.50 | -106.00 Pennsylvania (Home)
Result: Loss
The set: The famed "Ancient 8" has finally joined the rest of the college basketball world and will be holding a conference tourney for the first time ever. Just the top four teams in this eight-team league have been invited and the three games will be contested at The Palestra in Philadelphia. That's good news for the Penn Quakers, as The Palestra is the school's homecourt.
Penn: The Quakers and Tigers have been the Ivy's premier teams over the years but Penn has struggled for almost a decade now. The school had just one winning season in six years under Jerome Allen and now under Steve Donahue, the Quakers are 24-31 (11-17 Ivy) in his first two seasons. However, a hopeful note is that Penn ended the season winning six of eight to earn the fourth and final spot in this tourney at 6-8 in league play. This young team looks like it has jelled. The 6-8 Brodeur is a freshman and comes in averaging 13.9 & 6.8. Howard is a 6-4 sophomore guard averaging 12.4 & 6.8 plus 6-5 freshman guard Betley (11.5 & 4.2) has taken over down the stretch, averaging 17.7 PPG over Penn's last seven games.
Princeton: The Tigers have, like Penn, taken a backseat in the Ivy in recent years, with first Cornell, then Harvard, taking over as the loop's top dogs. However, Princeton's 22 wins last year were the school's most in five years and after a 4-6 start, the Tigers have gone on a 17-game winning streak (14-0 in Ivy League play). Two senior small forwards are the 6-5 Cook (13.8) and the 6-4 Weisz (10.6-5.5-4.1) and that duo is joined by a pair of sophomore guards in Cannady (13.7) and Stephens (11.9 & 4.3).
The pick: This is Princeton's best team in a long time and the last thing the Tigers needed was a conference tourney, meaning instead of having already secured an invite to the Big Dance, Princeton must now win two more games, extending the team's winning streak to 19! More bad news comes in that the Tigers draw long time rival Penn, which get to play on its homecourt. As noted, Penn is playing it best basketball of the year and I'm taking the points. Make Penn an 8* play.
Penn: The Quakers and Tigers have been the Ivy's premier teams over the years but Penn has struggled for almost a decade now. The school had just one winning season in six years under Jerome Allen and now under Steve Donahue, the Quakers are 24-31 (11-17 Ivy) in his first two seasons. However, a hopeful note is that Penn ended the season winning six of eight to earn the fourth and final spot in this tourney at 6-8 in league play. This young team looks like it has jelled. The 6-8 Brodeur is a freshman and comes in averaging 13.9 & 6.8. Howard is a 6-4 sophomore guard averaging 12.4 & 6.8 plus 6-5 freshman guard Betley (11.5 & 4.2) has taken over down the stretch, averaging 17.7 PPG over Penn's last seven games.
Princeton: The Tigers have, like Penn, taken a backseat in the Ivy in recent years, with first Cornell, then Harvard, taking over as the loop's top dogs. However, Princeton's 22 wins last year were the school's most in five years and after a 4-6 start, the Tigers have gone on a 17-game winning streak (14-0 in Ivy League play). Two senior small forwards are the 6-5 Cook (13.8) and the 6-4 Weisz (10.6-5.5-4.1) and that duo is joined by a pair of sophomore guards in Cannady (13.7) and Stephens (11.9 & 4.3).
The pick: This is Princeton's best team in a long time and the last thing the Tigers needed was a conference tourney, meaning instead of having already secured an invite to the Big Dance, Princeton must now win two more games, extending the team's winning streak to 19! More bad news comes in that the Tigers draw long time rival Penn, which get to play on its homecourt. As noted, Penn is playing it best basketball of the year and I'm taking the points. Make Penn an 8* play.
