Princeton vs Rutgers Prediction College Basketball Picks 12/21/24

The Princeton Tigers and the Rutgers Scarlet Knights meet Saturday in college basketball action from Prudential Center. Here’s a Princeton vs Rutgers prediction. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best Princeton vs Rutgers pick. We will examine:

The Princeton Tigers recent form and player performance

The Rutgers Scarlet Knights recent form and player performance

Recent betting trends and streaks involving the Princeton Tigers

Recent betting trends and streaks involving the Rutgers Scarlet Knights

Recent betting trends in games played between Princeton and Rutgers

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

Princeton Tigers Betting Preview

This year the Tigers got off to a 4-1 start with wins over Iona, Duquesne, Northeastern and Merrimack. Princeton has since gone 4-3 with losses to Wright State, Texas State and Furman alongside wins over Portland, Nazareth, St. Joseph’s and Monmouth.

In the Monmouth matchup back on December 10, the Tigers came out of the break with a modest 30-29 edge. Princeton hit a 41-38 run the rest of the way in a 71-67 finish. Leading team scorer Xaivian Lee logged 23 points with six rebounds and six assists.

Rutgers Scarlet Knights Betting Preview

Over on the Rutgers side, they won their first four games then hit a 1-4 stretch with losses to Kennesaw State, Alabama, Texas A&M and Ohio State. The Knights have since won consecutive games over Penn State and Seton Hall.

In the Seton Hall game last Saturday, the Knights were down by six at halftime. Rutgers managed a 39-30 comeback in the second and took the win 66-63. Dylan Harper was the team’s top scorer with 24 points and two rebounds.

Why the Rutgers Scarlet Knights will win

• Rutgers has won each of its last three games when playing with a rest disadvantage.

Why the Princeton Tigers will win

• Princeton has won 22 of its last 24 day games against non-Conference opponents.
• Rutgers has lost seven of its last eight games against non-Conference opponents at neutral venues.
• Princeton has won the first half in five of its last six games.

Princeton vs Rutgers Prediction

I’ll likely try Princeton here. The Tigers played a little too closely to a struggling Monmouth team in their last outing though, so I’d like to see a couple of statistical improvements over that game. Namely the 15-of-23 (65.2 percent) from the line and the 13 turnovers for 18 Hawks points. That said, Princeton has looked pretty good in this 4-1 stretch and they’ve scored 71 or more points in five of the last six games.

As for Rutgers, they’re a bit of an enigma this year. The Knights seem to play either up or down depending on the competition. Rutgers needed a great second half to eke past a middling Seton Hall team, but played strong against both Alabama and Texas A&M recently. If the Knights aren’t completely on point here, Princeton should have a promising cover shot.