Princeton vs Harvard Prediction 1/11/25 College Basketball Picks

The Princeton Tigers and the Harvard Crimson meet Saturday in college basketball action from Lavietes Pavilion. Here’s a Princeton vs Harvard prediction. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best Princeton vs Harvard pick. We will examine:

The Princeton Tigers’ recent form and player performance

The Harvard Crimson’s recent form and player performance

Recent betting trends and streaks involving the Princeton Tigers

Recent betting trends and streaks involving the Harvard Crimson

Recent betting trends in games played between Princeton and Harvard

A summary that ties it all together and produces a favorable betting outcome for the Princeton vs Harvard game

Princeton Tigers Betting Preview

The Tigers have one rough stretch of games in the books so far, but overall they’ve been quite the reliable team this season. Princeton kicked things off with a winning streak over Iona, Duquesne, and Northeastern, then hit a 1-3 stretch with a lone win over Merrimack. The losses during that time were versus Loyola Chicago, Wright State, and Texas State otherwise. Since then it’s been a 7-1 run for the Tigers. The loss in that time was versus Furman on December 7. Princeton dispatched Portland, Nazareth College, Saint Joseph’s, Monmouth, Rutgers, Akron, and Kean otherwise during that run for an 11-4 overall record through 15 games so far.

In the matchup with Kean last Saturday, the Tigers went into the break with a commanding lead of 49-36. Princeton didn’t let up in the second, rolling to a 43-35 half for a 92-71 victory in the end. Leading the team in scoring was Philip Byriel with 14 points, three rebounds, and two blocks in 19 minutes of work. Also in double-figures as a starter was Jackson Hicke with 12 points and four boards. Coming off the bench for 13 points, five rebounds, two assists, and three steals in 22 minutes total was Peyton Seals in a solid effort.

Harvard Crimson Betting Preview

Over on the Harvard side, they’ve had quite a difficult campaign so far, though it’s worth noting that the Crimson have played better over their most recent four outings. Harvard kicked things off on an ugly 2-7 run though, falling versus Navy, American, Northeastern, Colorado, UMass, St. John’s, and Holy Cross with wins over only Marist and Colgate otherwise. Since then it’s been a 3-1 run with a lone loss to Furman alongside wins over New Hampshire, Iona, and Bowdoin in that time for a 5-8 run of games so far for the Crimson.

Matched up against Bowdoin back on Sunday, the Crimson came out of the break looking up at a 41-32 deficit. Harvard woke up in the second half however, turning a 39-24 run into a 71-65 win by the final horn. Leading team scorer Chandler Pigge posted 15 points with five rebounds and three assists. Robert Hinton added 13 points with three rebounds, while Thomas Batties put up 12 points, five rebounds, and four assists in 31 minutes on the floor.

Why the Harvard Crimson will win

• Harvard has won three of its last four games.

Why the Princeton Tigers will win

• Princeton has won nine of its last 10 games against the Ivy League.
• Harvard has lost eight of its last nine day games against the Ivy League.
• Princeton has won the first half in each of its last four games against Harvard at Lavietes Pavilion.

Princeton vs Harvard Prediction

I’ll stay with Princeton. The Tigers put together a pretty complete game in their last outing versus an overmatched Kean team and got solid minutes for a lot of bench guys along the way. Princeton shot a nice 50.7 percent in that one with 10-of-11 from the line and a 37-28 rebounding edge. The only blemish was 13 turnovers for 13 Cougars points. Princeton is scoring very well these days; they’ve hit 71 or more points in eight of the last nine games (a 7-2 stretch) and should be able to keep that run going here.

As for Harvard, they started slowly against Bowdoin in their last outing but eventually found their groove in a six-point win. The Crimson have 67 or more points in four of the last five games (a 3-2 run) and they’ve been playing better lately. Still, I don’t think they’ll be able to handle the Tigers here.