NEW YORK - The Columbia men's basketball team will look to finish the 2018-19 season strong after sweeping Brown and Yale on the road last weekend when they host Dartmouth and Harvard this weekend. Friday night's contest against the Big Green can be seen live on SNY and ESPN+ at 7 p.m. The Lions and Crimson will also meet up at 7 p.m. on ESPN+ and will be aired on tape delay on SNY.
   

OPENING TIP-OFF

• Columbia will complete the regular season this weekend when it hosts Dartmouth Friday night, followed by a showdown with first-place Harvard Saturday.

• The Lions earned a road sweep, taking down Brown (80-77) and Yale (83-75) last weekend. It marked the first time Columbia accomplished the feat since 2016 (Harvard, Dartmouth).

• Patrick Tapé was named Ivy League Player of the Week after averaging 16.0 points, 6.5 rebounds and 1.5 blocks in the two victories. He became the second Columbia player to earn the honor this season (Gabe Stefanini - Jan. 28).

• Prior to Saturday night's game against the Crimson, Columbia will honor Quinton Adlesh, Peter Barba and CJ Davis for Senior Night.

 

NEWS/NOTES

DARTMOUTH'S STATUS
The Big Green have dropped six-straight since topping Columbia on February 9. Dartmouth has been one of the most dangerous teams from 3-point range, converting at a .383 clip as a team. Brendan Barry and James Foye have been the top threats from beyond the arc, shooting 46.2 and 47.8 percent, respectively. Chris Knight paces the team, averaging 15.4 points and 6.8 rebounds.

INSIDE THE DARTMOUTH SERIES
The Lions hold a 113-102 lead in the series with the Big Green. Columbia will look to split the season series for the third consecutive year and continue the trend of home teams holding serve.

HARVARD'S STATUS
The Crimson moved into first place in the Ivy League standings after a weekend home wins over Penn and Princeton. Harvard holds the tiebreaker over Yale due to a head-to-head sweep of the series. Bryce Aiken is averaging 21.0 points and is shooting 40.3 percent from 3-point range to lead the offense. Justin Bassey is also posting 10.3 points and 7.3 boards.

INSIDE THE HARVARD SERIES
Columbia is 98-83 all-time against Harvard. The home teams have also been the victorious over the past six meetings between the programs.

FAMILIAR FACES, DIFFERENT PLACES
Columbia assistant coach Kenny Blakeney  was on Tommy Amaker's staff at Harvard from 2008-12.

Dartmouth assistant John Andrzejek '14CC will be on the visiting sidelines for the first time at Levien Gymnasium Saturday. Andrzejek served as the Lions' team manager from 2012-14 before being hired as the director of basketball operations, a role he held for two seasons.

EXORCISING THE DEMONS
Columbia is beginning to buck some trends that have plagued them the last couple of seasons. Columbia has won three of its last four road games after snapping a 17-game losing streak away from home in Ivy League play with its overtime win at Penn on Feb. 22. It was also the first overtime win for the Lions during Jim Engles' tenure as head coach (1-7). Earlier this season, Columbia's win at Binghamton snapped an 18-game road losing streak that dated back to last season. The Lions previous road win was an 87-77 triumph at Longwood on Nov. 14, 2017. 

TIDES STARTING TO TURN
More than half of Columbia's losses during the past two seasons have been between one and six points. The Lions are just 6-20 overall in games decided within that margin. However, the Lions have won two-straight close games against Penn (two points) and Brown (three points). Analytically, Columbia is still ranked 313th  - but jumped 35 spots over the past two weeks - out of 353 NCAA Division programs in the category by KenPom (-.065) and 321st by TeamRankings.com (-2.4). Last season, the Lions were at -.146 according to KenPom and TeamRankings.com had them at 4.5, both last in the NCAA. 

STICKY TAPÉ
Patrick Tapé has emerged as an All-Ivy League candidate this season. Here's a look at his breakout junior campaign.
    • Named Ivy League Player of the Week on March 4 after posting back-to-back 16-point games in the sweep at Brown and Yale.
    • He is converting on 66.1 percent of his attempts, which would be the second highest single-season percentage in program history. He is just under the NCAA minimum of five field goals made/game to qualify for the national leaders (4.4), but his mark would rank No. 5.
    • Has scored in double-figures in 13 of his last 16 games, setting career-highs three times. He notched his first 20-point game after registering 22 at Harvard. 
    • Tapé pulled down a career-high 14 rebounds against Elmira to go with 14 points. 
    • The Charlotte, North Carolina, native is posting 10.7 points, 6.0 rebounds and 1.3 blocks in 22.0 minutes per contest. 
    • His five blocks against Cornell on Jan. 26 was most for a Lion since Luke Petrasek swatted 5 vs. NJIT on Dec. 12, 2015.'
    • Already up to seventh on Columbia's career block list (73).

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.