With only the top-four teams making the IVY League tournament, the Pennsylvania Quakers (17-12) and the Princeton Tigers (19-8) will square off in the semifinals on Saturday. With Princeton hosting the tournament this season, this game will be played at Jadwin Gymnasium, with tipoff scheduled for 1:30 pm ET.
Princeton is the slight favorite in this one. They are -142 to win, while the Quakers’ moneyline is +118. The spread features Penn as 2.5-point underdogs (-110), and the over/under for total points is set at 145.5.
Penn Tries To Avoid Third Loss To Princeton
Including the final game of the regular season, the Penn Quakers have lost to Princeton twice this season. One week ago, they lost 77-69 in overtime on this same Jadwin Gymnasium floor. Trying to avoid their third loss to the Tigers and hoping to move on to the conference championship game, Penn will look for the upset on Saturday.
Penn ranks 90th in the country in scoring this season, averaging 74.5 points per game. That number lowers to just 69.9 on the road. Junior guard Jordan Dingle leads the Quakers, averaging 23.6 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 2.1 assists per game.
In the loss to Princeton last week, Dingle put up 28 points, but it still wasn’t enough to take down the Tigers.
Other contributors for Penn include Clark Slajchert (13.5 points, 3.1 rebounds) and Max Martz (11 points, 4.2 rebounds).
Defensively, Penn falls to 227th in the nation, allowing opponents an average of 72.2 points per game.
Princeton Hopes To Use Home Court Advantage To Pick Up Win
Princeton head coach Mitch Henderson knows that his team comes in with an advantage playing at home Saturday. This season, the Tigers are 10-3 at home and have won seven of their last eight home games.
The Tigers rank 79th in scoring this season, averaging 74.9 points per game (80.3 at home). Senior forward Tosan Evbuomwan leads the way for the Tigers, averaging 14.5 points, 6.2 rebounds, and 4.9 assists per game. In the win over Princeton last week, he had 15 points, seven rebounds, and six assists.
Ryan Langborg (12 points, 3.1 rebounds), Matt Allocco (11.1 points, 4.9 rebounds, 2.1 assists), Keeshawn Kellman (8.2 points, 4.4 rebounds), and Caden Pierce (8 points, 6.8 rebounds) have also been productive for the Tigers.
Princeton ranks 128th in scoring defense, allowing opponents 69 points per game (73.1 at home).
Home Court Propels Princeton
Penn comes into this one 8-1 straight up and 6-2-1 against the spread in their last nine games. In their previous eight against Princeton, though, they are 0-8 straight up and against the spread.
As for the Tigers, they are 11-4 in their last 15 and 7-1 in their last eight at home. They are also 5-2 against the spread in their previous seven games.
This one will likely come down to Princeton’s home-court advantage. As exemplified last week, Penn can certainly run with the Tigers, but with the confidence of two wins under their belt against the Quakers and playing in front of their home faithful, Princeton is in a really good spot to pick up the win Saturday.
Take the Tigers to win and cover the 2.5 points (-110) at home.
