Men's Basketball Looks Ahead to UConn Monday
12/21/2014 10:43:00 AM | Men's Basketball
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MONDAY, DECEMBER 22 • 7:30 P.M. |
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| (6-3) | (4-4) |
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| ANNOUNCERS | Gary Apple, Tim Welsh, Kerith Burke (Sideline Reporter) |
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| ANNOUNCERS | Jerry Recco & James Buford |
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| IN-GAME UPDATES | @CULionsMBB |
GAME NOTES
COLUMBIA'S STATUS
The Lions' offense exploded for a season-high 82 points to pick up a five-point win over Hofstra Saturday night. Junior Maodo Lo dropped 29 points to lead the way and Columbia's bench outscored the Pride's, 33-4, to improve to 5-1 in Levien Gymnasium.
UCONN'S STATUS
The defending national champions have dropped four of its last five games after a 66-56 loss to No. 2 Duke in East Rutherford Dec. 18.
SERIES HISTORY
Columbia and Connecticut will meet for the 10th time. Coincidentally, the last time the two teams met on Nov. 11, 2011, the Huskies were the defending national champions as well. UConn took that game, 70-57, in Storrs. The Lions last victory against the Huskies was a 72-71 triumph on Dec. 7, 1976 in Morningside Heights.
COLUMBIA AGAINST THE AAC
Against teams currently in the American Athletic Conference, Columbia is 6-12. The Lions most common opponent in the conference is UConn. The last win against an AAC foe came on Jan. 4, 1979 at USF, a 71-65, victory. This is the first time Columbia has played an AAC team since the conference rebranded itself last season.
CHAIRMAN MAODO
Junior Maodo Lo tied a career-high with 29 points to lift Columbia to a five-point win over Hofstra Dec. 20. Lo's seven 3-pointers tied a Levien Gym record and matched the second most makes from beyond the arc in a single-game for the program. The Berlin native's 15 tries from 3-point land was the most attempts by any Lion in program history.
MOBB DEEP
Columbia's bench outscored Hofstra, 33-4, providing a huge lift in the Lions' Dec. 20. Steve Frankoski delivered 14 points on 4-of-7 shooting from downtown. Jeff Coby netted nine first-half points, while Luke Petrasek chipped in eight points in just his second game of the season.
LUKE SKYWALKER
Sophomore Luke Petrasek returned to action at Kentucky Dec. 10 after missing the first seven games due to illness. Petrasek played nine minutes against the Wildcats and played a big role in the Lions' win over Hofstra, scoring eight points to go with a pair of blocks in 22 minutes off the bench.
THE DEFENSE NEVER RESTS
The Lions' defense this season has been superb thus far. They are allowing just 53.7 points per game and Columbia opponents are aslo shooting .240 from downtown. Both are tops in the Ivy League and rank among the top-10 in the NCAA.
LOCKING IT UP
Columbia held opponents under 50 points in three straight games from Nov. 23-29 for the first time since 2002 when the Lions did it in four consecutive games from Jan. 15-Feb. 1. (At Albany - L, 40-41, Cornell - W, 56-40, at Cornell - W, 54-42, at Princeton - L, 41-49). For the season, Columbia has held opponents under 50 points on four occasions.
GLUE GUY
Every team needs one and that's what the Lions have in junior Isaac Cohen. The 6-4 guard is currently third in the Ivy League in assists at 4.4 per game and is pulling down 6.7 rebounds per game, which is the best among guards in the Ancient Eight.
MORE ON IKE
Cohen handed out five or more assists in Columbia's first five games this season, the longest stretch for a Columbia player since Brian Barbour accomplished the feat in six-straight spanning two seasons (last five games of 2011-12 and first game of 2012-13). The Orlando, Florida, native also had 10 rebounds in back-to-back contests against Lehigh and FDU, becoming the first player to record double-figure rebounds in consecutive games since Mark Cisco hauled in 10 or more in three-straight during Ivy League play in 2012.
KLEPTOMANIAC
Maodo Lo set a new personal standard with five steals against Wagner on Nov. 18. He became the first Lion to record five or more swipes since Brian Barbour was credited with five steals against Brown in March of 2013. He is currently second in the Ancient Eight and 13th in the NCAA in the category, averaging 2.7 swipes per contest.
HANGING WITH THE BEST
Columbia gave the No. 1 team in the land its best shot, going ahead 11-0 to start the game and leading Kentucky for the first 27 minutes of the game. Despite eventually falling in Lexington, the 10-point decision was the smallest margin of victory for the Wildcats this season.
THE LIONS' DEN
So far, the Lions are continuing their home dominance with a 5-1 record and have won three of those games by double figures. Last season, Columbia won 14 games in Levien Gymnasium, the most since the building opened its doors in 1974. In the Kyle Smith era, the Lions are 42-21 in front of their home fans.
