NEW YORK — Columbia men's basketball returns to Schiller Court at Levien Gymnasium on Saturday at 2 p.m. to host Princeton for its first home Ivy League game of the season.
Saturday's matchup between the Lions (9-6, 0-2) and the Tigers (14-1, 2-0) can be followed via live stats and
watched live on ESPN+. Lance Medow (play-by-play) and Barry Rohrssen (analyst) will be on the call. Tickets can be purchased
here.
Opening Tip-Off
Columbia has not lost inside Schiller Court at Levien Gymnasium in over two months.
The Lions are coming off an 89-70 loss at Yale on Monday in a game Columbia trailed by two points at halftime. Kenny Noland dropped a career-high 17 points.
A win against Princeton would give Columbia its first victory over the Tigers in nearly six years and would extend the Lions' home winning streak to eight games.
Columbia has won seven in a row at home for the first time since the 2015-16 season. The seven home wins this season are the most for the Lions since 2017-18.
Saturday's contest marks the first time Columbia tips off against an opponent receiving votes in the Associated Press (AP) Poll since the 2022-23 season opener at Rutgers.
Following Saturday's matchup with the Tigers, Columbia welcomes Penn to New York City next Saturday at 2 p.m.
Morningside Hoops Podcast (Season 6, Episode 3)
A new episode of the Morningside Hoops Podcast has arrived. The latest episode features sophomore guard Kenny Noland (Apex, N.C) and first-year guard Nicolo Romanelli (Sydney, Australia). Hosts Kyle Mattracion and Aliyah Funschelle sit down to discuss the team's success in non-conference play and the matchup with Princeton on Saturday. Listen on Spotify,
Apple,
SoundCloud, or wherever you get your podcasts.
News/Notes
Last Time Out
Despite Columbia fighting back in the first half to make it a two-point game at the break, an impressive shooting performance from Yale in the final 20 minutes guided the Bulldogs to an 89-70 victory on Monday evening at John J. Lee Amphitheater. In his second-straight start, Kenny Noland stepped up with a career-high 17 points on 5-10 shooting in 25 minutes of action. The sophomore guard filled in the starting five for a second consecutive game in place of an injured Geronimo Rubio De La Rosa. Zavian McLean contributed 16 points while Avery Brown had 11. Columbia clawed its way back, using a 10-0 spurt to cut Yale's big lead down to 15 in the second half. Yale's 9-19 effort from three-point range in the final half was too much to overcome.
In The New York Groove
Columbia is averaging 86.7 points per game in wins this season. The Lions have the second-largest scoring margin (10.2) and most assists (275) in the Ivy League. The Lions are averaging 18.3 assists per game, which ranks No. 12 nationally. Columbia is also second in steals (121) and steals per game (8.0). The Lions lead the league and rank 63rd in the country in opponent 3-point field goal percentage (30.6).
Fast Facts
The Lions are one of four teams in the country that return more than 90% of their scoring this season, along with Northern Iowa, Wisconsin, and St. Bonaventure. Columbia is also one of 11 teams in the country to return at least 70 percent of its points, rebounds, assists, steals, and blocks from 2022-23.
The Lions began conference play with nine wins for the first time since 2015-16.
Columbia has scored at least 100 points in two games this season. The last time a Lions team accomplished this feat was in 1976-77.
Columbia surpassed the previous record for most points in a game in program history on Jan. 4 vs. Mount Saint Vincent when the Lions cruised to a 120-52 win. The previous mark was 118 points at Wagner on Jan. 17, 1977.
Zavian McLean dropped a game-high 19 points and pulled in 11 rebounds on Jan. 4, becoming the first Lion to tally a double-double since Geronimo Rubio De La Rosa on Feb. 4, 2022, at Princeton.
Following a win over Temple on Nov. 18, it was the first time Columbia's record has been over .500 since Feb. 4, 2017.
Columbia's two road wins this season so far match the away victory total from the previous three seasons combined.
The Lions had won eight of their first 11 games to start the season for the first time since 1978. Columbia already passed last season's win total on Dec. 11.
Columbia's six-game winning streak earlier this season was the program's longest since January 2016.
Scouting Princeton
The Tigers enter Saturday's contest at 14-1 (2-0) and riding a five-game winning streak. Princeton received five votes in the Jan. 15 Associated Press (AP) Poll and seven votes in the Jan. 15 USA Today Coaches Poll. The Tigers currently rank No. 23 in the RPI and No. 31 in the NET Rankings. Princeton's 10.9 three-pointers per game ranks No. 7 nationally. Lou Henson Award Mid-Season Watch List members Xaivian Lee (18.0 points per game) and Caden Pierce (14.7 points per game) lead the team in scoring.
Series History - Princeton
The Lions are 86-101 all-time against the Tigers and last defeated Princeton on Feb. 17, 2018 at home.
Well-Balanced Attack
Through the first 15 games this season, Columbia has had at least four players finish with double-figures scoring eight times and five players finish with double-figures scoring three times (Dec. 5 vs. Lafayette, Jan. 4 vs. Mount Saint Vincent, and Jan. 9 at Cornell).
Before this season, Columbia last had five players score double-figures in the same game on Nov. 19, 2019 against Binghamton.
Geronimo Rubio De La Rosa (13.3) and Avery Brown (12.0) are averaging double-figures scoring, while four other Lions are averaging over eight points per game. Brown leads the team with 13 double-figure scoring performances while Rubio De La Rosa has 10. Odunowo has seven such games.
Free Throw Frenzy
Columbia is 222-287 (77.4 percent) from the free throw line this season. That mark is second in the Ivy League and ranks 15th in the country. Zavian McLean (17-21), Geronimo Rubio De La Rosa (48-54), and Noah Robledo (14-16) are all shooting above 80 percent from the charity stripe.
Columbia went 28-39 from the line on Nov. 21 against LIU. It was the most attempted free throws by the Lions since Feb. 23, 2018 vs. Brown and the highest mark in head coach Jim Engles' tenure.
De La Rosa Dominance
Junior guard Geronimo Rubio De La Rosa has built off his strong sophomore campaign to start this season. The Santiago, Dominican Republic native had scored in double-figures in nine straight games dating back to last season before dropping eight points on Nov. 15. He has scored double-figures in 10 out of 13 games this season. De La Rosa played a strong all-around game in 2022-23, leading the Lions and ranking among the Ivy League leaders in scoring (13.6), rebounding (5.6) and steals (1.4). His 713 points through his first two seasons are the third-most all-time in program history for a player's first two years.
De La Rosa recorded 22 double-figures scoring games last season, including six straight to close out the year. He scored in double-figures in 12 out of the team's 14 Ivy League games last season. De La Rosa was one of four Lions to play in all 29 games last season and Avery Brown was the only other Lion to start in every game. De La Rosa's 88.8 percent mark from the free throw line last season led the Ivy League and ranked No. 16 in the country. His mark from the charity stripe also ranked third all-time in a single season behind Brian Barbour, who did it twice (.917, 2010-11 and .901, 2011-12).
Up Next
Columbia welcomes Penn to New York City next Saturday at 2 p.m.
Preseason Ivy League Poll
The Lions were predicted to finish eighth in the preseason Ivy League poll, conducted by selected members of the media.
Follow The Lions
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GoColumbiaLions.com.
