Columbia did something on Tuesday night that it hadn’t done in 27 years, it beat a Big East team. The Lions defeated Villanova 75-57 at The Pavilion in Villanova, PA. It’s an incredible result that provides national recognition for an improved Lions team. Here are five things I took away from the game. Continue reading “Five Thoughts as Columbia Upsets Villanova”
Category: Ivy League
Preview: Villanova vs. Columbia
Columbia lost a tough game against Marist on Saturday and things don’t get any easier tonight when the Lions take on Villanova. The Wildcats have a hot new freshman guard and can certainly cause a lot of problems. You can watch the game on ESPN3 tonight and I ask Brian Ewart of VUHoops to provide some insight into Jay Wright’s team.
Columbia Struggles in First Close Game Test
The close losses haunted Columbia all of last season. A lost opening weekend of Ivy League play led to more letdowns and eventually a 4-10 conference record. The Lions were supposed to be past it all in 2012-13, but against Marist on Saturday night Columbia got its first close-game test, and the results weren’t promising in a 67-62 defeat.
Continue reading “Columbia Struggles in First Close Game Test”
Remembering the Fan’s Perspective
Here at Big Apple Buckets I like to think we do a good job capturing the fan’s perspective. Sometimes though you need a reminder about what exactly that means. Thus on Friday night you could find me sitting in Balcony 3 with my parents watching Rutgers beat Princeton, 58-52. Continue reading “Remembering the Fan’s Perspective”
Columbia Trying a New Look on Defense
If Columbia is going to challenge the power that be in the Ivy League this season the defense must improve. The Lions were the seventh worst defense in the league last season during conference play and it proved too much to overcome down the stretch in close games.
10,000 sims: Ivy League
The Ivy League offers another opportunity for Ken Pomeroy and Dan Hanner to disagree. Once again Hanner is the one that’s a little more bullish on one specific, but what this really comes down to is how good you think Harvard is going to be. The Crimson lose a ton from last season’s NCAA tournament team. Then again, Tommy Amaker has been stockpiling talent. Will those younger players step up when given a bigger role? If they do it could change the complexion of the league race.
Judging the computer
I did a Q&A with Dan Hanner to discuss his mid-major rankings, here I’m going to go back to the typical formula and discuss where I think the computer rankings are under or overrating teams. Here’s one each per conference with my note as to what the computers are missing.
Q&A with Dan Hanner about Preseason Predictions
Dan Hanner released his preseason rankings from 1 (Indiana) – 345 (Grambling) yesterday. He’ll be expanding on the rankings more in College Basketball Prospectus 13 (out soon!) and ESPN The Magazine. Most of that though will probably focus on bigger schools, so I asked Dan to dive into the rankings for the conferences we cover here at Big Apple Buckets. I know lots of people want to hear about the NEC, if so, scroll a little ways down. Continue reading “Q&A with Dan Hanner about Preseason Predictions”
Top of Ivy League might not be what you think
The Ivy League preseason poll came out yesterday and there’s not really much to argue with. I’m a little surprised that Princeton got 16 out of 17 votes. Here’s the thing though, I don’t think Harvard should be second any more. This seems like a little bit of recency bias impacting voting. Continue reading “Top of Ivy League might not be what you think”
NYC Team Capsules: Columbia
Last season: 15-15, (4-10 Ivy League)
State of Program: Slowly moving through rebuilding process
Key Players Lost: Chris Crockett, Steve Egee, Blaise Staab, Matt Johnson, Noruwa Agho
Incoming Players: Isaac Cohen (G), Grant Mullins (G), Zach En’Wezoh (F), Maodo Lo (G), Paddy Quinn (G), Brad Gilson (F)
Projected Starting Lineup:
G: Brian Barbour
G: Meiko Lyles
G: Alex Rosenberg
F: John Daniels
F: Mark Cisco
Key Reserves: Steve Frankoski (G), Corey Osetkowski (C), Van Green (G), Noah Springwater (G)
Biggest Storylines:
1) Can Columbia move into the top half of the Ivy League?
2) Does Brian Barbour win Ivy League Player of the Year?
3) Does a year of heartache and experience lead to better handling of close games?
Analysis: Noruwa Agho’s decision not to return after the knee injury that ended his senior season was a blow to Columbia’s depth. The return though of Steve Frankoski should help counteract some it. Frankoski missed all of 2011-12 with a foot injury, but he started 23 out of 28 games during the 2010-11 season. It’s possible he could replace John Daniels or Alex Rosenberg in the starting lineup. If everyone is healthy the Lions have a rotation that can capably go eight deep and one of the best one-two combinations at center in the Ivy League. Speaking of the center position, Mark Cisco can help Brian Barbour out in a big way by having an All-Ivy caliber season. The combination of Barbour and Cisco should be enough to drive the offense forward. Look for internationals Mullins and Lo to get some minutes as they learn how to play point guard in preparation of life after Barbour.
Final Prediction: The Ivy League is down this season and Columbia should be able to take advantage of it to move into the top half of the league. That can only happen though if the Lions can close out close games. The 4-10 record in the league last season is deceptive because Columbia actually played well enough to finish .500 in the league, but couldn’t close out some late victories. Columbia should be right there with Cornell and Harvard, chasing favorite Princeton in the Ivy League.
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