NEW YORK – Columbia men's basketball makes its return to Schiller Court for the first time in 33 days when it welcomes Harvard (8-5, 0-1) to Levien Gymnasium Saturday, January 15. The Lions (4-10, 1-1) will then head to Ithaca, New York, to take on Cornell (9-5, 1-2) for a Martin Luther King Day matchup. Both contests are slated for 2 p.m. starts on ESPN+.
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TEMPORARY NO-SPECTATOR POLICY
Due to the substantial increase in the number of COVID-19 cases being reported in New York City, New York State, and the Columbia University campus community, Columbia University is implementing a temporary no-spectator attendance policy for its home athletics events through January 18. Attendance to all events shall be limited to participating players, coaches, and officials, as well as athletics administrators and essential personnel required to conduct an NCAA Division I contest.

OPENING TIP-OFF

• Columbia is coming off a split in its opening Ivy League weekend. The Lions were thwarted by Princeton after the Tigers made a big second-half run Friday and held off Penn Saturday at the Palestra.

• The Lions will play their first home contest in over a month when Harvard comes to town Saturday. Fans will not be permitted due the recent rise in COVID cases  being reported in New York City, New York State, and the University community.

• Ike Nweke earned Ivy League Player of the Week honors Monday after averaging 21.5 points and 10.0 rebounds over the weekend. He became the first Lion to pick up the award since Patrick Tapé did so in March 2019.

NEWS/NOTES

HARVARD'S STATUS
The Crimson dropped their Ivy League opener to Brown, 84-73, last Friday night. Three of Harvard's last four contests have been postponed or canceled due to COVID-19 protocols. Chris Ledlum and Noah Kirkwood are the top scoring duo in the conference, averaging 16.7 and 16.2 points, respectively. Ledlum is leading the Ancient Eight in rebounding, grabbing 9.3 per contest while Kirkwood is No. 7 in the NCAA in steals per game (2.6).

INSIDE THE SERIES  -  HARVARD
The Lions hold a 98-86 edge in the all-time series against the Crimson. Despite Harvard winning five-straight, the last four contests have been decided by a combined 16 points and three of those contests have gone to overtime. In 2019-20, Harvard earned a double-OT, 77-73, victory in Cambridge and finished the sweep with a 77-69 triumph in New York.

CORNELL'S STATUS
The Big Red dropped a pair of games at Penn and Princeton during their back-to-back swing. Cornell is one of the top offensive teams in the country, ranking No. 8 in scoring offense (83.1), No. 2 in assists (19.5) and No. 8 in 3-point FG's per game (10.9). Cornell has 10 players averaging double-figure minutes and are led in scring by Jordan Jones at 12.7 points per game. Keller Boothby leads the NCAA shooting at a 54.3-percent (38-70) clip from beyond the arc.

INSIDE THE SERIES  - CORNELL
The Lions hold a 131-102 record against the Big Red. The teams have split the season series in each of the last four years. Columbia earned a 75-61 home win in the 2020 Ivy league opener before falling the next weekend in Ithaca, 62-50.

A FAMILIAR FACE...
Current Cornell assistant coach Jon Jaques was part of Columbia's 2012-13 staff as a graduate assistant. Jaques is a 2010 Cornell graduate, who has spent the last nine seasons at his alma mater.

WIN 150 FOR ENGLES
Columbia's win at Penn on Jan. 8 marked the 150th in the career of head coach Jim Engles. Engles picked up 111 of those victories at NJIT, where he spent six seasons prior to joining the Lions in 2016.

EXORCISING THE DEMONS
Columbia also snapped a 23-game road losing streak with its Jan. 8 win over the Quakers. The Lions previous road win came at Yale on Mar. 2, 2019.

TIGHTENING THE LEASH 
Columbia is showing marked improvement on the defensive end over its last five games. Here are some key notes from  the Lions' recent stretch. 
- On Dec. 11, limited UAlbany to 60 points and 38.3 percent shooting from the floor - both season-lows for opponents.
- Held Princeton to season-low six made 3-pointers on Jan. 7.
- Limited Ivy League leading scorer, Penn's Jordan Dingle, to nine points on Jan. 8 marking just the second time he failed to reach double-figures all season.

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.

FOLLOW COLUMBIA ON SOCIAL MEDIA
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