Men’s Basketball Hits the Road for Back-to-Back at Penn Friday, Princeton Saturday

Friday, February 13

Philadelphia, Pa.

7:00 P.M.

Columbia

Penn

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Photo by: Columbia University Athletics / Josh Wang

Men’s Basketball Hits the Road for Back-to-Back at Penn Friday, Princeton Saturday

2/12/2026 12:00:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Columbia Game Notes

The Lions sit a game back from four teams in the Ivy League standings

NEW YORK — Columbia men's basketball visits Penn on Friday at 7 p.m. before traveling to Princeton on Saturday for a 6 p.m. tip-off.

Friday's matchup at The Palestra between the Lions (14-8, 3-5) and Quakers (11-10, 4-4) can be followed via live stats or watched live on ESPN+. Joe Tordy (play-by-play) and Vince Curran (analyst) will have the call.

Saturday's contest at Jadwin Gymnasium between the Lions and Tigers (8-15, 4-4) can be followed via live stats or watched live on ESPN+. Steven Cusumano (play-by-play) and Jesse Agel (analyst) will have the call.

News/Notes

Opening Tip-Off

Columbia has the ninth-best rebounding margin in the country and ranks inside the top 30 nationally in rebounds per game and defensive rebounds per game. Through eight Ivy League games, Columbia leads the conference in offensive rebounds (99).

The Lions fell to Cornell last Saturday at home, 88-67. Columbia is now 8-3 inside Schiller Court at Levien Gymnasium this season.

Connor Igoe was named Ivy League Rookie of the Week for a second straight time. Igoe scored 13 points on 5-11 shooting and pulled down four rebounds on Saturday.

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.

Last Time Out

Columbia was defeated by a hot-shooting Cornell team, 88-67, Saturday afternoon from Schiller Court at Levien Gymnasium.

Kenny Noland led the Lions with 21 points and took sole possession of seventh place for all-time steals in program history after tying Matt Shannon '89CC in his last outing against Princeton. Reigning Ivy League Rookie of the Week Connor Igoe added 13 points and was Columbia's other double-figure scorer.

Cornell's Josh Baldwin recorded a double-double with 19 points and 11 rebounds on 11-of-12 free throw shooting. The Big Red (11-10, 4-4) made 22-of-24 free throws and shot 30-56 (53.6 percent) from the field. Columbia posted a 46.3 percent mark from the floor.

Noticing Noland

Senior guard Kenny Noland is on an offensive tear through 22 games this season, averaging a team-best 16.9 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 372 points this season rank fourth among Ivy League scorers and his 54 three-pointers are also the fourth-most in the league.

On Jan. 24 at Dartmouth, Noland Noland posted 28 points and 11 rebounds (both career highs) for his first-career double-double in the 79-69 win. Noland went 11-11 from the free throw line (also a career-high) and tallied four steals, which tied his career-best. The Apex, N.C. native played all 40 minutes.

Noland's 28 points were the most scored by any Ivy League player amongst that week's games and were the most points scored by a Lion on the road since Nov. 13, 2022, at Sacred Heart (Geronimo Rubio De La Rosa, 28). His 28 points were also the most points scored by a Lion in a road Ivy League game since Feb. 15, 2020, at Harvard (Mike Smith, 38).

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 111 steals rank sixth all-time in program history.

Noland has trumped his career-high in points three times already this year and has recorded 10 20-point performances. Noland went off for an at-the-time 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 62-65 (95.4 percent) from the charity stripe, Noland leads the country in free throw percentage among qualified players.

Noland has earned three 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.

Thompson Accomplishments

Senior forward Blair Thomspon pulled down his 500th career rebound in the Jan. 24 win at Dartmouth, becoming the first Lion to achieve the feat since Mark Cisco in 2012-13.

Thompson joined Gary Raimondo '99CC as the only other Lion to have 500 rebounds and 100 steals in their Columbia careers. The New York, N.Y. native also played in his 100th career game on Jan. 30.

Offensive Fireworks

With Jan. 5's 104-point showing at Cornell, the Lions have 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.

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 85.9 points per game in wins this season. Five Lions have scored in double-figures four times this season. Columbia's 48.2 percent shooting mark from the floor ranks 42nd in the country.

Breaking The Glass

In addition to having the ninth-best rebounding margin (9.9) in the country, the Lions lead Ivy League teams in combined rebounds per game (40.5), defensive rebounds per game (27.5), and offensive rebounds per game (13.1). Columbia has out-rebounded its opponent in all 14 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.

Igoe Impresses

First-year forward Connor Igoe has garnered three Ivy League Rookie of the Week nods this season (Dec. 22, Feb. 2, and Feb. 9) and is averaging eight points and 5.4 rebounds per game. The Brooklyn, N.Y. native's .516 field goal percentage ranks 10th in the Ivy League.

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 half of his 20 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).

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.

Series History - Penn

Columbia is 95-151 all-time against the Quakers and snapped a three-game losing streak in the series earlier this season with a home 72-67 win on Jan. 30. The Lions' most recent win over Penn at the Palestra came on Jan. 8, 2022.

Series History - Princeton

Columbia is 86-166 all-time against the Tigers and seeks its first win in the series since Feb. 17, 2018. Princeton earned an 80-68 victory earlier this season in New York City on Jan. 31.

Up Next

Columbia returns home to host Dartmouth next Saturday at 2 p.m.

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