PRINCETON AT YALE

Had last Saturday’s result gone the other way, the Tigers’ season would look completely different. At 6-3 in the Ancient Eight and just a couple five-minute stretches away from 8-1, Princeton fans could not only talk up their chances this week but also moving forward. The team’s best wings are young, and freshman guard Amir Bell is as good as any rookie not named Kyle Castlin.

But there’s a flipside to the coin. Outside of junior Hans Brase, the team struggles on the defensive glass, and Spencer Weisz hasn’t been able to take over games in Ivy League play. The group comes into New Haven against an angry Yale squad and a Player of the Year candidate in senior Justin Sears who had 25 and nine against them last time out. The Elis’ title hopes will ostensibly end if they lose here, and the players are well aware.

Pick: Yale

PENN AT BROWN

Underreported last week was Brown’s 17-point comeback against Cornell, with the Bears fighting off 27 points from Miller. Brown has won three of last five games since starting the Ancient Eight season 0-5 in league play. The Bears have rallied since the departure of Leland King, and was maybe two minutes away from having wins over both Harvard and Yale.

Penn, on the other hand, looks like it might be the worst team the league has seen in a decade. Star guard Tony Hicks was just suspended for the third time in three years. The school newspaper quoted one of the assistant coaches this week as saying that “this year in so many ways was about more than wins and losses.”

Howard, hold a second. I do believe that’s Lombardi puking six feet under.

Pick: Brown

HARVARD AT CORNELL

One of the most startling facts of the Crimson’s four-year run is the 22-4 road record the team has posted over the stretch. Harvard coach Tommy Amaker, not getting the buzz he should for Ivy League Coach of the Year, is a master of motivation, preaching that the team be “tough and together” on the road. Against a Cornell team boasting a 308th-ranked offense, Harvard should be turning its focus to Columbia 10 minutes into the second half.

Pick: Harvard

DARTMOUTH AT CORNELL

The elven mavens of Hanover have flailed since an early season win over Harvard that looks more and more flukish with each passing weekend. Lead guard Alex Mitola is down to 40-percent shooting on the year, and only one rotation player is shooting better than 50 percent. However, Cornell police may have discovered the next Walter White—arresting a twenty-something holding 250 bags of heroin this week.

Better Call Saul, as the kids say.