Princeton and Yale are battling for a spot in the NCAA Tournament. Both teams have been impressive this year and will be ready to play hard on Sunday afternoon.
Princeton (21-8), which beat Penn 77-70 in the semifinals, is a team that can really run and is especially good on the defensive glass. That should give them the edge in this game.
Tigers Have The Home-Court Advantage
The Princeton Tigers (21-7, 10-4 Ivy League) will face the Yale Bulldogs (19-11, 11-3 Ivy League) in Sunday’s Ivy League tournament championship game. The winner will earn an automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament.
Princeton is 11-2 at home this season and has outscored opponents by 7.4 points per game, averaging 76.1 points while giving up 68.7 on the road. The Tigers also outshoot their opponents by a margin of +207.
The Tigers are led by Tosan Evbuomwan, who leads the team in scoring at 14.8 points per game and assists at 4.8. Caden Pierce adds 8.2 points and 1.2 assists per contest, while Ryan Langborg hits two three-pointers a game, the most on the team.
In the paint, Tosan Evbuomwan leads the way with a 7.4 rebounding average. He is followed by Caden Pierce, who grabs 7.2 rebounds per game, and Ryan Langborg, who hauls down 7.0 a contest.
Tosan Evbuomwan is a top-notch shooter, as well, knocking down 8.5 three-pointers a game, which puts him at the top of the team’s 3-point shooting list. In fact, he has hit more than two 3-pointers in each of the last six games.
Besides scoring and shooting, Tosan Evbuomwan also is a good defensive player. He has only committed two turnovers this year, and his defense is a major reason why the Tigers have a plus-207 scoring differential in their last 20 home games.
Yale will be without Matt Knowling, who suffered a knee injury in Saturday’s Ivy League semifinal against Cornell. However, John Poulakidas, Bez Mbeng and EJ Jarvis will still be key pieces in this matchup.
Bulldogs Are On A Roll
After getting swept by Yale in the Ivy League Tournament last year, Princeton is on the cusp of punching its ticket to the NCAA Tournament. Led by a front court tandem of Tosan Evbuomwan and Ivy League Rookie of the Year Caden Pierce, the Tigers have won 19 games during the regular season and downed Penn in Saturday’s semifinal matchup to reach the final.
The Tigers are coming off a hard-fought 59-56 victory over Yale in the Ivy League championship game on March 12. The Bulldogs had their chance to tie or take the lead in the final seconds of regulation, but Mbeng made a 3-pointer with 3:28 left and Princeton sealed it.
Princeton shot 62.1 percent in the first half, which was their highest scoring halves of the season. The Tigers also held a 16-4 advantage in second-chance points.
This is a team that can shoot the ball at a high level, but is also a very good defensive team. They’ve been particularly effective on the glass, boasting the 10th-lowest offensive rebounding rate in the nation.
A key player for the Tigers is 6-foot-8 forward Evbuomwan, who leads the team in scoring with 15.2 points per game. He also leads the team in assists with 4.8 per game.
He has played a big role in holding Yale’s John Poulakidas, who averaged 24.5 points against the Bulldogs this season. He scored just seven in the first half and to seven points for the game, which was a huge reason Princeton won.
Besides Evbuomwan, other important players include freshman Caden Pierce and sophomore Bez Mbeng. Pierce has stepped up in the second half of the season and could be an X-factor against a loaded Yale lineup.
Over/Under Is A Good Bet
A spot in the NCAA Tournament is up for grabs when Yale and Princeton meet on Sunday in the Ivy League championship game at Jadwin Gymnasium. This matchup is a rematch of the 2022 conference title game, and it features two of the best teams in the Ivy League.
Both teams are coming off impressive wins over their respective semifinal opponents. The Tigers defeated Penn 77-70, and the Bulldogs beat Cornell 80-60 to secure their fourth straight trip to the championship game.
The Over/Under bet is a popular type of wager that is typically set by oddsmakers based on how they expect the combined score of a game to unfold. Generally, a team with a stronger defense will have a lower Over/Under number than a team with a weaker one.
There are many factors that can impact the Over/Under number. These include how much time is on the clock, whether the team is running a ground game or passing the ball, and whether the weather is affecting the game.
Yale has been playing strong offensively as of late, averaging 82.7 points in their last five games. They have been draining a lot of threes as well, which is important against a Princeton team that ranks 76th in college basketball in defending the long ball.
Meanwhile, the Tigers are averaging only 71.2 points on the road and 81.4 at home this season. That means they aren’t likely to make a large impact on the total score, which is why you should bet on the Over/Under in this matchup.
Expect A Thriller
The matchup is shaping up to be a thriller between the top two teams in the Ivy League. The Bulldogs have won the last two conference titles and rank among the top 50 teams in offensive efficiency, while Princeton is a powerhouse on both ends of the floor.
The Tigers have been hot lately, winning over Harvard and Penn in back-to-back games to put themselves atop the Ivy League standings. They have a solid home-court edge against the Bulldogs, who have been struggling on the road.
Princeton lost to Yale in a 66-64 nail-biter in the Ivy League finals last year, so revenge is on the mind for this contest. Having lost the season opener to Yale as well, Princeton has been looking for a win that can propel them to the NCAA tournament, and this game is a good bet to have some high-stakes action.
While the Tigers have their home-court advantage, they will have to play well defensively as they face a tough lineup from Yale. The Bulldogs have some of the best players in the Ivy League in their frontcourt, including Bez Mbeng ’25 and Matt Knowling ’24.
They also have the top guard in the conference in Jalen Gabbidon ’19, who has posted 14.8 points per game and 4.5 assists this season. The Tigers have some big men who can defend the rim as well, led by Tosan Evbuomwan who averages 7.6 rebounds per game.
Yale has some key players in its rotation that are able to step up on the defensive end, led by Bez Mbeng ’25 and Azar Swain ’19. They are also a strong team on offense, as they have one of the top offensive rebounders in the league in Mbeng, and a solid shooter in Jarvis who hits two three-pointers per game.
