COACHES VS. CANCER 3-POINT CHALLENGE
Columbia is participating in the 3-Point Challenge for the second consecutive year. With this initiative by the American Cancer Society and the NABC, fans can pledge a dollar amount for every 3-pointer Columbia makes during the month of February or make a one-time donation. All funds will benefit the American Cancer Society. To donate, click here.

OPENING TIP-OFF
• Columbia will host a crucial back-to-back with Yale and Brown - two teams they are battling for a position in the Ivy League Tournament with. It also marks the final home games for seniors Kyle Castlin and Nate Hickman, who will be honored prior to Saturday night's game against the Bulldogs.
• Columbia earned an important split, falling to Penn before topping Princeton, last weekend and are currently tied with Brown and Cornell for the fourth and final Ivy League Tournament spot at 4-6. For tiebreak procedures, click here.
• Brown has dropped three of its last four, after dropping games at Harvard and Dartmouth last weekend. The Bears' lone win during that span was the overtime triumph over Columbia on Feb. 10.
• Brown has won the last two meetings against Columbia, but the Lions hold the edge in the series, 74-66.
• Yale is one game ahead of the log-jam of fourth place teams at 5-5. The Bulldogs topped Dartmouth before falling at Harvard Saturday.
• Columbia fell to 125-109 against Yale after its 88-84 loss at John J. Lee Amphitheater. The Bulldogs have won five in a row against the Lions.

SCOUTING BROWN
The Bears boast the No. 1 offense in the Ivy League, averaging 77.1 points per contest, led by the 1-2 punch of sophomore Brandon Anderson (17.8 PPG) and first-year Desmond Cambridge (17.5 PPG). Defensively, Brown has been opportunistic in creating turnovers and leads the Ancient Eight in steals (6.8 per game).

SCOUTING YALE
Senior guard Makai Mason made his highly anticipated return last Saturday at Harvard, registering eight points in 21 minutes off the bench. The Bulldogs are one of the top defensive teams in the conference, holding opponents to 68.4 points per game. Alex Copeland (12.7 PPG), Trey Phils (12.6 PPG) and Miye Oni (11.8 PPG) lead a balanced scoring attack.

HONORING THE SENIORS
Saturday will mark the final home game of the careers of seniors Kyle Castlin and Nate Hickman. More notes on Castlin below. Hickman has started 51 consecutive games for Columbia and had a career-year in 2016-17, averaging 11.8 points and was named Ivy League Player of the Week on Nov. 28, 2016.

SPREADING THE WEALTH
Columbia is one of just six teams (Buffalo - twice, Lipscomb, Penn, UC Santa Barbara, William & Mary) in the country to have three players reach 20-plus points in a single-game this season after Mike Smith (22), Lukas Meisner (20) and Gabe Stefanini (20) accomplished the feat at Brown on Feb. 10. It is the first time the Lions have done so since Feb. 18, 1972, against Dartmouth when Ron Boyd '74CC (29), Darryl Downing '74CC (22) and Bob Evans '73CC (21) reached the plateau. Additionally, Columbia has had 11 different players record double-figures in points this season. Only four teams in the country have more than the Lions (12: Penn, Texas San-Antonio, Texas State - 13: Savannah State).

AVENUE Q
• Quinton Adlesh is converting on 48.5 percent of his tries from 3-point range, which is tops in the Ivy League and seventh in the NCAA for players averaging at least 2.5 per game.
• Adlesh is leading the conference, shooting 54.9 percent from downtown and averaging 3.5 makes per game in conference games only.
• He is rated 25th in the country in effective field goal percentage (65.4), according to KenPom.
• Adlesh currently is tied for 10th on Columbia's single-season 3-point makes list (64), fifth in 3-point field goal percentage and is second on the career 3-point field goal percentage list (.453).
• Adlesh has posted double-figures in points in 10 consecutive games.
• Columbia is 6-2 when he knocks down four or more treys.

LUKAS LEGEND
• Lukas Meisner leads the Ancient Eight, posting 7.5 rebounds per game. He is also shooting 51.9 percent from the floor - fifth best in the Ivy League.
• Meisner leads the conference with seven double-doubles on the season. It is the most for a Columbia player since Ricky Free  '79 CC recorded 11 during the 1976-77 campaign. His streak of four in a row was the most for a Lion since Jim McMillian '70CC posted six-straight from Feb. 16-Mar. 5, 1968.
• His 62.6 percent eFG% is 49th in the nation, according to KenPom.
• Set career-highs in scoring in three-straight from Nov. 17-29, including a 25-point, 11-rebound effort at UConn. 
• At Longwood, Meisner posted 16 rebounds, which was the most for a Lion since Mark Cisco '13CC pulled down 20 rebounds against Cornell on Jan. 21, 2012.

AGENT "0" BACK AGAIN
• After missing all of the 2016-17 campaign due to a toe injury, Kyle Castlin returned at Villanova. However, his comeback was stalled due to an elbow injury that occurred in the final two minutes.
• He missed the team's next 10 games before returning against Maine on Dec. 30 and scored 16 points in back-to-back games against Harvard and Dartmouth on Feb. 2-3.
• Columbia is 5-1 when Castlin scores in double-figures (only loss to Villanova).
• Additionally, he has knocked down his last 20 free throw attempts, a streak that dates back to the last nine games. It is the most for a Columbia player since Alex Rosenberg hit 23 in a row in a two-game span in 2014.
• Castlin averaged 10.3 points per game as a first-year to lead all Ivy League rookies in 2014-15.

SUPER SOPHOMORE
• After a summer training with NBA All-Star Jimmy Butler, sophomore point guard Mike Smith has had an impressive 2017-18, averaging 17.3 points - good for fourth in the Ivy League - leads the Ancient Eight in assists (4.7) and is fourth in steals (1.3).
• Established a personal-best in scoring for the second time this season with 28 points against Navy.
• Smith scored 368 points, a Columbia record for a first-year in 2016-17.

IVY MADNESS
The Ivy League men's and women's basketball tournaments return to Philadelphia, March 10-11, 2018. The top four teams will earn berths to the tournament, with the semifinals on Saturday and the championships on Sunday. All six games will be broadcast live on ESPN's networks. For tickets and more information please visit IvyMadness.com.