The Pennsylvania Quakers were the class of the Ivy League over the course of the regular season. Unfortunately for Steve Donahue’s kids, they dropped a crucial match at Harvard which allowed for the Crimson to leapfrog them in the standings and secure the top seed in this weekend’s tournament. That no doubt won’t sit well with Ryan Betley and his mates who get the benefit of partaking in this tourney on the friendly confines of their own hardwood. That’s another reason why the Quakers have been installed nearly even-money favorites to cut down the nets.
Ivy League Tournament Schedule
Don't miss the hardwood action from The Palestra from Saturday, March 10, 2018 through Sunday, March 11 on ESPN2. We'll have NCAA odds at BookMaker.eu available for this and every game of the Ivy League Tournament.
Semifinals – Saturday, March 10th
No. 4 Cornell vs. No. 1 Harvard at 12:30 p.m.
No. 3 Yale vs. No. 2 Pennsylvania at 3 p.m.
Championship - Sunday, March 11th
TBD at 12:00 p.m.
Odds Analysis
With this tournament taking place in their own gym and the Quakers tied with Harvard for the best record in the Ivy League, it comes as no surprise to see them the -110 chalk to get an auto bid into the dance. Though that’s the case, don’t be in a rush to back them on the conference tournament betting odds due to the fact that they only managed an 11-14 mark against the linemakers overall.
Though it’s the No. 1 seed, Harvard will be defending that ranking in hostile territory. The Crimson only won six of their 16 played true road games in the regular season. That said, it’s defense paired with the hot shooting down the stretch of Seth Towns allowed for the team to be one of the few moneymakers the league has to offer. The Crimson covered the closing betting line at a 15-9-1 clip and check in as +175 dogs to win this tournament.
Yale closed the regular season with its hair on fire tallying wins in seven of its final eight games to once again finish in the upper half of the standings. Included in that mix were wins over Penn and Cornell with the lone defeat coming at Harvard. Still, the wins came by just an average of 1.5-points which paints a pretty clear picture as to why they’re installed +700 underdogs to win this tourney.
And then there’s the Cornell Big Red. The biggest dog on the Ivy League Tournament betting lines at +1000. Brian Earl’s squad finished the regular season owners of a 12-15 record. However, they went on to cover 11 of their 21 lined games. While the defense leaves much to be desired with it conceding better than 80.0 points per game, it has just as good a shot as any with the league’s leading scorer - Matt Morgan - bombing away from deep.
Player to Watch
AJ Brodeur – Though not the Quakers leading scorer, Penn would be in a world of hurt without their first team All-Ivy selection. The big man tickled the twine for an average of 12.6 points per game, but more importantly, ripped down an average of 7.0 rebounds per game to help make Penn one of the more dominant defensive rebounding teams in the nation. Entering the Ivy League Tournament, the Quakers ranked No. 20 in defensive rebounding percentage. That aspect of their game will come up huge especially with their semifinals matchup against Harvard whose been even better than them on the defensive glass mostly due to the heroics of Chris Lewis. If the Quakers are to avenge that loss to the Crimson and advance to the finals, Brodeur must come up big again.
Free NCAA ATS Picks
If last weekend’s exact same matchups are any type of indicator, the Ivy League Tournament is going to be off the chain! Harvard needed double overtime to finally dispose of pesky Cornell, while Yale hit a buzzer-beater at the game’s death to get by Pennsylvania.
While I wouldn’t fault you for looking the way of the home chalk in this one with the Quakers playing in their own backyard, I say go for the big score and ride Big Red. The NCAA Tournament needs a dynamic scorer like Matt Morgan representing the Ivy League, and I think Cornell finds a way to finally oust the Crimson after hanging tough with them in the pair of regular season meetings.
As much fun as that would be, Penn is the team to beat on the Ivy League Tournament betting lines and I fully expect them to live up to those expectations. Cornell won’t make it easy on them however, so back Penn to win the tournament but take the points with Big Red should they reach Sunday’s finale.
NCAA Odds: Penn 74, Cornell 69 in Ivy League Tournament Championship Game
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