Columbia Lions vs Harvard Crimson Prediction, 3/7/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Columbia Lions vs Harvard Crimson

Date: Saturday, March 7, 2026

Location: Lavietes Pavilion in Cambridge, MA

TV: ESPN+

The Columbia Lions (16-11) are en route to Lavietes Pavilion on Saturday where they will take on the Harvard Crimson (16-11).

The Columbia Lions faced off with Yale and took a loss by a score of 60-54 in their last game. Columbia wrapped up the game having earned a 36.2% FG percentage (21 of 58) and knocked down 4 of their 21 three-point attempts. From the free throw line, the Lions knocked down 8 of 9 shots for a rate of 88.9%. In regard to pulling down rebounds, they earned 27 with 11 of them being of the offensive sort. They also recorded 5 assists for the contest in addition to forcing 14 turnovers and getting 10 steals. Concerning defense, Columbia allowed 55.0% from the field on 22 out of 40 shooting. Yale distributed 14 dimes and had 4 steals in this contest. On top of that, Yale grabbed 25 rebounds (4 offensive, 21 defensive), but didn't notch a rejection. Yale finished 70.6% when shooting free throws by making 12 of their 17 attempts. They also converted 4 out of their 13 tries from 3-point land. When talking about personal fouls, the Lions walked away with 18 and Yale finished the game with 15 personal fouls.

Kenny Noland is one player who was a contributor for this game. He racked up 20 points on 7 of 18 shooting. He played 40 minutes and collected 2 boards. He finished 38.9% from the field and totaled 2 assists.

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Columbia heads into this matchup with a win-loss record of 16-11 on the campaign. They are averaging 76.9 pts per game (157th in the nation) while connecting on 47.7% from the floor. The Lions are shooting 35.9% on three-point shots (217 of 605) and 69.1% from the free throw line. As a team, Columbia is snagging 39.4 rebounds per contest and has tallied 431 assists this year, which ranks 161st in college in terms of passing the rock. They cough up possession 13.2 times per game and as a group are committing 16.5 fouls every game.

On the defensive end, the Lions are forcing their opponents into 10.1 turnovers on a nightly basis and they draw 15.8 fouls. They rank 149th in college hoops in allowing assists to the opposition with 393 surrendered for the season. Lions defensively are allowing a field goal percentage of 43.0% (678 of 1,575) and they relinquish 30.5 boards per game as a unit. They are giving up 33.5% on three-point shots and they are 111th in D-1 in PPG allowed (71.3).

When they last stepped on the hardwood, the Harvard Crimson took a loss by a score of 64-61 when they played Penn. The Crimson collected 27 defensive rebounds and 7 offensive boards for a total of 34 for this contest. They also gave up possession of the ball 18 times, while earning 7 steals for this contest. Penn had 13 personal fouls in the game which got the Crimson to the charity stripe for 9 attempts. They were able to knock down 7 of the free throw attempts for a rate of 77.8%. Pertaining to shots from 3-point land, Harvard buried 6 out of 25 tries (24.0%). When all was said and done, the Crimson shot 24 out of 58 from the floor which gave them a rate of 41.4%. The Crimson allowed Penn to convert 26 of their 62 tries from the field which had them shooting 41.9% for this contest. They finished 35.3% from behind the 3-point line by going 6 out of 17 and ended up going 6 of 10 from the free throw line (60.0%). In relation to how they cleaned up the glass, Harvard allowed Penn to pull down 31 in all (9 offensive).

Robert Hinton ended up being a major contributor for the Crimson for the contest. He knocked down 10 of 17 for the game for a rate of 58.8%, and had 5 rebounds. He earned 20 points in his 38 minutes on the court, but finished this game without an assist.

Harvard has a record of 16-11 so far this year. The Crimson are committing 13.8 personal fouls every game and they hit 79.6% from the charity stripe. They are assisting teammates 13.9 times per contest (182nd in the country) and they are turning it over 10.9 times per game. Harvard has 1,891 pts this season (70.0 per game) and they snag 31.7 rebounds per game. As an offensive unit, the Crimson are shooting 46.3% from the field, which has them ranked 116th in the nation.

The Harvard defense surrenders 31.8% on shots from distance (189 of 595) and their opponents are knocking down 73.7% of their foul shots. They have surrendered 12.5 dimes and 31.8 boards every game, which is 106th and 43rd in the nation. The Crimson on defense are ranked 28th in college in points given up per game with 66.7. They have forced 11.3 TO's every game and allow teams to shoot 43.8% from the field (154th in D-1).

Who will win tonight's NCAA game against the spread?

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Harvard

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