All hail Yale in Ivy League final

Having cut back on travel, I assumed this time of year it would mean cutting down on the annual cold or flu attached to March Madness coverage. I forgot to account for preschool.

Yale (-3) over Princeton: The winner of the past two Ivy League Tournaments shall prevail again. The Bulldogs, who beat Cornell by 20 in the semifinals, have lost one game in the past two months, and their league-best defense most recently prevented the Ivy’s best offense from topping 60 points for the second time in as many weeks. The Tigers have Jadwin Gymnasium on their side, but Yale — which topped Princeton in the title game last year and won by 22 in New Haven this season — has won the past four meetings in New Jersey.

Alabama (-3.5) over Texas A&M: The Aggies have quietly become one of the nation’s most dangerous teams entering the NCAA Tournament. Buzz Williams’ crew has lost just once since the start of February and knocked off five tournament teams, including a six-point win over Alabama last weekend. That win, however, came in College Station, where the Crimson Tide had their secondlowest scoring output of the season after shooting less than 34 percent from the field and 7-for-36 from deep. In a matchup of two of the best teams in the nation at getting to the line, the Aggies shouldn’t expect to attempt 18 more free throws again.

VCU (-2.5) over Dayton: The Flyers were picked to win the league when the season started, but the Rams — winners of eight straight games, with the past seven won by an average of more than 15 points — have proven to be the Atlantic 10’s best team. The rubber match of this battle comes after two meetings decided by a total of five points, with neither team topping 63 points in either contest. Dayton, which committed a total of 35 turnovers against the Rams, ranks 245th in the nation in taking care of the basketball and VCU — led by conference Defensive Player of the Year Adrian Baldwin Jr. — turns teams over as well as almost any team in the country.

Penn State (+6.5) over Purdue:

The Boilermakers were expecting a chance to avenge a pair of losses to Indiana. Instead, Purdue faces a team it beat by a total of 33 points in two meetings this season. It only makes the pressure greater for Purdue to claim its first Big Ten Tournament title since 2009. The Nittany Lions are unrecognizable from the opponent Purdue met six weeks ago, displaying incredible mettle in five straight wins by four points or fewer to punch their first NCAA Tournament ticket in a dozen years. Don’t fade Micah Shrewsberry and Jalen Pickett until this streak ends. This season: 7-6-3 2011-22 record: 319-283-9