Ivy League Basketball

In 2017 the Ivy League became the last conference in Division 1 basketball to add their own postseason tournament. Instead of every team getting a chance to play for an automatic bid to March Madness like all the other D1 conferences, only the top four Ivy teams get a chance to play for a spot in March. In the four years of the tournament, Yale has won twice, Penn once and Princeton last year - this year there are three teams locked in at the top, with the fourth spot still up for grabs 👇

The Ivy League winner usually comes into March Madness in the 11-14 seed range, and all things considered, has generally had success playing at-large bid Power-5 opponents closer than expected. Last year, Princeton upset No. 2 seed Arizona as a 15 seed, and then took down No. 7 Missouri before falling to Creighton in the Sweet 16. The Tigers were the second Ivy League team ever to advance to the second weekend of the Big Dance 🐅

The 2010 March Madness tournament is generally remembered as the year No. 5 almost shocked top seeded Duke on Gordon Hayward’s half court shot, but many forget that No. 12 Cornell made a cinderella run of their own, taking down No. 5 Temple and No. 4 Wisconsin before falling to Kentucky in the Sweet 16, making them the first Ivy school to ever reach the second weekend 🔥

Tonight, the top two Ivy schools, Cornell and Yale, play for sole possession of first place in the conference. With only five games remaining before the Ivy tournament, this game is borderline must win for both teams, especially with Princeton just one game back with a meeting against Cornell still on the schedule 😮‍💨

Yale is led by Danny Wolf, who is 8th in the conference in scoring at 14.7 PPG. Cornell on the other hand is more of a well oiled machine, with no one averaging more than Chris Manon’s 12.7 PPG - five other players on Big Red are scoring between 8-11 PPG. It’s not often you see an Ivy League game on a list like this, but tonight’s game up in Ithaca is as big as it gets for Ivy hoops 📚

If you’re tired of the run and gun style of basketball from the top teams usually aired on National TV, head to ESPN+ tonight at 7PM for a more traditional style of ball. Take a look at how the lines are shaping up 👇

Yale vs. Cornell Betting Preview (subject to change)

• Spread: Cornell -2

• Moneyline: N/A

• O/U: 155.5

Trivia Question: Who is the all-time scoring leader in the Ivy League? If you know U.S. politics you should get this

For My Parlay Gurus

Outside of my research for today’s newsletter, I know pretty much nothing about Ivy League basketball. I’m going to ride with Big Red at home, where they are 9-0 on the season. Throw in Princeton on the road and you have yourself a little Ivy parlay 👇

• Cornell -2 vs. Yale: -108

• Princeton -7.5 @ Harvard: -102

$100 on this bet would win you $281 — if we hit, make sure you email [email protected] for a chance to win an Overtime hoodie*. Many will enter, only some will win 😉

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Trivia Answer: Bill Bradley is the all-time leading Ivy League scorer with 2,503 career points at Princeton in the 1960s. He was drafted by the Knicks and later served three terms as a Senator from New Jersey and ran for president in 2000

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