Princeton vs Cornell 3/12/22 College Basketball Picks, Predictions, Odds

The Cornell Big Red & Princeton Tigers will square off at Lavietes Pavilion this Saturday morning in the Semifinals of the Ivy League Tournament Presented by TIAA.

The Cornell Big Red finished the regular season with an overall record of 15-10 on the season and earned the 4-seed in the Ivy League Tournament Presented by TIAA with a 7-7 conference record. Cornell finished their non-conference portion of their schedule with an 8-3 record with their top win coming in a 78-68 victory over the Colgate Raiders. Cornell had an up-and-down conference season, and despite losing 4 of their last 7 games, the Big Red do come into this game with some momentum as they won their last two regular season games which included a 71-65 victory over the Yale Bulldogs.

On the season, Cornell is averaging 79.4 ppg on 46.6% shooting from the field. The Big Red are averaging 9.7 three-pointers per game on 34.6% shooting from beyond the arc. Offensively, Cornell has been led by Chris Manon (10.2 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 1.8 apg, 1.8 spg), Dean Noll (10.2 ppg, 3.4 rpg, 2.8 apg, 1.2 spg), Jordan Jones (10.1 ppg, 2.9 rpg, 1.3 apg), & Sarju Patel (9.3 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 1.0 apg).

Defensively, Cornell is allowing their opponents to average 74.6 ppg on 42.7% shooting from the field. The Big Red have a rebound margin of 1.8 and a turnover margin of -0.5.

The Princeton Tigers finished the regular season with an overall record of 22-5 on the season and earned the 1-seed in the Ivy League Tournament Presented by TIAA with a 12-2 conference record. Cornell finished their non-conference portion of their schedule with an 10-3 record with their top win coming in a 66-62 victory against South Carolina. Princeton was outstanding throughout conference paly and come in this game on a 7-game winning streak which included an impressive 23-point road victory over the Pennsylvania Quakers in their regular season finale.

On the season, Princeton is averaging 80.6 ppg on 49.0% shooting from the field. The Tigers are averaging 11.0 three-pointers per game on 38.8% shooting from beyond the arc. Offensively, Princeton has been led by Tosan Evbuomwan (15.4 ppg, 6.3 rpg, 5.0 apg, 1.4 spg), Jaelin Llewellyn (15.4 ppg, 4.1 rpg, 2.6 apg), Ethan Wright (14.7 ppg, 7.0 rpg, 1.9 apg, 1.0 spg), & Ryan Langborg (10.9 ppg, 3.7 rpg, 1.9 apg).

Defensively, Princeton is allowing their opponents to average 69.4 ppg on 44.8% shooting from the field. The Tigers have a rebound margin of 2.6 and a turnover margin of 1.6.

The Big Red are 4-0 ATS in their last 4 games vs. a team with a winning % above .600 & 9-3 ATS in their last 12 games following a ATS win. The Tigers are 4-0 ATS in their last 4 Saturday games & 5-2 ATS in their last 7 games overall.

Cornell & Princeton split their regular season series as the Big Red defeated the Tigers by an 88-83 margin at home in early February while Princeton defeated Cornell by a 72-70 margin at home in early January.

Cornell has been led by their offense which ranks 19^th in scoring offense, 47^th in FG%, & 13^th in three-pointers made per game, however, the Big Red have struggled a bit defensively and currently rank just 302^nd in scoring defense. Princeton has also been led by their offense which ranks 9^th in scoring offense, 8^th in FG%, & 6^th in 3P-FG%, however, have been below average defensively, ranking just 184^th in scoring defense & 260^th in defensive FG%. Princeton is no doubt the team to beat in the Ivy League Tournament and have been playing some great basketball as of late, however, Cornell was solid on both matchups against Princeton in the regular season and as they have an offense that has the firepower to keep up with the Tigers, I’m taking Cornell to at worst, cover with the points. Good Luck!