NEW YORK — Columbia men's basketball begins a four-game homestand this weekend from Schiller Court at Levien Gymnasium when it hosts Dartmouth on Friday at 7 p.m. and Harvard on Saturday at 6 p.m.
Friday's contest between the Lions (12-8, 3-4) and the Big Green (5-15, 1-6) 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. Friday is Greek Night and all students who wear their sorority or fraternity shirts are entered to win a JBL speaker.
Saturday's game between the Lions and Crimson (12-8, 3-4) can also be followed via live stats and
watched live on ESPN+. Lance Medow (play-by-play) and Brian Kennedy (analyst) will be on the call. Saturday is Student Appreciation Night and 50 pizzas will be delivered to the students section in the first half. One student will also win AirPods.
Tickets for both games can be purchased here.
Opening Tip-Off
The Lions are coming off a convincing 83-69 win at Brown last Saturday afternoon in a game they led the entire second half and shot 54.5 percent from the floor in.
Columbia gets set for two consecutive weekends of home back-to-backs. It will be the first time the Lions have had a four-game homestand during conference play since February 2020.
Morningside Hoops Podcast (Season 6, Episode 7)
A new episode of the Morningside Hoops Podcast has arrived. The latest episode features junior guard Jaden Cooper (Goldsboro, N.C.) Hosts Kyle Mattracion and Aliyah Funschelle sit down to catch up with Cooper, preview this weekend's matchups with Dartmouth and Harvard, and much more. Listen on Spotify, Apple, SoundCloud, or wherever you get your podcasts.
News/Notes
Last Time Out
Josh Odunowo had a career-best 17 points and Columbia defeated Brown last Saturday afternoon, 83-69, at Pizzitola Sports Center. The Lions snapped a six-game losing streak against the Bears and the victory gives Columbia two-straight Ivy League wins for the first time since March 2019. It's also the first time the Lions have won back-to-back road games by double-digit margins since January 2016. Geronimo Rubio De La Rosa exploded in the second half, dropping all his 14 points in the final 20 minutes. Noah Robledo tied his career-high mark with 15 points while Avery Brown (11 points) and Zine Eddine Bedri (10 points) also added double-figures scoring.
1,000 Points Watch
Junior guard Geronimo Rubio De La Rosa enters the weekend 42 points away from reaching the 1,000 points mark for his career. He would become the 30th Lion in program history to reach 1,000 career points and 16th to achieve the feat in his first three seasons. Mike Smith '20CC is the most recent Lion to enter the 1,000-point club.
In The New York Groove
Columbia is averaging 84.9 points per game in wins this season. The Lions are averaging 17.6 assists, which ranks No. 16 in the country and is second in the Ivy League. Columbia is shooting 38 percent from three-point range (18th in the country) and has a defensive three-point percentage of 30.7 (45th in the country).
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.
Columbia's 12 wins this season are the most under head coach Jim Engles and most since the 2015-16 CollegeInsider.com Championship season. The Lions have also surpassed the previous win total from the past two seasons combined.
Columbia's eight home wins this season are the most since 2015-16.
The Lions are just one of two Ivy League teams along with Cornell to have six players averaging over eight points per game this season.
Columbia's four road wins this season surpass the away victory total from the previous three seasons combined and are the most since 2018-19.
Before the loss to Princeton on Jan. 20, Columbia had won seven straight home games for the first time since 2015-16.
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 became the first Lion to tally a double-double in two seasons on Jan. 4 with 19 points and 11 boards. Geronimo Rubio De La Rosa then recorded his third career double-double (12 points, 12 rebounds) on Feb. 3 at Dartmouth and first since 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.
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.
Columbia has the 10th-largest year-over-year KenPom rank increase (+145 spots). The Lions currently sit at No. 196 in KenPom compared to last season's finish at No. 341.
Columbia is averaging 29.5 bench points per game, which ranks No. 19 in the country.
Well-Balanced Attack
Through 20 games this season, Columbia has had at least four players finish with double-figures scoring nine times and five players finish with double-figures scoring four times (Dec. 5 vs. Lafayette, Jan. 4 vs. Mount Saint Vincent, Jan. 9 at Cornell, Feb. 10 at Brown).
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 (13.6) and Avery Brown (11.0) are averaging double-figures scoring, while four other Lions are averaging over eight points per game. Brown and Rubio De La Rosa lead the team with 14 double-figure scoring performances while Noland has nine such games.
Free Throw Frenzy
Columbia is 266-352 (75.6 percent) from the free throw line this season. That mark is currently second for the all-time single-season average in program history, second in the Ivy League, and ranks 43rd in the country. Five Lions are shooting above 75 percent from the charity stripe this season.
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.
Rubio De La Rosa Dominance
Junior guard Geronimo Rubio De La Rosa has built off his strong sophomore campaign in 2023-24. 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 14 out of 18 games this season. He ranks sixth in the country in fouls committed per 40 minutes (1.06), according to KenPom.
Rubio 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.
Rubio 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).
Scouting Dartmouth
The Big Green enter Friday's contest at 5-15 (1-6) and tied with Penn for last place in the Ivy League standings. Dartmouth has dropped three-straight games, including double-digit defeats to Columbia and Harvard. Dusan Neskovic (14.9 points per game) and Brandon Mitchell-Day (10.3 points per game) are the lone Big Green averaging double-figures. Dartmouth is 0-10 on the road this season.
Series History - Dartmouth
The Lions are 116-107 all-time against the Big Green and recently defeated Dartmouth, 72-56, at Leede Arena two weeks ago for the first time since 2016. Columbia's swarming defense held the Big Green's leading scorer Dusan Neskovic to a team-high 10 points. Dartmouth was 3-15 from three-point range (0-8 in the second half). Columbia posted a 46.7 percent mark shooting overall (27-58). Geronimo Rubio De La Rosa finished with 12 points and tied his career-best with 12 rebounds, recording a double-double for the third time of his career.
The Lions also took last year's meeting in New York City, 71-65. Dartmouth is 8-46 (17.3 percent) from three-point range in its last three games against Columbia.
Scouting Harvard
The Crimson enter this weekend tied with Columbia for fourth place in the Ivy League standings and with identical overall and conference records. Harvard's first-year guard Malik Mack leads the conference in assists per game (4.7) and is second in scoring (18.7) in 17 games played out of the team's 20. The Crimson are also getting double-figures scoring from Chisom Okpara (16.6) and Louis Lesmond (10.0). Harvard is 4-4 on the road this season.
Series History - Harvard
The Lions are 98-91 all-time against the Crimson and have lost 10 in a row in the series. Columbia's last win against Harvard came at home on Feb. 2, 2018.
On Feb. 2 this season, Columbia led by 20 points in the first half in the teams' first meeting this season in Cambridge, but couldn't hold on in a 62-59 loss. The Lions had the ball down two with eight seconds left after a Harvard turnover, but Geronimo Rubio De La Rosa hit the rim on a three-point try. Columbia had another crack as time was expiring, but Rubio De La Rosa wasn't able to convert on a half-court attempt. It was the first time in 12 years Columbia had blown a 20-point lead and lost.
Up Next
Following this weekend's matchups, Columbia welcomes Brown next Friday at 7 p.m. and Yale next Saturday at 6 p.m. Both games will air on SNY. The Lions' current four-game homestand during conference play is the longest since February 2020.
Preseason Ivy League Poll
The Lions were predicted to finish eighth in the preseason Ivy League poll, conducted by selected members of the media.
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