NEW YORK — Columbia men's basketball tips off its second-straight home back-to-back this weekend, hosting Brown on Friday at 7 p.m. and Yale on Saturday at 6 p.m. Both games will air on SNY.
Friday's contest between the Lions (13-9, 4-5) and the Bears (7-17, 3-6) can be followed via live stats and
watched live on ESPN+ or SNY. Lance Medow (play-by-play) and Barry Rohrssen (analyst) will be on the call. Friday is International Students Night and one student will win a $250 Strokos gift card.
Saturday's game between the Lions and Bulldogs (17-7, 8-1) can also be followed via live stats and
watched live on ESPN+ or SNY. Lance Medow (play-by-play) and Brian Kennedy (analyst) will be on the call. Saturday is Heroes Night and all active military, veterans and members of the FDNY, NYPD can receive complimentary tickets via the Heroes Program. Also at Saturday's game, the first 250 students will receive a free t-shirt and one student will win a JBL speaker.
Tickets for both games can be purchased here.
Opening Tip-Off
Columbia split last weekend's games, completing its first season sweep over Dartmouth since 2016 with a 73-63 win last Friday and then dropping a hard-fought 80-75 loss to Harvard last Saturday.
The Lions are in the midst of a four-game homestand, which is their first during conference play since February 2020.
Morningside Hoops Podcast (Season 6, Episode 8)
A new episode of the Morningside Hoops Podcast has arrived. The latest episode features men's basketball head coach Jim Engles. Hosts Kyle Mattracion and Aliyah Funschelle sit down to catch up with Engles, preview this weekend's matchups with Brown and Yale, and much more. Listen on Spotify, Apple, SoundCloud, or wherever you get your podcasts.
News/Notes
Last Time Out
In a battle of teams fighting for an Ivy League Tournament berth, Harvard pulled away late for an 80-75 victory over the Columbia men's basketball team last Saturday night in front of an energetic crowd of 2,257 from Schiller Court at Levien Gymnasium. Jaden Cooper scored a career-high 26 points off the bench in the defeat. Cooper was 9-11 from the floor and 5-7 from beyond the arc. The junior from Goldsboro, North Carolina, also added five boards in 26 minutes of action. After shooting 7-of-14 from downtown in the first half, Columbia was just 2-of-13 in the second. The Lions dished out 20 assists on 27 made field goals but turned the ball over nine times in the second half.
1,000 Points Watch
Junior guard Geronimo Rubio De La Rosa enters Friday seven 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 84.0 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 13 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.
After a 10-point win over Dartmouth on Feb. 16, it was the second time Columbia earned three-straight double-digit victories since November 2014, with the other stretch being November of this season.
Columbia's nine home wins this season are the most since 2015-16.
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 had the 10th-largest year-over-year KenPom rank increase (+145 spots) the week of Feb. 12. The Lions sat at No. 196 in KenPom compared to last season's finish at No. 341.
Columbia is averaging 29.6 bench points per game, which ranks No. 19 in the country.
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.
Well-Balanced Attack
Through 22 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 (14.0) and Avery Brown (10.6) are averaging double-figures scoring, while four other Lions are averaging over eight points per game. Rubio De La Rosa leads the team with 16 double-figure scoring performances while Brown has 14 such games.
Free Throw Frenzy
Columbia is 290-385 (75.3 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 48th 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 15 out of 19 games this season. He ranks 10th in the country in fouls committed per 40 minutes (1.1), 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. Rubio 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 Brown
The Bears enter Friday's contest at 7-17 (3-6) and a game behind Columbia and Dartmouth for fourth place in the Ivy League standings. Brown snapped a three-game losing streak last Saturday at Penn with a 71-64 road win. Kino Lilly Jr. leads the Ivy League with 19.1 points per game, while Nana Owusu-Anane ranks eighth with 15.0 points per game. Lilly Jr. is also averaging a league-best 37.8 minutes per game. Brown is 3-8 on the road this season.
Series History - Brown
The Lions are 77-74 all-time against the Bears and recently defeated Brown, 83-69, at Pizzitola Sports Center on Feb. 10. Josh Odunowo had a career-best 17 points and the Lions snapped a six-game losing streak against the Bears. Columbia led the entire second half of that game. Geronimo Rubio De La Rosa exploded in the second half, dropping all his 14 points in the final 20 minutes. Noah Robledo tied his season-high mark with 15 points while Avery Brown (11 points) and Zine Eddine Bedri (10 points) also added double-figures scoring.
Scouting Yale
The Bulldogs enter this weekend tied with Cornell for first place in the Ivy League standings. Yale has a well-balanced offensive attack, with four players averaging double-figures scoring. Danny Wolf is averaging close to a double-double (14.7 points, 9.8 rebounds) in 30.4 minutes per game. The Bulldogs lead the conference in opponent field goal percentage (41.4 percent) and rebounds per game (37.6). Yale is 8-5 on the road this season.
Series History - Yale
The Lions are 127-117 all-time against the Bulldogs and dropped this season's first meeting in New Haven, 89-70. 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 took last season's meeting in New York City on New Year's Eve, 62-60.
Up Next
Following this weekend's matchups, Columbia closes out its road slate for the season with a back-to-back at Princeton next Friday at 8 p.m. and Penn next Saturday at 7 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.
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