Princeton has beaten Penn 13 straight times, but I like Penn to at least keep this tight, if not win outright. There's not a big talent gap here like in past years. Fran McCaffery's Quakers are showing improvement heading into conference play; they've covered three straight, all by big margins. That includes a 1-point loss at Rutgers and a four-point loss at George Mason. Princeton takes 48.2 percent of its shots from beyond the arc; over its last five games, Penn has allowed opponents to hit just 22.4 percent from deep.

By the time Ivy play begins we're used to seeing a bit more from Princeton than the current edition that's shooting worse (41% from the floor) than any Tigers team in recent memory. That's a main reason why Princeton also hasn't been up to its normal challenging non-Ivy slate, lacking a sharp edge that could have helped in some of its 11 losses. Meanwhile, Penn has mostly been up to the challenge in the maiden run at his alma mater for HC Fran McCaffery, who has kept the Quakers combative the past month even minus top scorer F Ethan Roberts, with sorts such as ex-Mercer F Michael Zanoni (51 points across the last two games) effectively stepping into the breach. Play Penn