2025 Ivy League Basketball Tournament

The 2025 Ivy League Tournament will be played on the campus of Brown University in Providence, RI. It’s the last tournament to tip-off and the one with the most unique format. Four teams, three games, all played in close to 24 hours. It is the Midnight Run of the college basketball tournament season.

The condensed schedule mirrors Ivy League regular season action where teams customarily play conference games on consecutive Friday-Saturday nights. The home team Bears are not in this year’s quartet.

 

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How to Watch the Ivy League Tournament

When: March 15-16

Where: Pizzitola Sports Center (Brown University) in Providence, RI

Format: All teams begin play in the semifinals

Watch: ESPNU and ESPNEWS; Championship Game on ESPN2 on Mar. 16 at 1 p.m. ET

Ivy League Tournament Bracket

Ivy League Tournament Seeds, Teams and Odds

1.  Yale (-160)

2.  Cornell (+300)

3.  Dartmouth (+600)

4.  Princeton (+1200)

Favorite To Win Ivy League Tournament

Even if this tournament featured an expanded field, Yale would still be a noticeable odds-on favorite. That is how much the Bulldogs separated themselves from the rest of the pack during the regular season. Yale’s only blemish of the 14-game conference schedule came at Harvard on March 1st with a five-point loss, one night after it held off a quality Dartmouth squad 72-67 in New Hampshire. 

Besides these two aforementioned games, Yale’s only other close Ivy League contest came in its 72-71 home win against Penn. KenPom’s analytics cast a favorable light on this squad. The Bulldogs are ranked 72nd overall with an Adjusted Offensive Efficiency that places them even higher at 56. As a frame of reference, last year’s Yale team that won the Ivy League Tournament and then knocked off Auburn in the first round of the NCAA Tournament was 90th in KenPom’s overall rankings. A difference though was last season’s focal point Danny Wolf is now with Michigan.

Ivy League Tournament Darkhorse

With just four teams, the three not called Yale should be categorized as legitimate darkhorses. Princeton, based on its brand name recognition, will likely merit attention from bettors searching for sizable plus number odds. Keep in mind though this squad, that was overwhelmingly voted as the preseason favorite, slipped to a tie for third in the standings. That places Mitch Henderson’s team in the semifinals against Yale. The Bulldogs won both matchups against the Tigers (77-70 at Princeton and 84-57 at Yale). 

Cornell and Dartmouth face off on the other side of this mini-bracket with the Big Red likely being a short favorite in the game. Second-seeded Cornell enters the postseason with a 9-5 conference record. Three of those losses came during the Ivy League’s quirky scheduling when Cornell played back-to-back weekends on the road. Of those five defeats, one was to Dartmouth and two to Yale. The Big Red play its customary fast style with an emphasis on launching as many shots as possible. Exactly the same style the Big Green play as well. 

The defensive advantage between the two goes to Dartmouth.

Players to Watch in Ivy League Tournament

Much of Yale’s success comes from the all-around play of John Poulakidas. The 6-foot-6 swingman scores nearly 20 points a game (19.3) and is likely the Ivy League player of the year. He sports an impressive shooting percentage from behind the arc (40.5%) and at the free-throw line (89.6%). On the defensive end, Yale is led by guard Mbeng Bez who led the league in steals (48). The 6-foot-4 senior also shines when the Bulldogs have the ball. He averaged 13.4 PPG and was the league’s assists leader (5.9 APG). Nick Townsend (15.4 PPG) is the other key part of the Yale offense. 

The Big Red average 85 points a game so that means they don’t lack for scorers. Five Cornell players averaged double-digit points with guard Nazir Williams leading the way (14.9 PPG & 3.7 APG). His backcourt mate AK Okereke (13.2 PPG & 4.1 APG) is also equally adept at scoring and distributing. 

Princeton has two of the best scoring options in the league. Xavian Lee finished with a great overall stat line of 17.0 PPG, 6.1 RPG and 5.4 APG. Down low, it’s the burly Caden Pierce (11.3 PPG & 7.3 RPG) controlling the blocks. 
Just beating out Pierce for the conference rebounding title was Dartmouth’s Brandon Mitchell-Day (7.6 RPG). The 6-8 forward was second on the team in scoring (13.3 PPG) behind guard Ryan Cornish’s 17.2 points per contest.

Betting Pick to Win Ivy League Tournament

As much as bettors should seek out alternatives to the favorites during conference tournaments, it is hard to pick against Yale. If the Bulldogs were to lose it would be one of the biggest surprises of the week. 

If semifinal chalk holds, that sets up a Yale-Cornell championship game. The average lines from their two previous games comes out to Yale -6.5 with a ML of -359. Now those are weighted for home games so a ML in the championship wouldn’t be that high but it would be a lot more than Yale’s current -160 futures number. 

Best way to play the dogs here is taking the points against Yale.

Pick: Yale -160

Makinen Power Ratings For Ivy League

  • The previous five Ivy League tourneys have shown a distinct pattern regarding rounds and totals. Championship games are 4-2 Over the total (66.7%), while semifinal games are 7-5 Under the total (58.3%).
  • Totals of 143 or more are on a 6-2 Under the total (75%) surge in the brief Ivy League bracket.
  • Ivy League tourney favorites of 4 points or more have gone 9-1 outright (5-4-1 ATS, 71.4%).

More Steve Makinen Conference Tournament Betting Trends.

Check out the other previews in our 2025 College Basketball Conference Tournament Betting Guide.

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