NEW YORK - Columbia men's basketball will take a drive up I-81 to face Binghamton on Wednesday, November 23, at 2 p.m. The Lions (2-4) and Bearcats (2-2) will meet for the third consecutive season on Thanksgiving Eve.

OPENING TIP-OFF

• Columbia embarks on a three-game road swing having won two of its last three contests.

• The Lions are coming off a 96-44 victory over SUNY Maritime Sunday. All 13 active players saw action and 12 scored. Columbia also had four in double-figures, led by Blair Thompson's 14.

• Sophomore Geronimo Rubio De La Rosa currently ranks No. 20 in the NCAA in free throw percentage (94.7 percent) and has hit his last 17 attempts dating back to Nov. 10 against UMass-Lowell.

NEWS/NOTES

BINGHAMTON'S STATUS
|The Bearcats are coming off a 75-60 loss to Sacred Heart on Saturday. Binghamton raced out to an early 12-1 lead, but shot 39 percent from the field and 4-of-20 from 3-point range, to give the edge to the Pioneers. John McGriff leads a balanced scoring attack, averaging 12.0 PPG.

INSIDE THE SERIES
Columbia is 4-1 all-time against Binghamton and have won the last three meetings. Last year, the Lions erased a 16-point deficit with just over six minutes to play to force overtime and come away with an 85-77 win at home. Geronimo Rubio De La Rosa had a game-high 21 points, six assists and three steals, while Josh Odunowo had a double-double with 16 points and 10 boards.

COLUMBIA AGAINST THE AMERICA EAST
The Lions are 21-27 against teams currently in the America East Conference. This season, Columbia will play five opponents (UMass-Lowell, Binghamton, New Hampshire, UMBC, Maine) from the conference. Columbia has dropped its first two contests to UMass-Lowell and Maine. The Lions went 2-2 in 2021-22 against America East schools, topping Binghamton and Maine and failling to UAlbany and UMBC. 

THE KIDS ARE ALRIGHT
Columbia's four first-years are all making significant contributions and averaging over 15 minutes per game. Avery Brown and Zinou Bedri have started every game and Blair Thompson entered the lineup on Nov. 18. Bedri, Brown and Thompson have also led the team in scoring at least once this season. The class of 2026 has comprised 44.5 percent of the team's scoring in 2022-23. When you combine the sophomore class (Geronimo De La Rosa, Jaden Cooper, Robbie Stankard, Jake Tavroff) - that represents 71.5 percent of the team scoring coming from underclassmen.

KLEPTOMANIACS
Against Delaware State on November 16, the Lions established a new program record for steals with 15. Geronimo Rubio Columbia currently sits third in the Ivy League, posting 8.3 steals per contest.

BUY TICKETS TO UPCOMING GAMES
Tickets for all Columbia home games are on sale now and can be purchased by clicking here or calling 888-LIONS-11.

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
For the latest on the Columbia men's basketball, follow @CULionsMBB on Twitter and Instagram, and the web at GoColumbiaLions.com.