NEW YORK — Columbia men's basketball begins the Ivy League portion of its season on Saturday when the Lions welcome Cornell to Schiller Court at Levien Gymnasium for a 2 p.m. tip.
Saturday's matchup between the Lions (11-2) and Big Red (8-5) can be followed via live stats or
watched live on ESPN+. Lance Medow (play-by-play) and Barry Rohrssen (analyst) will have the call.
Click here or call 888-LIONS-11 to purchase tickets. There will be a postgame autograph session for all youth fans age 12 and under.
Opening Tip-Off
Columbia is 32-35 all-time in Ivy League openers. Under head coach Jim Engles, the Lions are 3-4 in conference debuts.
Columbia opens Ivy League play with Cornell for the 16th time since the 2002-03 season. The Lions are 8-7 in conference openers against the Big Red over that span.
The Lions started 8-0 for the first time since Columbia's 1969-70 team, which started the season with 10 straight wins before finishing 20-5 (11-3). Columbia's eight-game winning streak was its first since Feb. 1982.
Columbia goes for its ninth consecutive home victory to start a season for the first time since 1968-69. Columbia's 8-0 home record to start the season is the program's best since 1981-82.
The Lions have the seventh-highest KenPom continuity rating in the country (68.6). The average continuity mark in the country is 34.1.
As Seen on TV
ABC 7 NY's Sam Ryan talks with
Jake Tavroff,
Geronimo Rubio De La Rosa, and Coach Engles about the season so far, preparing for Ivy League play, and much more.
News/Notes
Last Time Out
The Lions fell to Rutgers on the road, 91-64, on Dec. 30 to close out non-conference play.
Geronimo Rubio De La Rosa led the Lions with 17 points. Kenny Noland posted his 11th double-figure scoring game of the season with 16 points and a 4-5 mark from three-point range. His four threes and eight rebounds were career-highs. Zine Eddine Bedri had eight points and six boards for Columbia. Avery Brown chipped in nine points.
In The Polls
Columbia has received votes in the AP Top 25 Poll three times this season. The Lions are ranked No. 14 in the latest T3Bracketology Poll and No. 17 in the latest collegeinsider.com poll.
Rubio De La Rosa Dominance
Senior guard Geronimo Rubio De La Rosa is off to a scorching start this season, averaging 19.4 points per game (26th in the country) over the first 13 games of 2024-25. He is shooting 52.6 percent from the floor and 44.2 percent from three-point range, which ranks 24th in the country.
Rubio De La Rosa's 252 points this season are tied for the lead in the Ivy League. He also has the most field goals made (80) and second-most three-pointers made (42) in the conference.
Rubio De La Rosa was named to the Lou Henson Award Early-Season Watch List on Nov. 19 and to the inaugural Bracketeer.Org Non-Power Conference All-American Watch List on Oct. 31. He played a strong all-around game over 25 appearances (24 starts) in 2023-24 and was tabbed All-Ivy League Honorable Mention. Rubio De La Rosa averaged a team-best in points per game (14.4) for the second straight season and led Columbia in minutes per game (30.8), field goals made (116), three-pointers made (57), and steals (41). Rubio De La Rosa ranked in the top ten among Ivy League players in scoring, three-point field goal percentage, three-point field goals per game, and steals. The guard notched double-figures in 20 games and carries a four-game double-figure scoring streak into the 2024-25 season.
In February, Rubio De La Rosa became the 30th Lion in program history to score 1,000 points and the 16th to do so in his first three seasons.
Historic Performance by G
On Nov. 23 vs. Stony Brook, Rubio De La Rosa dropped a career-high 37 points and moved to 11th place on Columbia's all-time scoring list. Rubio De La Rosa set a Levien Gym record and a career high with nine three-pointers made. He also tied the Levien Gym record for points scored by a Lion, matching Mike Smith, Buck Jenkins, and C.J. Thompkins' 37-point performances. From the floor, Rubio De La Rosa was 14-18 (.778) from inside the arc and 9-13 (.692) from three-point range. Rubio De La Rosa had 24 of the Lions' 38 first half points.
Rubio De La Rosa was the first Lion to score 37 points in a game since Mike Smith did so on Feb. 22, 2020 vs. Yale.
