Once Upon A Time In Las Vegas
The Harvard Crimson (9-6, 7-6 ATS, 3-10 O/U) meet with the Brown Bears (7-7, 8-6 ATS, 3-11 O/U) in an IVY League battle on Friday evening. The Crimson defeated Princeton in their previous action. The Bears were hit with a home loss against Pennsylvania on Monday evening. Each team recorded a road win in last year's two meetings.
The Harvard Crimson are eying their first Ivy League win of the season. Harvard opened conference play with a narrow 69-66 road loss against Princeton on Saturday in a bout that the Crimson marked as 5.5 point dogs. Harvard was 5-1 after six games but has cooled down. They covered in a recent defeat against Kansas. Their last win was December 28th in an overtime victory against Maine. The Crimson have covered the spread in three out of their last four games.
Chris Ledlum is clicking, sinking a remarkable 49 points in his last two performances. The senior forward is one of the best players in the Ivy League, delivering an average of 19.5 PPG accompanied by RPG. Chrisom Okpara scored 15 points in the loss to Princeton. The freshman forward has increased his season average to 8.6 PPG on 49% shooting. Sam Silverstein has shot at least 50% in three out of his last four games. The junior guard is third in team scoring with 8.1 PPG and 5.5 RPG.
11:18 2H | Harvard 46 Princeton 44
It's a tight one in our Ivy opener. ??
?? Chisom Okpara gets in the paint for the bucket??
– Ledlum: 16 PTS, 6 REB
– Okpara: 13 PTS, 6-7 FGWatch Live on ESPN+
?? https://t.co/wxcgzwup6I#GoCrimson #OneCrimson pic.twitter.com/iW4s2FKxOA— Harvard Men's Basketball (@HarvardMBB) December 31, 2022
The Crimson are ranked 174th in DI in Ken Pomeroy’s ratings and were voted to finish fourth in the Ivy League preseason media poll. Harvard is 5-3 on the road and is scoring an average of 67.1 points, ranking them 303rd. They are a strong defensive squad, conceding an average of 64.5 points, placing them 70th.