The Columbia Lions (6-16, 1-6 Ivy) and Penn Quakers (11-11, 3-4) tangle in a Friday Ivy League game in Philadelphia. Tip time at The Palestra is slated for 7 p.m. ET (ESPN+). Below, we analyze Tipico Sportsbook’s lines around the Columbia vs. Penn odds, and make our expert college basketball picks, predictions and bets.
Columbia was 0-6 straight up and 0-5-1 against the spread in January. The Lions have especially struggled on defense over that stretch, allowing 84.5 points per game and a 50% mark from the floor.
Pennsylvania heads into this game off back-to-back wins and is 3-1 over its last 4 games at The Palestra. The Penn defense has been solid of late, even in recent losses. The Quakers have held foes to 66.9 PPG alongside a shooting percentage of 40.4% since Dec. 7.
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Columbia at Penn odds
Provided by Tipico Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated at 9:07 a.m. ET.
- Moneyline: Columbia +650 (bet $100 to win $650) | Penn -1200 (bet $1,200 to win $100)
- Against the spread (ATS): Columbia +14.5 (-110) | Penn -14.5 (-110)
- Over/Under (O/U): 145.5 (O: -105 | U: -115)
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Columbia at Penn picks and predictions
Prediction
Penn 80, Columbia 60
Moneyline
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Against the spread
The Lions are 0-5-1 ATS in their last 6 games overall and the Quakers are 6-1 ATS in their last 7 home games against losing teams. In recent series games, Penn has won 4 of the last 5 ATS.
Penn has marginal advantages in the expected turnover and rebounding exchanges, but the Quakers are just miles ahead in the 3-point exchange. On perimeter defense, cut NCAA-I hoops in half: Penn is in the top half and Columbia is in the bottom half. In 3-point shooting, parse all the teams into three buckets. The Quakers are in the top third, while the Lions are in the bottom third.
With this game at The Palestra, back PENN -14.5 (-110).
Over/Under
The Under has hit in 3 straight series match-ups and it’s the slight lean here.
This figures to be a slightly pace-up game, but the scoring spiral factors like free-throw frequency, 2nd-chance points, and turnover points certainly don’t look like they will be loose.
Consider a partial-unit play on the UNDER 145.5 (-115).
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