NEW YORK - The Columbia men's basketball team will make its 24th appearance at Madison Square Garden this Sunday, December 9, when they take on Iona at The World's Most Famous Arena. The Lions are in the midst of a stretch of five games in 10 days, which they will wrap up Wednesday at Boston College.
 

OPENING TIP-OFF

• Columbia returns to Madison Square Garden for the first time since 2008 when they face off against Iona, a team they have not faced in 26 years.

• The Lions wrapped up their four-game home stand with a 90-68 victory over Bryant Friday. Columbia outscored the Bulldogs, 47-26, in the second half and shot 58.6 percent from the floor in the win.

• Through games played on Dec. 7, Gabe Stefanini ranked No. 2 in the NCAA in 3-point field goal percentage, converting on 59.5 percent of his attempts from beyond the arc.

• Next up for Columbia is a trip to Chestnut Hill to face Boston College for the second consecutive year. The Lions will then take a 10-day hiatus for final exams.

NEWS/NOTES

IONA'S STATUS
The Gaels have dropped three in a row and five of their last six overall, but have played a challenging schedule with games at New Mexico, Providence and VCU. Iona has not played since an 88-59 defeat at VCU on Dec. 1. Four players are averaging double-figures in scoring, led by E.J. Crawford at 15.0 PPG. Rickey McGill is dishing out 6.0 assists per game.

INSIDE THE SERIES
Iona is 4-0 all-time against Columbia. The teams have not met since Dec. 1, 1992, an 80-68 victory by the Gaels, in a game played in Queens.

COLUMBIA VS. THE MAAC
The Lions hold a 23-26 record against teams currently in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference. Columbia's most common opponent is Manhattan, who it has faced 24 times (15-9).

COLUMBIA AT MADISON SQUARE GARDEN
The Lions are 13-10 in games played at The World's Most Famous Arena. Columbia's last appearance at MSG came in the 2008-09 campaign, where they fell to Virginia Tech, 64-52, before topping Marist, 63-57, at the Aeropostale Holiday Festival. The Lions captured the 1967 Holiday Festival Championship, defeating West Virginia, Louisville and St. John's on their way to the program's lone Ivy League Championship. Overall, this is the Lions fourth appearance in the Holiday Festival.

AVENUE Q
One of the top 3-point threats in the Ivy League, Quinton Adlesh is coming off three-straight solid performances, averaging 17 points off the bench. Adlesh had a season-high 20 points on 6-11 shooting from downtown in the win over Bryant. He is currently third in the Ivy League in 3-point makes per game (3.1) and fifth in 3-point field goal percentage (45.5).

STEFANINI MAGNIFICO
Gabe Stefanini has been the most consistent 3-point shooter for Columbia thus far, knocking down 22-of-37 (59.5 percent) from long range to rank No. 2 in the country in that category. He has dropped 20 or more points on three occasions and against FIU on Nov. 17, the sophomore scored 33 points (the most by a Columbia player since Maodo Lo had 37 at Princeton in March 2016). In a win over St. Joseph's (Brooklyn) on Nov. 25, Stefanini went off for 23 points in just 15 minutes, going 7-of-9 from 3-point range.

SHARING IS CARING
Columbia has averaged 21.0 assists per game over its last four contests and sit atop the Ivy League, averaging 18.4 per contest for the year, which also ranks  15th in the NCAA.

FROM DOWNTOWN
The Lions knocked down a team record 17 3-pointers in its win over St. Joseph's (Brooklyn) on Nov. 25. Columbia is took advantage of the friendly confines of Levien Gym during its four-game home stand, knocking down 53-of-124 (42.8 percent) from beyond the arc and is knocking down 10.6 treys per game (13th in the NCAA) after leading the conference in 2017-18 with an average of 10.0 per contest last season.

KLEPTOMANIACS
Defensively, some the Lions have been much more active during the home stand, registering 10.8 steals per game. On the season, Columbia paces the Ivy League, posting 8.0 per game.

THE IVY LEAGUE ON ESPN+
All home Columbia games and most Ivy League road contests will air on ESPN+ as part of The Ivy League's new partnership with ESPN. ESPN+ is a new, subscription-based service that offers monthly ($4.99) and yearly ($49.99) plans. Click here to subscribe to ESPN+ and start your free trial! Click here for frequently asked questions about the Ivy League on ESPN.  

IVY MADNESS
The third annual Ivy League Basketball Tournaments will be held on the campus of Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut on March 16-17. Tickets will be available to select groups beginning Tuesday, December 11 at 10 a.m. Full information is available at IvyMadness.com.