NEW YORK — Columbia men’s basketball returns to its home floor this weekend for the home opener against UAlbany on Saturday at 7 p.m. and then a matchup with Bard on Sunday at 6 p.m. from Schiller Court at Levien Gymnasium.
Saturday’s matchup between the Lions (0-1) and Great Danes (0-1) can be followed via live stats or watched live on SNY and ESPN+ while Sunday’s tilt with the Raptors (0-1) can be followed via live stats or watched live on ESPN+. Click here or call 888-LIONS-11 to purchase tickets.
Back to work 💪#OnlyHere #RoarLionRoar pic.twitter.com/tnj7VHgV3m
— Columbia Basketball (@CULionsMBB) November 10, 2023
Opening Tip-Off
Columbia dropped its 2023-24 season opener on Monday night at Providence, 78-59, at Amica Mutual Pavilion. The Lions are now 78-44 in season openers.
The Lions are 84-36 all-time in home openers and have won nine of its last 15 openers in Levien Gymnasium.
Columbia tips off a three-game homestand and will play six of its next seven games at home to close out November’s slate.
News/Notes
Last Time Out
The Lions fell to Providence in the fifth meeting all-time between the teams on Monday night in Rhode Island, 78-59. Columbia was led by Blair Thompson’s 15 points. Avery Brown added 11 points, while Geronimo Rubio De La Rosa scored all 10 of his points in the first half. Zavian McLean poured in 10 points on 5-of-10 shooting. De La Rosa had eight of Columbia’s first 10 points and was tied for a game-high 10 points at the half.
The Lions went 11-for-13 from the free throw line but shot less than 30 percent from the field. Columbia crashed the glass hard offensively on opening night, out-rebounding Providence, 15-9, on the offensive boards.
🎥 recap from yesterday’s season opener 🏀#RoarLionRoar🦁 #OnlyHere🗽 pic.twitter.com/WHcRZR6TNs
— Columbia Basketball (@CULionsMBB) November 8, 2023
Fast Fact
The Lions are one of three teams in the country that return more than 90% of their scoring this season, along with Northern Iowa and Wisconsin. Columbia is also one of 11 teams in the country to return at least 70 percent of its points, rebounds, assists, steals, and blocks from 2022-23.
De La Rosa Dominance
Junior guard Geronimo Rubio De La Rosa looks to build off a strong sophomore campaign. The Santiago, Dominican Republic native played a strong all-around game in 2022-23, leading the Lions and ranking among the Ivy League leaders in scoring (13.6), rebounding (5.6) and steals (1.4). De La Rosa recorded 22 double-figures scoring games last season, including six straight to close out the year. He scored in double-figures in 12 out of the team’s 14 Ivy League games last season. De La Rosa was one of four Lions to play in all 29 games last season and Avery Brown was the only other Lion to start in every game.
De La Rosa’s 88.8 percent mark from the free throw line last season led the Ivy League and ranked No. 16 in the country. His mark from the charity stripe also ranked third all-time in a single season behind Brian Barbour, who did it twice (.917, 2010-11 and .901, 2011-12).
Sophomores Stepping Up
Columbia’s sophomore quartet of Avery Brown, Kenny Noland, Blair Thompson, and Zine Eddine Bedri look to take the next step in their game. All saw significant action as first-years (combined 23.1 minutes per game) in 2022-23 and will play an even bigger role this season. The group also accounted for 45 percent of the team’s scoring last year.
Brown’s 30.0 minutes per game last season was tied for most by a rookie in the Ivy League (Princeton’s Caden Pierce). The Beacon Falls, Connecticut native’s 79 steals a season ago ranked seventh in the league and were the most by a first-year in the conference.
In just his seventh career game last season, Thompson poured in a career-high 22 points at Binghamton. He was also named Ivy League Rookie of the Week on Dec. 19.
Scouting UAlbany
The Great Danes enter Saturday’s game having dropped their season opener on Tuesday at UMass, 92-71. Sebastian Thomas led the way with 19 points in the loss. Aaron Reddish dropped nine points and grabbed eight rebounds.
UAlbany opens the season with six straight games away from home. The Great Danes were picked to finish seventh in the America East Coaches’ Poll.
Series History – UAlbany
Saturday’s game is the ninth meeting between Columbia and UAlbany. Columbia has dropped seven straight in the series after winning the first-ever meeting in 2001. The two teams last met in 2021 at SEFCU Arena, where the Great Danes pulled out a 60-59 victory. The last time the Lions and UAlbany met in New York City, the Great Danes earned another one-point win, 67-66.
Columbia Against the America East
The Lions are 22-29 against current members of the America East. Columbia plays three teams from that conference this season (UAlbany, Maine, and New Hampshire) and went 1-4 against America East teams in 2022-23.
Scouting Bard
The Raptors lost their season opener on Wednesday to SUNY Delhi, 73-63. Lazaros Panagiotounis led the team with 20 points. Rowan Heinze added 12 points and a team-leading eight rebounds.
Series History – Bard
Columbia has played Bard twice, back when the school was named St. Stephens. The Lions and Raptors played each other in back-to-back seasons from 1930-32, with Columbia winning both contests.
Up Next
Columbia hosts SUNY Delhi on Wednesday at 7 p.m. at Schiller Court at Levien Gymnasium to close out a three-game homestand.
