Yale vs. Princeton: College basketball game preview, TV schedule, prediction
Two of the traditional powers in the Ivy League have already fallen early in conference play. Between Yale and Princeton, who takes another loss?
TV schedule: Friday, February 2, 7:00 p.m. ET. Check Local Listings
Arena: Jadwin Gymnasium in Princeton, New Jersey
This is the second season in which the Ivy League will have a conference tournament to decide their representative for the NCAA Tournament. Last season it was Princeton who won the inaugural event thanks to a balanced roster filled with talented players.
The Tigers still have talented players but the team is anything but balanced. The top three scorers come from the perimeter in Devin Cannady (18.2 ppg), Myles Stephens (13.6 ppg) and Amir Bell (9.9 ppg). Not only are these guys the top perimeter options, but they also lead the team in rebounds, assists, blocks, and steals.
Princeton lost a lot in the frontcourt from a year ago and have used a variety of different players and lineups to find something for down the stretch. They’ve already lost once in conference play which was more than they did in all of the 2016-17 season. The defeat came to the University of Penn, who is 3-0 so far in league play.
Yale was the team that Princeton defeated in the first-ever Ivy League championship game but this season there’s a question as to whether they’ll even qualify for the tournament. The Bulldogs are squared in the middle of the standings, having already lost one-possession games to Harvard and Brown.
Coming into the season, I had Yale as the frontrunner to win the Ivy, because of the return of star point guard Makai Mason. The former Ivy League Player of the Year has yet to play this season due to a stress fracture in his foot. His return is imminent, but the Bulldogs are in danger of losing more games while he’s out. That’s left a lot of pressure to sophomore Miye Oni, who leads the team in points (15.8 ppg), rebounds (5.7 rpg), and assists (3.3 apg).
The key to this game is the matchup between Cannady of Princeton and Oni for Yale. The two leading scorers will go head-to-head on the wings with the winner of the individual battle likely paving the way for their team’s victory.
Prediction: Princeton 67 – Yale 62