Men’s Basketball Opens Ivy League Play at Cornell on Monday

Monday, January 5

Ithaca, N.Y.

5:00 P.M.

Columbia University

Cornell

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Photo by: Columbia University Athletics / Lem Photography

Men’s Basketball Opens Ivy League Play at Cornell on Monday

1/4/2026 9:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball

Columbia Game Notes Cornell Game Notes Video: Coach Hovde Ivy League Preview

The Lions begin the conference slate against the Big Red for the third straight season

NEW YORK — Columbia men's basketball commences Ivy League play at Cornell on Monday. Tip-off from Newman Arena at Bartels Hall is set for 5 p.m.

Monday's matchup between the Lions (11-3) and Big Red (7-6) can be followed via live stats or watched live on ESPN+. Nick DeLuca (play-by-play) and Eric Taylor (analyst) will have the call.

News/Notes

Opening Tip-Off

Columbia has the sixth-best rebounding margin in the country and ranks inside the top 10 nationally in rebounds per game and defensive rebounds per game.

Columbia opens Ivy League play with Cornell for the 17th time since the 2002-03 season. The Lions are 8-8 in conference openers against the Big Red over that span. Columbia is 32-36 all-time in Ivy League openers.

The Lions went undefeated at home in non-conference play for a second consecutive season and also enter 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 11 of his first 14 games since Lou Rossini started 20-0 in his first season in Morningside Heights in 1950–51.

Last Time Out

Columbia wrapped up non-conference play and 2025 with a commanding 106-51 victory over Penn State Abington from Schiller Court at Levien Gymnasium on Wednesday afternoon.

The Lions out-rebounded PSU Abington 62-23, scored 64 points in the paint, and dished out 33 assists on 43 made shots en route to their second 100-point game of the season.

Gerard O'Keefe led the team in scoring with 19 points. Connor Igoe recorded his first career double-double with 11 points, 11 rebounds, and five assists. Mason Ritter and Richard Nweke scored career-highs with 16 and 13 points, respectively. Blair Thompson and Miles Franklin rounded out the six Lions scoring in double-figures with 15 and 11.

Hampton Sanders set career-highs with eight rebounds and 10 assists. The junior became the first Lion to notch double-figure assists in a game since Nicolo Romanelli on Nov. 15, 2023, vs. SUNY Delhi.

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 40th nationally with a 37.6 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 86.1 points per game in wins this season.

Breaking The Glass

In addition to having the third-best rebounding margin (14.6) in the country, the Lions lead Ivy League teams in combined rebounds per game (44.0), defensive rebounds per game (30.6), and offensive rebounds per game (13.4). Columbia has out-rebounded its opponent in all 11 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.

Leading rebounder Blair Thompson is 18 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, and minutes per game. Noland's 232 points this season rank third among Ivy League scorers and his 36 three-pointers are the third-most in the league.

The Apex, N.C. native has trumped his career-high in points twice already this year and has recorded six 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 41-42 (97.6 percent) from the charity stripe, Noland has the highest free throw percentage in the country among qualified players.

Noland has earned back-to-back 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 eight of this season's 14 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 three times this season (Nov. 10, Dec. 8, and Dec. 29).

1,000 Points Watch

Columbia's Kenny Noland (977 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 - Cornell

Columbia is 131-110 all-time against the Big Red and goes for its first win in the series since Jan. 18, 2020, at home. Columbia last won at Cornell in 2017.

Up Next

Columbia hosts Harvard on Saturday in the Lions' conference home opener. Tip-off from Schiller Court at Levien Gymnasium is set for 2 p.m.

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