Yale vs Brown Picks, Predictions, Odds & Player Props for Ivy League Title Game

Dec 10, 2023; Providence, Rhode Island, USA; Brown Bears guard Kino Lilly Jr. (10) dribbles the ball against the Providence Friars during the second half at Amica Mutual Pavilion. Mandatory Credit: Eric Canha-USA TODAY SportsYale and Brown meet in the 2024 Ivy League championship game on Sunday, March 17Brown shocked regular-season champ Princeton in the semis, while Yale dominated CornellGet the Yale vs Brown odds, predictions, and player props for the Ivy League title game

The Brown Bears (13-17, 8-6 Ivy, 2-2 neutral, 17-12 ATS) are looking to cap off one of the best resurrection storylines in recent memory when they face the Yale Bulldogs (21-9, 11-3 Ivy, 3-1 neutral, 15-11-2 ATS) in the Ivy League championship game on Sunday, March 17, at Levien Gymnasium on the Columbia campus.

Oddsmakers still don’t give the surging Bears much of a chance to write a happy ending to the drama, though. The Bulldogs are listed as -340 moneyline favorites in the Yale vs Brown odds.

Yale vs Brown Odds

Brown comes back as a +270 underdog to win its eighth game in a row. Against the spread, Yale is a 7.5-point neutral-court favorite in Sunday’s college basketball odds while the game total is 134.5. Tip off is scheduled for 12:00 pm ET.

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Odds as of March 16 at ESPN Bet. Follow this link to sign up for ESPN Bet and get a bonus for Sunday’s NCAA basketball games. 

Though Yale had an impressive 20-9 record in the regular season, they sit just 83rd in the NET Rankings and have no hope of an at-large berth to March Madness. Sunday’s Ivy League title game is a must-win for both teams if they hope to make the 2024 NCAA Tournament bracket.

Princeton is 49th in the NET and has a chance to qualify as an at-large. The Tigers  are 24-4 overall after the loss to Brown, though they only played one Power 6 team this year (a 68-61 win over Rutgers in the first game of the season).

Brown Steps on the Gas Just in Time

At one point this season, Brown was 6-17 overall and just 2-6 in Ivy League play. A 71-64 win over Penn on Feb. 17 started a regular-season-ending six-game win streak which put the Bears fourth in the Ivy and gave them the final berth into the four-team Ivy League tournament.

Last night, they stunned top-seeded Princeton (90-81) as 10.5-point underdogs. The Tigers had romped to a 12-2 record in Ivy League play and were on a nine-game win streak of their own.

Brown’s leading scorer, Kino Lilly Jr (18.4 PPG, 3.4 APG), played one of his best games of the season, dropping 27 points on 9-of-15 shooting along with 10 assists and three rebounds.

Nana Owusu-Anane, the only other Bear to average in double-ps this season (15.0 PPG), added 19 points on 8-of-11 shooting plus a monstrous 13 rebounds, helping the Bears finish with a 41-32 edge on the glass.

If the Bears can pull of the upset on Sunday afternoon, it will end a March Madness drought that’s approaching 40 years: Brown hasn’t reached the NCAA Tournament since 1986. Shockingly, that’s only the third-longest drought in the eight-team Ivy League. (Columbia’s dates back to 1968 and Dartmouth’s to 1959.)

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Yale Dusts Aside Cornell to Reach Ivy Title Game

The Yale vs Cornell matchup was supposed to be the more dramatic of the two semifinals yesterday, but the Bulldogs controlled the play almost from the opening tip. Yale went up 17-8 inside of six minutes and held a 12-point lead at halftime. Cornell showed some fight with a 13-2 run in the second which narrowed the game to seven, but Yale wouldn’t allow them any closer and cruised to a 69-57 victory.

Seven-foot sophomore Danny Wolf, who averaged a team-high 14.4 PPG and 9.7 RPG in the regular season, led the Bulldogs with 19-point and 10-rebound double-double in the win over Cornell.

Yale would have finished in a tie with Yale atop the Ivy standings at 12-2 but for a season-ending loss to Brown at home in overtime (84-81). Lilly and Owusu-Anane had monster games for the Bears in that one, as well, scoring 26 and 20 points, respectively. Brown erased a 15-point second-half deficit – and an 11-point deficit with just over four minutes to play – before winning the OT period 11-8.

Brown’s recent success notwithstanding, Yale still rates considerably higher in almost all meaningful metrics. The Bulldogs are 85th in offensive efficiency at KenPom compared to 212th for the Bears. Yale is 95th on defense while Brown is 198th.

Yale vs Brown Player Props

College basketball player props from DraftKings on March 16, 2024. 

Lilly has the highest point total at just 15.5, while Wolf leads the balance Yale team at 14.5. Five different Bulldogs averaged at least 10.0 PPG this season.

Yale vs Brown Prediction

Last night’s win for Brown was the latest piece of evidence that this is not the same team it was at the start of the season. While only one of the wins on their current seven-game streak came by double-digits, four of the seven were true road games, and they beat each of the Ivy’s top-three seeds once.

Lilly is going to be the most dangerous and dynamic player on the floor, and Owusu-Anane gives the Bears a strong frontcourt presence to compete with Wolf.

I’m not saying Brown should be favored, but I love the price for a Brown upset at +270.

Yale vs Brown pick: Brown moneyline (+270) – two units

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Sascha Paruk’s 2023-24 NCAAM betting record:

ATS: 20-22 (-3.84 units)Moneyline: 4-11 (-5.06 units)Over/Under: 0-1 (-1.00 units)Player props: 11-4 (+5.15 units)