Men’s Basketball Set for Road Matchups at Brown on Saturday and at Yale on Monday

Saturday, January 17

Providence, R.I.

2:00 P.M.

Columbia University

Brown

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Photo by: Columbia University Athletics / Josh Wang

Men’s Basketball Set for Road Matchups at Brown on Saturday and at Yale on Monday

1/16/2026 9:30:00 AM | Men's Basketball

Columbia Game Notes Brown Game Notes Yale Game Notes PIX 11 News Coverage

The Lions begin their second three-game road trip of the season

NEW YORK — Columbia men's basketball is in action on Martin Luther King Jr. Weekend as the Lions visit Brown on Saturday and Yale on Monday. Both tip-offs are scheduled for 2 p.m.

Saturday's contest between the Lions (12-4, 1-1) and Bears (6-9, 0-2) from Pizzitola Sports Center can be followed via live stats or watched live on NESN or ESPN+. Scott Cordischi (play-by-play), Russ Tyler (analyst), and Nick Coit (sideline) will have the call.

Monday's Martin Luther King Jr. Day showdown between the Lions and Bulldogs (12-3, 1-1) from John J. Lee Amphitheater can be followed via live stats or watched live on ESPN+. Jeff Dooley (play-by-play) and Jacob Munch (analyst) will have the call.

News/Notes

Opening Tip-Off

Columbia has the fourth-best rebounding margin in the country and ranks inside the top 15 nationally in rebounds per game and defensive rebounds per game.

Columbia goes for its second straight Ivy League road victory to start conference play for the first time since 2015-16.

The Lions went undefeated at home in non-conference play for a second consecutive season and also entered the Ivy League gauntlet with double-digit wins in back-to-back years.

Kevin Hovde is the first Columbia head coach in his debut season to win 12 of his first 16 games since Lou Rossini started 20-0 in his first season in Morningside Heights in 1950–51.

Last Time Out

Columbia suffered a 79-54 loss to Harvard and snapped its three-game winning streak on Saturday afternoon from Schiller Court at Levien Gymnasium.

Kenny Noland led Columbia with 10 points, while Connor Igoe added nine and Miles Franklin finished with eight. The Lions couldn't overcome Harvard's 52.7 percent shooting performance, including nearly 48 percent from beyond the arc. Columbia finished 2-16 from three-point range.

Memorable Win in Ithaca

The Lions' 104-99 win on Jan. 5 was the highest-scoring game in Columbia-Cornell history (242 games).

Columbia scored 100 points on Cornell for just the second time in series history (103 on Jan. 18, 1957).

The last time Columbia scored over 100 points in an Ivy League game was Feb. 6, 1993, vs. Harvard (W, 101-70).

The last time Columbia scored over 100 points in a road Ivy League game was Feb. 19, 1972, at Harvard (L, 102-100).

Kenny Noland became the 31st Lion in program history to reach 1,000 career points when he hit a free throw with 34 seconds remaining in the game.

Offensive Fireworks

With Jan. 5's 104-point showing at Cornell, the Lions have now scored 100 or more points in three games in a season for the first time since 1976-77.

Columbia recorded 100 or more points in back-to-back games (Dec. 31 vs. PSU Abington and Jan. 5 at Cornell) for the first time since Jan. 1969 (wins over Georgetown and Niagara).

The Lions have had two players with 20 points or more in a game twice this season (Kenny Noland and Blair Thompson on Nov. 26 and Jan. 5), marking the first time that's happened since 2018-2019.

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 41st nationally with a 36.9 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. Columbia also had six score in double-digits in the Dec. 31 win over PSU Abington.

Seven of Columbia's wins have come by 15 or more points. The Lions are averaging 87.5 points per game in wins this season. Five Lions have scored in double-figures four times this season.

Breaking The Glass

In addition to having the fourth-best rebounding margin (12.8) in the country, the Lions lead Ivy League teams in combined rebounds per game (43.4), defensive rebounds per game (30.3), and offensive rebounds per game (13.1). Columbia has out-rebounded its opponent in all 12 wins this season.

The Lions have out-rebounded an opponent by more than 20 boards five 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, plus-20 vs. UAlbany on Dec. 6, and plus-42 vs. PSU Abington on Dec. 31). 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.

Blair Thompson is 14 boards away from the 500-rebound mark for his career. Thompson would be the first Lion to record 500 career rebounds since Mark Cisco did so in 2012-13.

Noticing Noland

Senior guard Kenny Noland is off to a strong offensive start to 2025-26, averaging a team-best 16.6 points per game. Noland leads the Lions in assists, field goals made, three-point field goals made, free throws made, and minutes per game. Noland's 265 points this season rank second among Ivy League scorers and his 40 three-pointers are the third-most in the league.

On Jan. 5 at Cornell, Noland notched his 1,000th career point, becoming the 31st Lion in program history to reach that mark and the first since Geronimo Rubio De La Rosa on Feb. 23, 2024. Noland's 102 steals rank 11th all-time in program history and he will play in his 100th career game on Saturday.

The Apex, N.C. native has trumped his career-high in points twice already this year and has recorded seven 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. He then matched the 27-point mark on Dec. 28 at North Florida.

At 47-49 (95.9 percent) from the charity stripe, Noland leads the country in free throw percentage in the country among qualified players.

Noland has earned two Ivy League Player of the Week honors and was added to the Lou Henson Award Early Season Watch List on Dec. 18, 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 19 points on 6-12 shooting on Dec. 28 at North Florida and has scored double-figures in nine of this season's 16 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 four times this season (Nov. 10, Dec. 8, Dec. 29, and Jan. 12). Click here for a GoColumbiaLions.com feature article on Franklin, written by Victoria Newsome.

Series History - Brown

Columbia is 78-76 all-time against the Bears after the two teams split last season's meetings, each picking up a win at home.

Series History - Yale

Columbia is 127-120 all-time against the Bulldogs and looks to snap a five-game losing streak in the series. The Lions' most recent win in New Haven came on March 2, 2019.

Up Next

Columbia concludes its second three-game road trip of the season next Saturday at Dartmouth. Tip-off from Leede Arena is set for 2 p.m.

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