Defensive DNA
Columbia has the least amount of points allowed and the least amount of points per game allowed (68.9) among Ivy League teams. The Lions are the only team in the conference to be allowing less than 70 points per game.
Noticing Noland
Junior guard Kenny Noland has played a big part of Columbia's offense, averaging 12.9 points per game in 28.7 minutes per game. His 42 assists lead the team and are ninth in the Ivy League.
Spreading The Wealth
The Lions are putting together well-balanced numbers on the stat sheets this season. Junior Blair Thompson leads the team and ranks in the top ten in the Ivy League in rebounds per game (6.3). The New York City native's 28 offensive boards are the fifth-most in the conference. Thompson posted his first career double-double in the Nov. 9 win over Delaware State, which included 12 points and a career-high 11 rebounds.
First-year Mason Ritter leads the team with nine blocks in just 12.4 minutes per game this season. Junior Avery Brown has chipped in averaging 9.5 points per game with double-figure scoring in five games. He is second on the team in assists (36).
Among the Nation's Leaders
Columbia ranks fifth in the country in assists per game (19.1), 12th in effective field goal percentage (58.1), and 13th in field goal percentage (50.1). The Lions rank inside the top 30 in assist/turnover ratio and fouls per game.
Record Book Watch
- Geronimo Rubio De La Rosa (1,326 points) sits in eighth place on Columbia's all-time scoring list. He recently passed Gary Raimondo '99CC and is 104 points away from tying Alex Rosenberg '16CC for seventh place.
- Rubio De La Rosa is second all-time in program history in three-pointers made (217). Maodo Lo (277) is the all-time leader in three-pointers made for the Lions.
- Rubio De La Rosa is second all-time in program history in three-pointers attempted (576). Maodo Lo (692) is the all-time leader in three-pointers attempted for the Lions.
- Rubio De La Rosa's .844 free throw percentage ranks third all-time in program history. He trails Brian Barbour (.897) and Chet Forte (.841).
- Rubio De La Rosa is fourth all-time in program history with 132 steals. He is 24 steals away from tying Sean Couch for third place.
Inside the Analytics
Columbia's KenPom rating is 168. Columbia's NET ranking is 129, which is third among Ivy League teams.
Series History - Cornell
The Lions are 131-108 all-time against the Big Red and look to snap a seven-game losing streak in the series. Columbia's last win over Cornell came at home on Jan. 18, 2020.
Fast Break Points
- The Lions return more than 78 percent of their scoring for the second straight season. Columbia also brings back at least 79 percent of its rebounds, assists, and steals from 2023-24.
- The 26-point win on Nov. 25 against New Hampshire (83-57) was the largest margin of victory against a D1 opponent at Levien Gymnasium since Dec. 7, 2018 vs. Bryant (90-68 win). The Lions have had four double-digit home wins this season.
- Columbia has received votes in the AP Top 25 Poll three times this season.
- It's likely the first time Columbia has gotten an AP Top 25 vote since 1970.
- On Nov. 25, Geronimo Rubio De La Rosa was named Ivy League Player of the Week, ESPN Dick Vitale National Player of the Week, and CollegeInsider.com Lou Henson National Player of the Week. On Nov. 26, he was named an Oscar Robertson National Player of the Week.
- Jim Engles was named National Coach of the Week by legendary ESPN analyst Dick Vitale on Nov. 11.
- On Nov. 11, Geronimo Rubio De La Rosa was the first Lion to be tabbed Lou Henson National Player of the Week. He was also tabbed Ivy League Player of the Week and Mid-Major Madness Men's Player of the Week.
- Columbia had the third-biggest KenPom rating jump in the country during the first week of the season (209 to 148 – +61).
-Was their highest KenPom rating since Nov. 16, 2019 (147).
Up Next
Columbia is back in action next Saturday at home against Yale. Tip-off from Schiller Court at Levien Gymnasium is set for 2 p.m. and can be watched live on ESPN+.
Preseason Ivy League Poll
The Lions were predicted to finish fifth in the preseason Ivy League poll, conducted by selected members of the media. It is the highest the Lions have been picked to finish since 2017, when they were also picked fifth. Columbia had been predicted to finish eighth the last three seasons.
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