IVY LEAGUE
Palestra
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
March 11-12
PRINCETON
Record: 21-6, 14-0
Princeton is plenty happy to be in this position, but has to feel slightly unlucky to be the first Ivy League regular season champion not to earn an automatic NCAA bid. Still, in the first ever Ivy League Conference Tournament, the Tigers are heavy favorites. Unfortunately, Princeton’s first Game is against Penn, which is the basic home team with this Tournament at the Palestra. But the Quakers finished with a losing record and lost comfortably both times to this Princeton team. In fact, the Tigers haven’t lost since mid-December if that says anything about how they’re playing. The biggest test Princeton would have if it met Harvard in the championship Game. While the Tigers won both of those meetings, it was only by a total of five points and they both went down to the wire. If those two meet for the third time, it’ll likely come down to the final seconds yet again, making Harvard a slightly better value bet for this Tournament.
HARVARD
Record: 18-9, 10-4
The Crimson may have the value, but they also have the tougher first Game and come into this having lost two straight. The good news is that Harvard swept Yale this season, so the Crimson will be favored by a few points. That said, neither of those Games came easy and that could be the case again. While Princeton is almost a lock to reach the final, Harvard could have some trouble against Yale.
YALE
Record: 17-10, 9-5
While Harvard stayed competitive with Princeton, Yale did not, making them an extreme long shot to win this Tournament. The Bulldogs could give Harvard a run for its money, but if they see Princeton in the final, it probably won’t end well. Yale hosted Princeton in mid-February and was blown off the cOurt in a 71-52 loss.
PENN
Record: 13-14, 6-8
Nothing much needs to be said about the Quakers. They barely grabbed the 4-seed, although impressively won six of their last eight Games. Those wins includedone at Yale and against Harvard in the finale, but still have plenty of questionable losses throughout the season. Playing at the Palestra, Penn should show early fight against Princeton, but it’d be a surprise if the Quakers escaped with a win.
Most of the money will be on Princeton because they were far and away the best team in the Conference all season, but as said above, the better value will be on Harvard. The two Games these teams played against each other were extremely close and putting money on the Tigers isn’t exactly a guarantee despite their 14-0 Conference record.