The Yale Bulldogs and the Auburn Tigers meet Friday in NCAA Tournament First Round college basketball action from Spokane Arena. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best bets for the game. Here’s a Yale vs Auburn prediction. We will examine:
- The Yale recent form and player performance
- The Auburn recent form and player performance
- Recent betting trends and streaks involving Yale
- Recent betting trends and streaks involving Auburn
- Recent betting trends in games played between Yale and Auburn
- A summary that ties it all together and produces a favorable betting outcome for the Yale vs Auburn game
Yale Bulldogs Betting Preview
Yale came out of their first 13 games this year with a sketchy 7-6 record. The Bulldogs have only lost consecutive games once since then, though. Following a loss to Brown that finished off the regular season, Yale took out Cornell and Brown again in their conference tournament.
Matched up against Brown on Sunday, the Bulldogs took a 26-22 edge into the second half. Yale was outscored 39-36 the rest of the way but ultimately took the win 62-61. John Poulakidas topped the team with his 18 points, two assists and two rebounds.
Auburn Tigers Betting Preview
Over on the Auburn side, they opened the year on a 16-2 run, then fell to Alabama and Mississippi State in consecutive games. The Tigers beat Mississippi State, Missouri and Georgia to finish the year, then took out South Carolina, Mississippi State and Florida in the tournament.
In Sunday’s game versus Florida, the Tigers came into the second half with an eight-point lead. Auburn kept it up from there with a 48-37 run and powered out the victory 86-67 in the end. Leading the way in scoring was Johni Broome with 19 points, 11 rebounds and three assists.
Auburn Tigers Team Facts
- Auburn has won each of its last 11 Friday games against non-Conference opponents.
- Auburn has won the first half in 14 of its last 15 games against non-Conference opponents.
Yale Bulldogs Team Facts
- Yale has lost each of its last 10 games against AP-ranked opponents.
- Yale has lost the first half in each of its last six day games against AP-ranked opponents.
Matchup/League Facts
- Auburn ranks 5th among Division 1 teams for opponent field goal percentage this season (38.8%).
- Auburn ranks 6th among Division 1 teams for assists per game this season (18.0).
- Yale ranks 13th among Division 1 teams for turnovers per game this season (9.5).
- Yale ranks 17th among Division 1 teams for turnover percentage this season (12.3%).
Yale vs Auburn Prediction
I’ll still lean toward Auburn here. The Tigers are on a nice run right now and should be in control here. Auburn hit a nice 50.8 percent from the field in the Florida game, along with 18-of-22 (81.8 percent) from the free throw line. That makes six straight wins for the Tigers, with 73 or more points in each (and 86 or more in four of their last five).
As for Yale, they’ve been below 70 points in consecutive games but have also allowed just 118 combined points in that pair. The Bulldogs can score when the matchup is right, as they had a four-game stretch this month with 80 or more points in each. Running with Auburn is going to be tough though, so I don’t think the Bulldogs will quite get there cover-wise.