NEW YORK — Columbia men's basketball heads to The Palestra on Saturday afternoon to take on Penn. Tip-off is set for 2 p.m.
Saturday's matchup between the Lions (11-5, 0-3) and Quakers (5-11, 1-2) can be followed via live stats or
watched live on ESPN+. Joe Tordy (play-by-play) and Vince Curran (analyst) will have the call, with Cory Nidoh doing the sideline reporting.
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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.
Columbia goes for its first win at The Palestra since Jan. 8, 2022.
The Lions have the sixth-highest KenPom continuity rating in the country (69.5). The average continuity mark in the country is 34.0.
News/Notes
Last Time Out
The Lions had an 18-point lead at halftime but dropped Monday's contest to Princeton, 71-67, at Jadwin Gymnasium.
The Lions were outscored in the second half, 56-34. Princeton (14-4, 3-0) drilled 12 three-pointers in the final 20 minutes to chip into Columbia's big lead and narrowed it to a four-point game with 3:07 left after a Jack Stanton three-pointer.
After falling down 66-65 with under a minute to play, Mason Ritter put Columbia back in front with a tip-in and-one finish. He was unable to convert the free throw.
Xaivian Lee then buried the game-winning shot from beyond the arc with 10 seconds left to put Princeton back in front for the fourth lead change of the final two minutes. Blake Peters hit two free throws to seal the victory.
Geronimo Rubio De La Rosa led the Lions with 15 points.
Blair Thompson added 13 points and six rebounds.
Avery Brown had 10 points and four assists.
Rubio De La Rosa Dominance
Senior guard Geronimo Rubio De La Rosa is off to a scorching start this season, averaging 18.7 points per game (46th in the country) over the first 16 games of 2024-25. He is shooting 49.2 percent from the floor and 41.5 percent from three-point range, which ranks 45th in the country.
Rubio De La Rosa's 299 points this season are the second-most in the Ivy League. He also has the third-most field goals made (95) and second-most three-pointers made (49) 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.
Noticing Noland
Junior guard Kenny Noland has played a big part of Columbia's offense, averaging 13 points per game in 30 minutes per game. Noland has recorded 13 double-figure scoring performances this season. His 54 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 (5.9). The New York City native's 33 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 11 blocks in just 12.5 minutes per game this season. Junior Avery Brown has chipped in averaging 10.8 points per game with double-figure scoring in eight games. He is second on the team in assists (48).
Among the Nation's Leaders
Columbia ranks sixth in the country in assists per game (18.7), 13th in effective field goal percentage (57.1), and 17th in field goal percentage (49.2). The Lions rank inside the top 30 in assist/turnover ratio.
Record Book Watch
- Geronimo Rubio De La Rosa (1,373 points) sits in eighth place on Columbia's all-time scoring list. He recently passed Gary Raimondo '99CC and is 57 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 (224). 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 (599). Maodo Lo (692) is the all-time leader in three-pointers attempted for the Lions.
- Rubio De La Rosa's .843 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 139 steals. He is 17 steals away from tying Sean Couch for third place.
Series History - Penn
The Lions are 94-149 all-time against the Quakers and split last season's matchups. Columbia's last win over Penn came at home on Jan. 27 of last year, with the Lions' last win inside The Palestra on Jan.8, 2022.
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 returns to New York City for its first Ivy League back-to-back weekend of the season. The Lions host Harvard on Friday at 7 p.m. and then Dartmouth on Saturday at 6 p.m.
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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