The Schedule
The Lions have a 27-game slate set for 2023-24 that features 15 home games from Schiller Court at Levien Gymnasium. Columbia will face three opponents that appeared in last year’s NCAA Tournament (Providence, FDU, and Princeton).
Columbia’s non-Ivy League opponents are made up of teams from nine different conferences: Big East (Providence), America East (UAlbany, Maine, New Hampshire), Liberty League (Bard), North Atlantic (SUNY Delhi), American Athletic (Temple), Northeast (LIU, FDU), Patriot (Loyola [Md.]), Lafayette), Atlantic 10 (Fordham), and Skyline (Mount Saint Vincent).
Ivy League play commences for the Lions on Jan. 9 at Cornell. Columbia’s conference home opener is on Jan. 20 against Princeton. Columbia concludes the 2023-24 regular season at home against Cornell on March 9. The top-four regular season finishers in the conference will compete in this year’s Ivy Madness, held at Schiller Court at Levien Gymnasium on the campus of Columbia University from March 15-17.
The Roster
Columbia returns 12 players from last season, all who appeared in games throughout the 2022-23 campaign. The Lions return all five starters and had just two graduates from last season’s team. Top returners include leading scorer and rebounder Geronimo Rubio De La Rosa (13.6 points per game, 5.6 rebounds per game last season) and two-time Ivy League Rookie of the Week in 2022-23, Avery Brown. The roster features three seniors, five juniors, four sophomores, and three first-years.
Columbia men’s basketball coach Jim Engles officially announced Arop Arop, Richard Nweke and Nicolo Romanelli as the program’s 2023 recruiting class. All three players are enrolled at Columbia as first-years.
“With the addition of Richard, Arop, and Nicolo, our roster is brimming with talent, versatility and depth,” Engles said. “These young men embody the core values we hold dear at Columbia University – a commitment to academic excellence, strong character and a passion for basketball. They have already demonstrated their dedication both on and off the court, and I have no doubt that they will excel as representatives of our esteemed institution.”
The Coaching Staff
Head coach Jim Engles enters his eighth season at the helm of the Columbia men’s basketball program. Tobe Carberry begins his fourth season as assistant coach and Jake Brown begins his third season as assistant coach. Assistant to the head coach Jesse Agel embarks on his eighth season with the program.
Austin Nisbett arrives on staff as an assistant coach this season after spending the 2022-23 season at the University of Tennessee at Martin as director of basketball operations. No stranger to Morningside Heights, Nisbett was on the 2021-22 staff at Columbia, where he worked under Engles and assisted coaches and full-time support staff members with administrative duties, team travel, practice preparation, on-court operations and player development.
Foreign Tour Central
Columbia men’s basketball completed a 12-day foreign tour through Switzerland and Italy. Following departure from New York City on Friday, Aug. 11, the Lions spent three nights in Switzerland and seven nights in Italy before returning home on Tuesday, Aug. 22. For all the content regarding the foreign tour, head to the Columbia men’s basketball photo galleries page for each day’s gallery and view the full trip’s wrapup by clicking here. To view the trip’s full itinerary, click here. The 12-day tour consisted of two full days of travel on the first and last day. It was the first foreign tour for Columbia men’s basketball since 2012.
The trip included a stop at the newly-opened Viola Park, home to ACF Fiorentina. It is one of the largest soccer facilities in Europe and is owned by Columbia Athletics Hall of Famer Rocco B. Commisso ’71SEAS. For the video recap from the tour with Commisso, click here.
Lions in the Pros
Columbia has 10 alumni currently playing professionally: Ike Nweke ’22CC, Randy Brumant ’21CC, Tai Bibbs ’21CC, Gabe Stefanini ’21CC, Mike Smith ’20CC, Patrick Tapé ’20CC, Kyle Castlin ’18CC, Lukas Meisner ’18CC, Luke Petrasek ’17CC, and Maodo Lo ’16CC.
Lo Wins Gold
Columbia men’s basketball alumnus Maodo Lo ’16CC won gold at the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup with Team Germany in September. Lo played in all eight games and averaged 6.6 points and 2.5 assists over 16.3 minutes per game. He shot 44.2 percent from the field. In a second round game against Georgia, Lo went off in a 100-73 win for 18 points in the fourth quarter on 6-of-6 shooting from three-point range. Lo also poured in 20 points in Germany’s 85-82 victory over Australia in the first round.
Free Inducted Into Columbia Athletics Hall of Fame
Columbia men’s basketball standout Ricky Free ’79CC was inducted into the Columbia Athletics Hall of Fame class of 2023 in October. Free finished his career at Columbia with 1,214 points in just three seasons, which puts him 15th all-time in program history. The three-time All-Ivy League selection also ranks in the program’s top five in career field goal percentage (55.2 percent – third) and rebounding (662).
Newmark Inducted Into Jewish Sports Heritage Association Hall of Fame
Columbia basketball Hall of Famer David Newmark ’69CC was inducted into the Jewish Sports Heritage Association Hall of Fame earlier this year. Newmark was recruited to Columbia from Lincoln High School, where he was a high-school All-American, the man nicknamed “shorty” would become the first building block of the eventual 1968 Ivy League Basketball Champions.
Preseason Ivy League Poll
The Lions were predicted to finish eighth in the preseason Ivy League poll, conducted by selected members of the media.
Follow The Lions
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