Men’s Basketball Takes on Dartmouth in Home Matchup on Saturday

Saturday, February 21

New York, N.Y.

2:00 P.M.

Columbia

Dartmouth

Tickets From $11 - $40

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

Men’s Basketball Takes on Dartmouth in Home Matchup on Saturday

2/20/2026 10:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball

Columbia Game Notes

The Lions and Big Green are locked in a three-way tie for fifth place in the Ivy standings

NEW YORK — Columbia men's basketball hosts Dartmouth on Saturday in a crucial Ivy League contest. Tip-off from Schiller Court at Levien Gymnasium is set for 2 p.m.

Saturday's matchup between the Lions (15-9, 4-6) and Big Green (10-13, 4-6) can be followed via live stats or watched live on ESPN+. Lance Medow (play-by-play) and Barry Rohrssen (analyst) will have the call.

News/Notes

Opening Tip-Off

Columbia has the 12th-best rebounding margin in the country and ranks inside the top 40 nationally in rebounds per game and defensive rebounds per game. Through 10 Ivy League games, Columbia leads the conference in offensive rebounds (117).

Columbia split last weekend's matchups with a 76-67 loss at Penn last Friday before responding on Saturday with a 75-65 victory at Princeton. The Lions snapped a 13-game losing streak in the series with the Tigers and won at Jadwin Gymnasium for the first time since Feb. 7, 2014.

Miles Franklin picked up his fifth Ivy League Rookie of the Week award on Monday after averaging 13 points per game at Penn and Princeton on Friday and Saturday, respectively. The Vienna, Va. native shot 10-24 from the floor and tallied six rebounds per game on the weekend.

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 15 of his first 24 games since Lou Rossini started 20-0 in his first season in Morningside Heights in 1950–51.

Last Time Out

Columbia bounced back on Saturday evening with a 75-65 win over Princeton at Jadwin Gymnasium. Blair Thompson paced the Lions with 14 points on 6-8 shooting. Miles Franklin added 12 points, Mason Ritter chipped in 11 points, and Gerard O'Keefe had 10. Columbia was 28-49 from the field and 10-21 from three-point range (47.6 percent).

After leading for most of the early stages of the second half, Columbia took a 49-42 lead on a Thompson three-pointer off the feed from Connor Igoe. An 8-0 run from the Lions included two field goals from O'Keefe to boost Columbia's lead to 57-46 with 8:58 to play.

Princeton hung around and had Columbia's lead down to 62-56 with 3:51 to play. With just over two minutes to go, Igoe buried a huge three-pointer, and Columbia got a stop and was fouled. Ritter hit two free throws and the Lions' lead was back to double-digits, 70-60. Three more free throws from O'Keefe and Franklin in the final minute sealed the win.

Noticing Noland

Senior guard Kenny Noland is on an offensive tear through 24 games this season, averaging a team-best 16.8 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 403 points this season rank third among Ivy League scorers and his 62 three-pointers are also the second-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 114 steals are tied for sixth all-time in program history.

Noland has trumped his career-high in points three times already this year and has recorded 11 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 63-69 (91.3 percent) from the charity stripe, Noland ranks ninth in 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.

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 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 85.1 points per game in wins this season. Five Lions have scored in double-figures four times this season. Columbia's 48.5 percent shooting mark from the floor ranks 32nd in the country.

Breaking The Glass

In addition to ranking 12th in the country in rebounding margin (9.1), the Lions lead Ivy League teams in combined rebounds per game (39.7), defensive rebounds per game (27.0), and offensive rebounds per game (12.7). Columbia has out-rebounded its opponent in all but one of its 15 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 and is averaging 7.8 points and 5.3 rebounds per game. The Brooklyn, N.Y. native's .523 field goal percentage ranks ninth in the Ivy League. Igoe's 67 assists are the second-most on the team behind Noland.

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 12 of his 22 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 recorded his first-career double-double at Penn on Feb. 13. His performance at The Plaestra featured 14 points on 6-14 shooting and 10 rebounds.

Franklin has been named Ivy League Rookie of the Week five times this season (Nov. 10, Dec. 8, Dec. 29, Jan. 12, and Feb. 16).

Series History - Dartmouth

Columbia is 118-109 all-time against the Big Green and earned a 79-69 victory at Dartmouth earlier this season on Jan. 24.

Up Next

Columbia stays home next weekend for a back-to-back against Brown on Friday at 7 p.m. and Yale on Saturday at 6 p.m.

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