The set-up: The Yale Bulldogs won a school-record 23 games in the 2015-16 season. It led to the school's first NCAA appearance in 54 years and culminated in the first NCAA win in the school's 121-year history! All things considered, an 18-11 record last year, which ended with a loss in the Ivy League championship game (the league's first-ever conference tourney), wasn't half-bad! Yale (3-4) will travel to Newark, De. to take on the 4-2 Delaware Blue Hens Monday night at the Bob Carpenter Center. Delaware is off a 13-20 season (had won seven and 10 games the previous two seasons) but has four starters back.

Yale: The Bulldogs lost Makai Mason (transferred to Baylor) but the 6-7 Oni (15.8-5.8-3.7) is a terrific all-around player. Balance abounds, with six others averaging between 8.0 and 10.4 PPG, topped by returning PG Copeland (10.4 & 3.4 APG).

Delaware: Guard Ryan Daly (15.8 & 5.30 is th team's leading scorer with three other guards scoring in double digits. The frontcourt is patrolled by the 6-9 Carter (12.8 & 9.0) and the 6-8 Woods (7.8 & 4.7).

The pick. the bottom line here is that Yale is the much better team and its record would be better if the Bulldogs hadn't opened the season with road games at Creighton and Wisconsin. Delaware's easy-season schedule has been quite easy with games against Wesley, North Carolina Wesleyan and Longwood (among three of the team's four wins) and even so, the team has still struggled to space the floor offensively, averaging only 73.5 PPG. Yale has better depth and has a history of winning on the road. Yale won last year's meeting 81-63 and while this game is at Delaware, I'll still make Yale a 10* play.