Harvard Crimson vs Northeastern Huskies Prediction, Odds, Best Bets - Week 2

Harvard has allowed 92 points in two games. Northeastern has allowed 190. The Boston neighbors meet at the Cabot Center on Tuesday night, with Harvard laying just 2.5.

The Matchup

Harvard visits Northeastern on Tuesday night at the Cabot Center in Boston, on FloSports, with Harvard a 2.5-point favorite, a total of 146.5, and the Crimson priced at -155 on the moneyline against Northeastern at +130. Harvard is 2-0. Northeastern is 0-2, and both losses came on the road, so this is the Huskies' home opener.

Harvard has won with defense. The Crimson beat MIT 73-45 on November 3 and Chicago 63-47 on November 8, scoring 68.0 points a game and allowing 46.0. Tey Barbour leads Harvard at 15.5 points a game, Ben Eisendrath hands out 4.5 assists a game, and Thomas Batties II leads the Crimson on the glass at 5.5 rebounds a game. Barbour, Eisendrath, and Batties are all active with no injury designations.

Northeastern has scored and leaked. The Huskies lost 93-85 at Boston University and 97-72 at Virginia, scoring 78.5 points a game and allowing 95.0. Rashad King leads Northeastern at 23.5 points a game, and Mike Loughnane hands out 5.0 assists a game and leads the team on the glass at just 4.0 rebounds a game, which says a lot about the Huskies' size problem.

Last season these teams were far apart. Harvard went 17-12, scoring 70.1 points a game and allowing 66.7. Northeastern went 7-24, scoring 74.9 and allowing 81.0. The Huskies' first week says the defensive problem carried over, even with King giving them a real scorer.

Harvard's caveat is its schedule: MIT and Chicago are Division III opponents, so the Crimson's 46.0 points allowed a game will not survive contact with a Division I offense. Even allowing for that, the gap between these defenses is the widest thing in this matchup.

Key Factors

King is Northeastern's whole case. He is averaging 23.5 points a game, Loughnane creates at 5.0 assists a game, and the Huskies scored 85 at Boston University. Harvard's defense will be tested for the first time this season, and if King gets into the lane early, the Crimson's careful offense has to score more than the 68.0 a game it has managed against lower-division teams.

The glass and the depth lean Harvard's way. Northeastern's leading rebounder is a guard at 4.0 a game, and the Huskies allowed 97 points at Virginia with no resistance inside. Batties gives Harvard a frontcourt anchor, and a Crimson team that defends in the half court can force Northeastern into the long, contested possessions its defense cannot afford to waste on the other end.

The honest counterpoint is Harvard's soft opening schedule. Two Division III wins tell us almost nothing about how the Crimson score against real length, and Northeastern is at home for the first time with a scorer who can take over a game. If King goes off and the Cabot Center crowd gets involved, 2.5 points is nothing. The bet is that Harvard's defense is a real identity carried over from a 17-win season, while Northeastern's leaks are the same ones that sank it last year.

Every pick is published with its line before the game. Odds via consensus sportsbooks at time of writing and move constantly. Must be 21+. If gambling is a problem, call or text 1-800-GAMBLER.