Harvard vs Pennsylvania 1/28/22 College Basketball Picks, Predictions, Odds

The Pennsylvania Quakers will travel to Lavietes Pavilion to take on the Harvard Crimson this Friday night in College Basketball action.

The Pennsylvania Quakers improved to 7-12 on the season after defeating the Yale Bulldogs, 76-68, this past Saturday. Pennsylvania was outstanding defensively against Yale and was able to pull away late for the victory after taking a 66-58 lead with 3:07 left in regulation. Pennsylvania shot 41.5% from the field & 19.2% from beyond the arc while holding Yale to just 39.0% shooting from the field & 15.8% form beyond the arc. Leading the way for the Quakers was Jordan Dingle who ad 31 points, 6 rebounds, 1 assist, & 1 steal.

On the season, Pennsylvania is averaging 70.6 ppg on 44.0% shooting from the field. The Quakers are averaging 8.5 three-pointers per game on 34.6% shooting from beyond the arc. Offensively, Pennsylvania has been led by Jordan Dingle (18.7 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 2.3 apg), Clark Slajchert (9.9 ppg, 1.9 rpg, 1.3 apg), Max Martz (8.9 ppg, 4.9 rpg, 1.3 apg), & Jelani Williams (6.6 ppg, 3.7 rpg, 2.1 apg, 1.2 spg).

Defensively, Pennsylvania is allowing their opponents to an average of 74.6 ppg on 45.2% shooting from the field. The Quakers have a rebound margin of -3.3 and a turnover margin of -1.1.

The Harvard Crimson had their 2-game winning streak snapped and dropped to 10-6 on the season after being defeated by the Cornell Big Red, 76-61, this past Saturday. Harvard struggled on both ends of the court against Cornell and could not fight back after Cornell took a 64-49 lead with 8:19 left in regulation. Harvard shot 35.7% from the field & 35.3% from beyond the arc while allowing Cornell to shoot 57.4% from the field & 45.0% from beyond the arc. Leading the way for the Crimson was Noah Kirkwood who had 18 points, 5 rebounds, & 4 assists.

On the season, Harvard is allowing their opponents to an average of 69.8 ppg on 43.8% shooting from the field. The Crimson have a rebound margin of -1.0 and a turnover margin of 4.1.

The Quakers are 4-2 ATS in their last 6 games, however, are just 5-11 ATS in their last 16 games vs. Harvard. The Crimson are 1-8 ATS in their last 9 games & 1-5 ATS in their last 6 games vs. Ivy League opponents.

Pennsylvania has been led by their three-point shooting which ranks 89^th in three-pointers per game & 139^th in 3P-FG%, however, the Quakers have overall struggled on both ends of the court and come into this matchup ranked just 200^th in scoring offense, 303^rd in scoring defense, & 292^nd in defensive FG%. Harvard has been led by their offense which ranks 101^st in scoring offense& t-28^th in three-pointer made per game, however, the defense has struggled at times and rank just 201^st in scoring defense & 231^st in defensive FG%.

Pennsylvania is coming off a quality win against Yale, however, this is a team that is just 1-8 on the road this season which includes a recent double-digit loss at Princeton. Harvard is a solid team that has played well at home this season (7-2 record) and as I think their offense finds plenty of success on their home court in this one, I’m taking Harvard to cover this small home spread. Good Luck!