NEW YORK — Columbia men's basketball returns home inside Schiller Court at Levien Gymnasium for a pair of Ivy League matchups with Harvard on Friday at 7 p.m. and then Dartmouth on Saturday at 6 p.m.
Friday's matchup between the Lions (11-6, 0-4) and Crimson (6-11, 1-3) can be followed via live stats or
watched live on ESPN+ or SNY.
Click here or call 888-LIONS-11 to purchase tickets. The first 500 students receive a free t-shirt and one student will win a free IPad on International Students Night.
Saturday's matchup between the Lions and Big Green (8-9, 2-2) can also be followed via live stats or
watched live on ESPN+ or SNY. Lance Medow (play-by-play) and Barry Rohrssen (analyst) will have the call for both games.
Click here or call 888-LIONS-11 to purchase tickets. The first 500 fans receive a free rally towel and one student will win a JBL speaker. There will also be a pizza delivery to the student section.
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 against Harvard since Feb. 2, 2018. The Lions have won three straight over Dartmouth.
The Lions have the sixth-highest KenPom continuity rating in the country (69.8). The average continuity mark in the country is 34.0.
News/Notes
Last Time Out
The Lions were within two points at halftime, but Penn pulled away in the second half to defeat Columbia, 93-78, on Saturday afternoon at The Palestra.
Avery Brown led Columbia with 19 points.
Kenny Noland poured in 16 points and added a team-high six assists.
Noah Robledo had 11 points.
The Lions were 1-7 from three-point range in the second half. Penn finished 18-35 from beyond the arc.
Rubio De La Rosa Dominance
Senior guard Geronimo Rubio De La Rosa is off to a scorching start this season, averaging 18.0 points per game (63rd in the country) over the first 17 games of 2024-25. He is shooting 48.5 percent from the floor and 41.7 percent from three-point range, which ranks 42nd in the country.
Rubio De La Rosa's 306 points this season are the third-most in the Ivy League. He also has the third-most field goals made (98) and second-most three-pointers made (50) 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.
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 13.2 points per game in 30.2 minutes per game. Noland has recorded 14 double-figure scoring performances this season. His 60 assists lead the team and are sixth 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 ninth-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 11.3 points per game with double-figure scoring in nine games. He is second on the team in assists (51).
Among the Nation's Leaders
Columbia ranks 11th in the country in assists per game (18.2), 15th in effective field goal percentage (57.0), and 20th in field goal percentage (49.0). The Lions rank 18th in assist/turnover ratio.
Record Book Watch
- Geronimo Rubio De La Rosa (1,380 points) sits eighth on Columbia's all-time scoring list. He recently passed Gary Raimondo '99CC and is 50 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 (225). 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 (601). 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 143 steals. He is 13 steals away from tying Sean Couch for third place.
Series History - Harvard
The Lions are 98-92 all-time against the Crimson and last earned a win in the series on Feb. 2, 2018 at home.
Series History - Dartmouth
The Lions are 117-107 all-time against the Big Green and swept last season's matchups. Columbia has won three in a row over Dartmouth.
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 hosts Brown next Saturday inside Schiller Court at Levien Gymnasium. Tip-off 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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