NEW YORK — Columbia men's basketball welcomes Yale to Schiller Court at Levien Gymnasium for a 2 p.m. tip on Saturday before traveling to Princeton for a 2 p.m. start on Monday.
Saturday's matchup between the Lions (11-3, 0-1) and Bulldogs (8-6, 1-0) 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. The first 250 youth 12 and under fans will receive a free water bottle.
Monday's matchup between the Lions and Tigers (12-4, 1-0) at Jadwin Gymnasium can be followed via live stats or
watched live on ESPN+. Derek Jones (play-by-play) and Noah Savage (analyst) will have the call.
Click here to purchase tickets.
Opening Tip-Off
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.
Before Saturday's loss to Cornell, Columbia's 8-0 home record to start the season was the program's best since 1981-82.
The Lions have the sixth-highest KenPom continuity rating in the country (68.9). The average continuity mark in the country is 34.1.
News/Notes
Last Time Out
The Lions ran into a red-hot Cornell team in a 94-83 defeat Saturday afternoon in both teams' Ivy League openers inside Schiller Court at Levien Gymnasium.
Kenny Noland led Columbia by tying his career-high with 19 points and also tied a career-high with six assists.
Avery Brown chipped in 18, and
Geronimo Rubio De La Rosa posted 15 points to go with six assists.
Noah Robledo added 10 points and a team-high five rebounds off the bench.
In The Polls
Columbia has received votes in the AP Top 25 Poll three times this season. The Lions are ranked No. 20 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 19.1 points per game (29th in the country) over the first 14 games of 2024-25. He is shooting 51.2 percent from the floor and 43.3 percent from three-point range, which ranks 34th in the country.
Rubio De La Rosa's 267 points this season lead the Ivy League. He also has the second-most field goals made (86) and second-most three-pointers made (45) 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 second-least amount of points allowed and the least amount of points per game allowed (70.7) among Ivy League teams.
Noticing Noland
Junior guard Kenny Noland has played a big part of Columbia's offense, averaging 13.4 points per game in 29.1 minutes per game. His 48 assists lead the team and are eighth 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 (6.1). The New York City native's 30 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 10.1 points per game with double-figure scoring in five games. He is tied for second on the team in assists (40).
Among the Nation's Leaders
Columbia ranks fifth in the country in assists per game (19.4), 12th in effective field goal percentage (58.1), and 10th in field goal percentage (50.0). The Lions rank inside the top 30 in assist/turnover ratio and fouls per game.
Record Book Watch
- Geronimo Rubio De La Rosa (1,341 points) sits in eighth place on Columbia's all-time scoring list. He recently passed Gary Raimondo '99CC and is 89 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 (220). 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 (585). 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 134 steals. He is 22 steals away from tying Sean Couch for third place.
Inside the Analytics
Columbia's KenPom rating is 186 and its NET ranking is 164.
Series History - Yale
The Lions are 127-118 all-time against the Bulldogs and look to snap a three-game losing streak in the series. Columbia's last win over Yale came at home on Dec. 31, 2022.
Series History - Princeton
Columbia is 86-163 all-time against Princeton with the Lions' most recent win in the series coming at home in 2018. Columbia's last win inside Jadwin Gymnasium was Feb. 7, 2014.
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 on the road against Penn. Tip-off from The Palestra 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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