The Yale Bulldogs take on the Navy Midshipmen in Annapolis, MD. Tip-off is set for 8:30 p.m. ET on CBS Sports Network.
Yale is favored by 6.5 points on the spread, and the total is set at 148.5 points.
Here’s my Yale vs. Navy predictions and college basketball picks for November 7, 2025.
Yale vs Navy Prediction
My Pick: Yale -6.5
My Yale vs Navy best bet is on the Bulldogs spread. For all of your college basketball bets, be sure to find the best lines by using our live NCAAB odds page.
Yale vs. Navy Odds
| Yale Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
-6.5 -108 | 148.5 -105 / -115 | OFF |
| Navy Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
+6.5 -112 | 148.5 -105 / -115 | OFF |
- Yale vs Navy spread: Yale -6.5
- Yale vs Navy over/under: 148.5 points
Yale vs Navy College Basketball Betting Preview
Yale Basketball
Yale enters this season as the favorite in the Ivy, thanks both to a tremendous coach holding the clipboard and a loaded roster.
James Jones is a legend in New Haven, having been around for a quarter of a century, winning all the way. His Yale teams have tallied 10+ league wins in six straight years; remember, the Ivy only plays 14 games!
The Bulldogs are packed with athleticism and size, a rarity for an Ivy squad. Nick Townsend is arguably the Ivy’s best player, a burly frontcourt force who is unstoppable around the bucket. He also shot 50% from beyond the arc and ranked 13th in the Ivy League in assist rate.
The Bulldogs also return shot-swatting menace Samson Aletan, do-it-all role player Casey Simmons and budding star wing Isaac Celiscar. Celiscar was a revelation as a freshman, something of a “mini-Townsend” in his ability to assert himself via physicality.
Thanks to their size, the Bulldogs are dominant on the glass and have a knack for getting easy points around the bucket. Townsend is a perfect fulcrum in the post, capable of powering through contact or locating the open passing option.
Defensively, Jones is a strict man-to-man acolyte, and the overall versatility of the roster lets Yale switch frequently 1-4 while playing drop coverage with Aletan anchoring the paint.
Yale’s biggest weakness is at point guard. Ivy Player of the Year Bez Mbeng graduated, and the succession plan at that spot is vague. Trevor Mullin is the default option, but he is more of a shooter than a creator.
Jones could go with freshman Courtney Wallace, or he could play bigger with sharpshooting wing Riley Fox or little-used sophomore Jordan Brathwaite.
Whatever Yale chooses, it will be hard-pressed to maintain its top-30 turnover rate from last season.
Navy Basketball
All hail the continuity kings! Per Bart Torvik, Navy led the entire country in returning minutes from last year, a significant accomplishment in the transfer portal era. Of Navy’s 170 total starts last year, 159 of them return, with only part-time wing Lysander Rehnstrom graduating this offseason.
In theory, that makes Navy a more complete product than many of its early-season opponents. Case in point: The Midshipmen went on the road destroyed Presbyterian in their opener on Monday evening.
The Midshipmen thrive via their physical defense, led by the devastating interior duo of Donovan Draper and Aidan Kehoe. Draper can defend all five positions, while Kehoe is a force at the rim despite being more of a verticality challenger than a shot-blocker.
Add in Swiss Army knife Mike Woods off the bench, and the Midshipmen can rotate three standout defenders.
Offensively, Austin Benigni is a one-man wrecking crew. The slashing point guard can get in the paint whenever he wants, and he thrives via creating contact and getting to the charity stripe.
The off-ball/wing corps of Jordan Pennick, Jinwoo Kim and Cam Cole can space the floor around primary action. Navy can even play through Draper as a passer or Kehoe as an interior scorer for stretches.
The only place Navy lacks continuity is at head coach, where Jon Perry is in his maiden voyage as the head boss after Ed DeChellis retired. Clearly, the Mids did not miss a beat in their opener, though.
Yale vs. Navy Betting Analysis
Navy’s Perry will face a stiff test here, as Jones is a veteran on the sideline and could have some tricks up his sleeve. He has a veteran roster capable of handling most curveballs, but he will also have to make the right tweaks against a master of the craft.
One major storyline to watch is whether Kehoe can stay on the floor. He is the only Midshipman taller than 6-foot-6, and Draper was listed at 6-foot-4 last year – consider me dubious of his listed height this season.
Against the Yale interior onslaught, Kehoe is vital. He is generally excellent at avoiding foul trouble, but expect Townsend, Aletan and Celiscar to attack him early and often.
This handicap has the conflicting narrative of Navy having played a game, while Yale has not. On one hand, that should give Navy a slight cohesion advantage after having seen some live bullets, but Navy was always going to have that edge considering their high level of continuity.
On the other hand, Yale has no tape out in the ether, which could make the Bulldogs tougher to scout – especially since last year’s team was so reliant on Mbeng. This year’s version could look very different.
Despite losing Mbeng, Yale has quite a bit of continuity, and the Bulldogs’ core four – Townsend, Aletan, Celiscar, Simmons – also negates a lot of the physicality advantages Navy typically enjoys.
Yale must contain Benigni on the perimeter, but I am backing the Bulldogs to go on the road and outclass the Midshipmen.
My Pick: Yale -6
