Columbia Lions (9-5) vs. Yale Bulldogs (10-6)
January 15, 2024 7:00 pm EDT
The Line: Yale Bulldogs -12.5; Over/Under: +144.5
(Get latest betting odds)
The Columbia Lions and the Yale Bulldogs meet in college basketball action from the John J. Lee Amphitheater on Monday night. Can Columbia get their first win of Ivy League play? Or will Yale remain unbeaten? Let’s dive in and find out with our Columbia vs. Yale Prediction.
Columbia Team Preview
The Columbia Lions come into this one looking to rebound from a 91-79 loss at the hands of Cornell in their last matchup. Geronimo Rubio De La Rosa leads the Lions in scoring and assists with 13.3 PPG and 2.9 APG along with 3.5 RPG while Avery Brown has 12.1 PPG and 3.5 RPG and Blair Thompson has 10.2 PPG with a team-high 6.2 RPG to lead the Lions on the glass while rounding out the trio of double-digit scorers for Columbia so far this season. As a team, Columbia is averaging 81.6 PPG on 47.9% shooting from the field, 38.8% from three and 76.4% from the foul line this season.
Yale Team Preview
The Yale Bulldogs come into this one looking to add to their 80-70 win over Brown in their last matchup. Danny Wolf leads the Bulldogs in scoring and rebounding with 14.2 PPG and 9.1 RPG while Bez Mbeng has 13.6 PPG with 4.5 RPG and a team-high 3.6 APG to lead the Bulldogs in the assist department this season. John Poulakidas has 11.8 PPG and Matt Knowling has 10.4 PPG with 4.3 RPG to cap off the group of double-digit scorers for Yale up to this point in the year. August Mahoney also has 9.1 PPG as well for Yale this season. As a team, Yale is averaging 75.4 PPG on 45.8% shooting from the field, 33.8% from three and 72.9% from the foul line this season.
Columbia vs. Yale Prediction
I’m on Columbia with the points here. I just think it’s a case of too many points to be honest. Yale is usually a front-runner in the Ivy League and Columbia’s defense is slightly concerning, but the Lions shoot a lot of threes and make them at a high clip which is the best way to exploit Yale’s normally solid defense. If the shots are falling for Columbia, the Lions will have a good shot at covering this number and potentially snagging the outright win. Give me Columbia and the points here.
