Men's Basketball Aims for Series Sweep Against Cornell Saturday
1/22/2015 10:49:00 AM | Men's Basketball
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SATURDAY, JANUARY 24 |
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| (9-6, 1-0) | (8-9, 0-1) |
| GAMEDAY INFO | |
| LIVE VIDEO/AUDIO |  |
| ANNOUNCERS (AUDIO) | Jerry Recco & Sal Licata |
| STUDENT RADIO | WKCR 89.9 FM or WKCR.org |
| LIVE STATS | |
| IN-GAME UPDATES | @CULionsMBB |
QUICK HITS
COLUMBIA'S STATUS
The Lions made it three in a row over Cornell after grinding out a 48-45 win in Ithaca last weekend. Both squads' leading scorers were held in check with Maodo Lo going scoreless and Shonn Miller compiling just eight points. Columbia committed 24 turnovers. but limited the Big Red to 25 percent shooting from the floor to pick up its first Ivy League victory.
SERIES HISTORY
Columbia and Cornell will meet for the 223rd time, dating back to the 1902-03 season. The Lions hold a 125-97 record against the Big Red and have won seven of the last nine meetings. Last season, Columbia swept the season series for the first time since 2011.
COLUMBIA IN IVY LEAGUE OPENERS
The Lions are 28-31 all-time in Ivy League openers and are 4-1 under the direction of Kyle Smith, including last weekend's 48-45 win in Ithaca.
FAMILIAR FACES
Cornell assistant coach Jon Jacques spent the 2012-13 season on the Columbia sidelines as a graduate manager before accepting his current position at his alma mater prior to the 2013-14 season. The Big Red's top assistant Marlon Sears was also a member of Joe Jones' staff at Columbia during the 2009-10 campaign.
LOCKING IT UP
Columbia held opponents under 50 points for the fifth time after giving up 45 to Cornell on Jan. 17. The Lions did not surrender 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).
GETTING DEFENSIVE
Additionally, the Lions are 24th in the nation, surrendering just 58.5 points per game to the opposition. Columbia's 3-point defense has been a strength throughout the year, holding opponents to 27.7 percent shooting from beyond the arc which leads the Ancient Eight and ranks 12th in the NCAA.
LEVIEN GYM RECORD
Columbia's 112 points against Central Penn established a new Levien Gymnasium record, eclipsing the old mark of 109 set by the Lions on Dec. 29, 2007 against Polytechnic. It is the highest single-game point total since the program set the record of 118 on Jan. 12, 1977 against Wagner.
MOBB DEEP
In their last six games, the Lions' bench has outscored its opponents' reserves, 203-80. Against Hofstra, Columbia held a 33-4 edge in bench points. At UConn, the trio of Jeff Coby, Steve Frankoski and Luke Petrasek teamed up for 27 of Columbia's 29 bench scoring. The Lions posted a 17-0 edge in bench points in their win over Colgate, they held a 24-8 advantage against Stony Brook on Jan. 6 and outscored Central Penn 68-20.
AGENT 0
First-year Kyle Castlin's scoring average of 9.8 points per game and field goal percentage of 50 percent leads all Ancient Eight neophytes. He has started all 15 games for Columbia and has a pair of Ivy League Rookie of the Week honors under his belt (Dec. 22, Jan. 5).
FRANKIE SAYS RELAX
Columbia's top threat off the bench has been senior Steve Frankoski. He has scored in double-figures in five straight games and is averaging 8.9 points to go with a .392 3-point field goal percentage. The tri-captain moved to fifth place on the all-time 3-point field goal list (151) after knocking down a pair of treys at Cornell on Jan. 17 and is six shy of moving into fourth.
GLUE GUY
Every team needs one and that's what the Lions have in junior Isaac Cohen. The 6-4 guard is currently second in the Ivy League in assists at 4.7 per game and is pulling down 6.3 rebounds per game, which is the best among guards in the Ancient Eight and ninth overall in the conference. Cohen narrowly missed posting just the third Ivy League triple-double ever with his eight-point, 10-rebound, nine-assist effort against Stony Brook on Jan. 6.
THE LIONS' DEN
So far, the Lions are continuing their home dominance with a 7-2 record and have won five 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. The Lions are now 21-6 at home in the last two years and in the Kyle Smith era, they are 44-22.
MORE ON IKE
Isaac Cohen's 10 assists against Colgate was the most for a Lion since Brian Barbour posted 12 against Elon on Dec. 29, 2012. He also handed out five or more assists in Columbia's first five games this season, the longest stretch for a Columbia player since 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.
