Men’s Basketball Heads West for Matchup at California on Sunday

Sunday, December 21

Berkeley, Calif.

5:00 P.M.

Columbia University

California

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Photo by: Columbia University Athletics / Stockton Photo, Inc.

Men’s Basketball Heads West for Matchup at California on Sunday

12/19/2025 5:53:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Columbia Game Notes

The Lions and Golden Bears meet for the first time since 2003

NEW YORK — Columbia men's basketball returns from exams break to take on California at Haas Pavilion on Sunday at 5 p.m. ET.

Sunday's matchup between the Lions (9-2) and Golden Bears (11-1) can be followed via live stats or watched live on ACC Network+. Greg Mescall (play-by-play) and Ben Braun (analyst) will have the call.

News/Notes

Opening Tip-Off

Columbia has the second-best rebounding margin in the country and is inside the top 50 nationally in rebounds per game, offensive rebounds per game, defensive rebounds per game, three-point percentage, scoring defense, and winning percentage.

The Lions travel cross country to play their first game in California since Nov. 24, 2012 (at San Francisco).

Columbia's eight-game winning streak was snapped its last time out on Dec. 9 at Stony Brook.

Kevin Hovde is the first Columbia head coach in his debut season to win nine of his first 11 games since Lou Rossini started 20-0 in his first season in Morningside Heights in 1950–51.

Last Time Out

Despite trailing by 14 points with 2:54 to play, Columbia men's basketball stormed back to force overtime, but ultimately fell to Stony Brook on Dec. 9, 77-73, at Stony Brook Arena.

Down 61-47, the Lions rattled off a remarkable 18-4 run over the final 3:14 of regulation. Ryan Soulis' layup with 27 seconds left capped the comeback and the teams went to overtime tied at 65-65. It was Columbia's first overtime game since Dec. 28, 2022, against Maryland Eastern Shore.

Stony Brook started overtime with four straight points. Columbia went 3:32 into overtime without points before Gerard O'Keefe drilled a triple. Stony Brook led by five with 19 seconds left in the extra period, but the Lions still wouldn't go away. Blair Thompson nailed a clutch three to make it a two-point game with three ticks left. The Seawolves (7-3) hit two free throws at the end to seal the victory.

Kenny Noland dominated with 24 points, a career-high nine assists, and four rebounds. Soulis (12 points) and Connor Igoe (10 points) also added double-figure scoring.

Offensive Fireworks

On Nov. 26, the Lions scored 106 points at Fairfield, marking their first 100-point game against a Division I opponent since Nov. 15, 2010 (108 vs. Maryland Eastern Shore) and their first on the road since Dec. 8, 2009, at Wagner. Columbia shot an impressive 62.5 percent from the field against the Stags—their first road game shooting over 60 percent since Feb. 27, 2016, at Penn. The Lions are clicking from deep, ranking 38th nationally with a 38 percent three-point clip.

Columbia averaged 93.8 points over a four-game span from Nov. 21 to Nov. 29. Columbia last averaged 90-plus points over a four-game span during the 1976-77 season.

In the Nov. 29 win over Sarah Lawrence, six Lions reached double-figures in scoring, marking the first time the program had that many players notch 10 or more points in a game since Dec. 4, 2017, vs. Quinnipiac.

Six of Columbia's wins have come by 15 or more points.

Breaking The Glass

Along with having the second-best rebounding margin (14.3) in the country, the Lions lead Ivy League teams in combined team rebounds per game (44.1) and offensive rebounds per game (13.8). Columbia has out-rebounded its opponent in all nine wins this season.

The Lions have out-rebounded an opponent by more than 20 boards four times this season (plus-23 vs. UMass Lowell on Nov. 13, plus-25 at Lehigh on Nov. 21, plus-38 vs. Sarah Lawrence on Nov. 29, and plus-20 vs. UAlbany on Dec. 6). The plus-25 margin against the Mountain Hawks is Columbia's largest against a Division I opponent since Nov. 15, 2010, vs. Maryland Eastern Shore, when the Lions were 44-21 on the boards against the Hawks. Columbia notched 49 rebounds at Stony Brook on Dec. 9. Previously, the pair of 48-rebound performances against UMass Lowell and Lehigh were the most boards in a game for Columbia against a Division I foe since Dec. 12, 2022 (at Lafayette). The last time Columbia recorded multiple 40-rebound games in a season against Division I opponents came in 2017-18.

Columbia also had 23 offensive rebounds on Nov. 13, marking the first time the Lions secured over 20 offensive boards since Jan. 16, 2023, vs. Cornell.

Noticing Noland

Senior guard Kenny Noland is off to a strong offensive start to 2025-26, averaging a team-best 17.7 points per game. Noland leads the Lions in assists, field goal percentage, three-point field goal percentage, and minutes per game. Noland's 195 points this season rank fourth among Ivy League scorers and his 31 three-pointers are the second-most in the league.

The Apex, N.C. native has trumped his career-high in points twice already this year and has recorded five 20-point performances. Noland went off for a career-best 27 points in a win at Lehigh on Nov. 21, where he went 11-18 from the field.

At 36-36 from the charity stripe, Noland is the lone qualified player in the country with a perfect mark from the line.

This week, Noland was named Ivy League Player of the Week and was added to the Lou Henson Award Early Season Watch List, which recognizes the top mid-major players in Division I college basketball.

How Many Miles Can He Go?

First-year guard Miles Franklin shined in his collegiate debut in the Nov. 7 season opener. The Vienna, Virginia native came off the bench and in 18 minutes of action tallied 13 points on 5-5 shooting from the floor. Franklin knocked down two three-pointers and recorded three rebounds, two blocks, and a steal.

Franklin followed up on Nov. 10 at No. 3 UConn with a 10-point showing (eight in the second half) on 5-8 shooting. His performance included a posterizing dunk over Silas Demary Jr. with 8:42 remaining in the game.

Franklin poured in a career-best 18 points on 6-10 shooting on Nov. 26 at Fairfield and has scored double-figures in six of this season's 10 games. His five steals on Nov. 23 vs. Longwood are the most by a Lion since Avery Brown had five on Nov. 15, 2023, against SUNY Delhi.

Franklin has been named Ivy League Rookie of the Week twice this season (Nov. 10 and Dec. 8).

1,000 Points Watch

Columbia's Kenny Noland (940 points) and Avery Brown (862 points) are each closing in on the 1,000-point mark for their careers. The last Lion to reach 1,000 points was Geronimo Rubio De La Rosa on Feb. 23, 2024. Columbia has 30 all-time 1,000-point scorers.

Series History - California

Columbia meets California for the sixth time in program history and goes for its first non-forfeit win in the series. The last meeting in the series came on Dec. 27, 2003, where Cal came out with an 85-66 win.

Up Next

Columbia travels to Jacksonville to play at North Florida on Sunday, Dec. 28 at 2 p.m. for the teams' first-ever matchup.

Follow The Lions
For the latest on Columbia men's basketball, follow @CULionsMBB on X and Instagram, search Columbia men's basketball on Facebook, or follow on the web at GoColumbiaLions.com.