Ivy League foes will battle when the Harvard Crimson (9-10) challenge the Columbia Lions (14-6) at Lavietes Pavilion. The game begins at 7:00 pm ET on Saturday, Jan. 30.
The Crimson lost to Cornell 77-65 on Friday. Zena Edosomwan recorded 24 points and 10 rebounds, earning his eighth double-double of the year. The Lions are coming off a 77-60 win against Dartmouth on Friday. Maodo Lo led the game in scoring with 16 points on 6-for-13 shooting.
The Crimson have gone 9-9 Straight Up (SU) and 5-6 Against The Spread (ATS). Harvard is one of the best passing teams in the nation with an average of 15.9 assists per game. Turning to the defensive side, teams have to fight for open shots against the Crimson, who have one of the best opponent field-goal percentages in the country at .393. An area where the Crimson are particularly strong is shot blocking, where they average 5.1 blocks per game, 42nd in Division I.
As for their opponent, the Lions head into the game with records of 4-5 ATS and 13-6 SU.
These conference rivals will be squaring off for the first time this season. In their most recent meeting a season ago, Harvard came out on top, moving its SU record against Columbia to 9-1 in their most recent head-to-head meetings. With a 7-3 record, the Lions have the advantage ATS. In these last five matchups, each team was able to hold the edge in field goals, rebounds, and three-pointers once.
Predictions: SU Winner – Colum, ATS Winner – Colum
Notes
Harvard 19-4-1 SU in its last 24 games at home.
Harvard is 2-6 ATS in its last 8 games when playing Columbia.
Harvard is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing Columbia.
Harvard is 1-4 ATS in its last 5 games when playing at home against Columbia.
The total has gone OVER in 6 of Harvard’s last 9 games when playing at home against Columbia.
The Columbia Lions rank 29th for their offensive rating of 114.5. The Harvard Crimson have a defensive rating of 95.8 (ranked 42nd).
The Columbia Lions average a field goal percentage of 44.9% this season. The Harvard Crimson have split their games this season (2-2) when opponents have a FG% of 44.9% or greater.
The Harvard Crimson and the Columbia Lions both rank higher in average effective field goal percentage when compared to their field goal percentages. Harvard is 126th and 101st in the nation for FG% and eFG% respectively, while Columbia is 128th and 39th in these categories.
Harvard ranks 49th in assists, recording 15.9 per game. Columbia ranks 62nd with 15.7 assists per game.
Harvard, the 42nd-ranked team in blocked shots, records an average of 5.1 per game. Columbia does worse, ranked 180th with 3.4.
Columbia ranks 148th in offensive rebounds, while Harvard ranks at 63rd in defensive rebounds.
On average, Harvard forces a turnover rate of 18.0%. When Columbia turns over the ball at a similar or higher rate, the team has a superb 9-2 record.
