NEW YORK - The Columbia men's basketball team continues conference play this weekend when they travel to Harvard and Dartmouth over the weekend as they look to get back into the Ivy League Tournament race.
 

OPENING TIP-OFF

• Columbia will look to bounce back from a pair of defeats to Princeton and Penn last weekend. The Lions had an uncharacteristic shooting night against the Tigers (2-18 3FG) and dropped a back-and-forth affair to the Quakers Saturday.

• Patrick Tapé moved into the top-10 of Columbia's career block list and now has 57 for his career. He also now qualifies to rank among the Lions' single-season field goal percentage and his 62.7 clip would be No. 2.

• The Lions will return home for Alumni Weekend when they host Yale (Feb. 15) and Brown (Feb. 16) in Levien Gymnasium.
 

NEWS/NOTES

HARVARD'S STATUS
The Crimson have won four-straight since dropping their Ivy League opener to Dartmouth on Jan. 12. The Crimson's winning streak coincides with the return of Bryce Aiken from injury. The junior is posting 11.8 points in 26.0 minutes per game. Last weekend, Harvard dispatched Yale, 65-49, before claiming a 68-47 victory over Brown the following night. Chris Lewis leads the team, averaging 12.7 points on 66.7 percent shooting from the floor. Justin Bassey chips in 9.9 points and 7.2 boards. 

INSIDE THE HARVARD SERIES
Columbia is 98-82 all-time against Harvard. The teams have split the regular season series the past two seasons with each program holding serve at home.

DARTMOUTH'S STATUS
The Big Green have dropped three-straight since the win over Harvard. Dartmouth came up just short against Brown, 70-68, and was topped by Yale, 89-68, to round out the weekend. Four players are averaging in double-figures, led by Chris Knight's 15.6 PPG. Knight is also grabbing a team-high 7.6 rebounds per contest. Brendan Barry is shooting 50.0 percent from 3-point range, which leads the NCAA, and is averaging 13.2 points per game.

INSIDE THE DARTMOUTH SERIES
The Lions hold a 113-101 lead in the series with the Big Green. Columbia and Dartmouth have also split the regular season matchups with home wins the past two seasons. The last three contests have been decided by an average of 3.0.

COACHES VS. CANCER 3-POINT CHALLENGE
Columbia is participating in the 3-Point Challenge for the third 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 to Columbia's page, click here.

INSIDE COLUMBIA BASKETBALL PODCAST
Columbia Athletics debuted a brand new podcast featuring the men's and women's basketball programs. New episodes are available weekly on iTunes and SoundCloud.

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.