College Hoops Picks: Brown Bears @ Yale Bulldogs

Preview

The Brown Bears (0-1, 6-9) get a chance for redemption when they visit the Yale Bulldogs (1-0, 6-9) on Friday.

This will be the second conference game for both teams, and the opener for both teams was on Jan. 16 when Yale traveled to Brown and upset them, 70-62.

The key to the Bulldogs' victory was Alex Zampier, a junior guard who is averaging 14.5 points per game, shooting .313 from beyond the arc, and is hitting 84.5 percent of his free throws.

Against the Bears, Zampier had a team-high 19 points, with 15 of them coming in the second half.

	Record	Conf	ATS	RPI	SOS	PF	PA
Brown	6-9	0-1	1-6	260	267	64.6	70.0
Yale	6-9	1-0	4-1	246	292	64.7	66.1

	FG%	D. FG%	3P%	D. 3P%	FT%	RPG	SPG	APG
Brown	44.2	46.0	38.5	37.0	68.6	34.3	4.6	14.3
Yale	44.4	43.4	28.8	32.4	67.2	36.8	7.6	14.8

These two Ivy Leaguers complement each other very well—not exactly what you're looking for when they're playing against one another.

Brown shoots the long ball better while Yale defends it better. Yale gets more rebounds and steals per game, but they also turn the ball over more per game.

Prediction

Current Line: Yale -4.5

Brown ATS: 1-6, 1-4 when underdog
Yale ATS: 4-1, 0-0 when favored

Since 1980, these two teams have faced each other 57 times and are almost even—the edge goes to Yale with 30 head-to-head wins. Over the past three seasons, the teams have split the games.

In 2006 and 2008, the home team was victorious both times. In 2007, both teams won on the road. Earlier this month, Yale won on the road by hitting off-balance shots consistently. I don't see them doing that again.

Pick: Brown +4.5

*All statistics for this article have come from StatSheet.com*

*This article is also featured on CFBPlace.com—and soon to be featured on CBBPlace.com*