The Harvard Crimson (11-16) will close out the regular season on the road when they face off against the Brown Bears (8-17) at Paul Bailey Pizzitola Sports Center. The game starts at 6:00 pm ET on Saturday, Feb. 27.
The Bears won a close one over Dartmouth 84-83 on Friday. Steven Spieth was the game’s high scorer with 21 points on 6-for-7 shooting. The Crimson, meanwhile, are coming off a 59-50 loss at the hands of Yale on Friday. Patrick Steeves had a team-high 16 points.
This will be the second matchup of the season between these two teams. The Crimson won the first game 79-73. Agunwa Okolie played a big role with 15 points and 12 rebounds.
Despite an 8-17 Straight Up (SU) record, the Bears have fared well Against The Spread (ATS) with an 11-7 record. In their last 10 games, they are 1-8-1 ATS. The Bears will be looking to pick it up in this one after recent offensive struggles. In the last 10 games, Brown has only averaged 62.4 points per game compared to the 74.2 they’ve averaged on the season. The Brown defense is doing better against opposing offenses during the last 10 games. It is allowing an average of 70.8 points per game, well under their season average of 78.1.
On the other side, Harvard has a SU record of 11-16 and an ATS record of 6-13-1. Somehow Harvard managed to go 7-3 ATS over the last 10 games, while having an unimpressive record of 3-7 SU during the same amount of time. Harvard has been playing better lately, averaging 74.0 PPG, significantly more than their season average of 66.4. Harvard is one of the top three-point shooting teams in the nation, converting .385 of their shots from three-point range. The Harvard defense has allowed an average of 81.8 points per game during the last 10 games, higher than their season average of 66.9. Teams seem to consistently miss three-point shots against the Crimson, who are the 23rd-best team in the country in terms of three-point field goal percentage allowed at .308. When it comes to defending the rim, the Crimson are one of the best in the nation with an average of 4.9 blocks per game.
Harvard won the last meeting this season between these two teams, bringing its SU record in their most recent games to 10-0. The Bears hold the advantage ATS with a record of 8-2. Harvard topped the Bears in three key areas (field goals, rebounds, and three-pointers) twice over the last five matchups. Brown has never had the edge in all three categories.
Predictions: SU Winner – Harv, ATS Winner – Harv
Notes
“Brown is 7-1 ATS in its last 8 games “.
“Brown is 1-5 SU in its last 6 games “.
“The total has gone OVER in 4 of Brown’s last 5 games “.
“Brown is 4-1 ATS in its last 5 games at home”.
“The total has gone OVER in 4 of Brown’s last 6 games at home”.
“Brown is 5-0 ATS in its last 5 games when playing Harvard”.
“Brown is 0-5 SU in its last 5 games when playing Harvard”.
“The total has gone OVER in 4 of Brown’s last 5 games when playing Harvard”.
“Brown is 4-1 ATS in its last 5 games when playing at home against Harvard”.
“Brown is 0-5 SU in its last 5 games when playing at home against Harvard”.
The Brown Bears and Harvard Crimson both hold losing records of 3-8 SU against teams in the Ivy League Conference.
Brown scores just 77.3 points per home game (ranked 124th). Harvard ranks 74th in points allowed on the road, giving up 71.4 points.
The Brown Bears average 71.9 possessions and 1.032 points per possession in games this season. The Harvard Crimson average fewer possessions with 66.7, as well as fewer points per possession with .996.
The Brown Bears average an effective field goal percentage of 50.1% this season. The Harvard Crimson have an underachieving record of 3-6 when opponents have an eFG% of 50.1% or greater.
On average, the Brown Bears attempt 23.0 three point field goals per game and the Harvard Crimson attempt 19.0. In games where they attempt at least 20 threes, Brown has a poor record of 6-13, while Harvard is 7-5.
Brown ranks 91st in blocks per game with 4.2 and Harvard ranks 38th with 4.9 blocks per game.
The Harvard Crimson average 5.1 steals per game. When giving up 5 or more steals, the Brown Bears have a poor record (6-15) this season.
