The Harvard Crimson head to Matthews Arena to take on the Northeastern Huskies. Action starts at 7:00 pm ET on Wednesday, Dec. 2.
The Huskies come into this game on a high note after just getting past Miami (FL) 78-77 the last time they played. Quincy Ford led all scorers on the team with 24 points on 9-for-17 shooting. The Crimson, meanwhile, are feeling some disappointment after their bitter 50-49 loss at the hands of Holy Cross in their last outing. Evan Cummins posted eight points, four rebounds, and three blocks.
Northeastern is a six-point favorite against Harvard and the Over/Under (O/U) for this game is sitting at 128 points. The Huskies are attempting to build on their records of 5-1 Straight Up (SU) and 2-2 Against The Spread (ATS).
Across the court, the Crimson haven’t been a good bet ATS so far with a record of 0-3 to go along with a 2-4 SU record. The Crimson are one of the top defensive teams in the nation, essentially shutting down opponents to the tune of 58.0 points allowed per game. The Crimson have one of the best opponent field-goal percentages in the nation at .340. They average 5.7 blocks per game, good for 28th in the nation.
These two will be squaring off for the first time this season. In their most recent meeting a season ago, Harvard came out on top, bumping its SU record to 4-3. Furthermore, Harvard holds the advantage ATS with a record of 3-1.
Predictions: SU Winner – NE, ATS Winner – Harv, O/U – Under
Notes
Northeastern is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games.
Northeastern scores an average of just 76.0 points per game (ranked 154th). Harvard ranks ninth in points allowed, giving up 58.0 points per game.
Harvard scores just 56.3 points per away game (ranked 315th). Northeastern ranks 61st in points allowed at home, giving up 60.0 points.
The Harvard Crimson have a defensive rating of 90.1 (ranked 31st), while the Northeastern Huskies have an offensive rating of 109.9 (ranked 114th).
The Harvard Crimson average a field goal percentage of 42.4% this season. The Northeastern Huskies have a winning 3-1 record in games where opponents have a FG% of 42.4% or greater.
The Northeastern Huskies and the Harvard Crimson both rank higher in average effective field goal percentage when compared to their field goal percentages. Northeastern is 133rd and 109th in the nation for FG% and eFG% respectively, while Harvard is 234th and 194th in these categories.
Harvard, the 28th-ranked team in blocked shots, registers an average of 5.7 per game. Northeastern does worse, ranked 112th with 4.0.
Northeastern ranks 140th in offensive rebounds, while Harvard ranks 45th in defensive rebounds.
On average, Harvard forces a turnover rate of 16.4%. When Northeastern turns over the ball at a similar or higher rate, the team has a winning 4-1 record.
