Columbia 70, Penn 67: The Lions Survive For Another Weekend

Columbia has a new lease on life. A five-game losing streak put the Lions in a must-win situation on Saturday night against Penn if they wanted to have any chance of reaching the inaugural Ivy League tournament, but they did win and they do have hope. Continue reading “Columbia 70, Penn 67: The Lions Survive For Another Weekend” →

Princeton 64, Columbia 45: Tigers One Step Closer To Perfect Season

When Mitch Henderson played at Princeton, it was normal for the Ivy League champion to go undefeated. In his rookie season of 1995, Penn went 14-0, capping a streak of three straight seasons without a loss. Henderson soon got his own taste of perfection, helping the Tigers to unbeaten campaigns in his junior and senior years. Continue reading “Princeton 64, Columbia 45: Tigers One Step Closer To Perfect Season” →

Evaluating Columbia At The Ivy League Halfway Point

Columbia enters this weekend’s trip to Harvard and Dartmouth at 4-4, two games clear of the rest of its competition for the fourth and final spot in the inaugural Ivy League Tournament. Continue reading “Evaluating Columbia At The Ivy League Halfway Point” →

Reloading Columbia Has Inside Track to Ivy Tournament

Saturday night, Levien Gym doubled as a time machine back to the spring of 2016. Continue reading “Reloading Columbia Has Inside Track to Ivy Tournament” →

Columbia’s Defense Stifles Dartmouth

Defense has unexpectedly become Columbia’s calling card, but it helped drive the Lions to a 66-54 victory over Dartmouth on Friday night at Levien Gymnasium. Continue reading “Columbia’s Defense Stifles Dartmouth” →

Ivy League Weekly Roundup: Close Finishes Shake Up Standings

Last Week in the Ivy League: Yale survived a scare from its travel partner, while Columbia wasn’t so lucky. Harvard kept rolling with a strong second half. The Bulldogs have strong opinions about Russell Westbrook. I joined Ivy Hoops Online’s podcast. Continue reading “Ivy League Weekly Roundup: Close Finishes Shake Up Standings” →

Evaluating Columbia At The Quarter Pole

Columbia is 3-4 in its first seven games under Jim Engles. Considering the Lions are now in a stretch where they will play just three games in nearly four weeks, it gives us an excellent moment to step back and take stock of what has happened this season in Morningside Heights. Continue reading “Evaluating Columbia At The Quarter Pole” →

Columbia Slowly Building Under New Leadership

Jim Engles clearly didn’t want to leave NJIT after a remarkable eight-year run in Newark that began with a 1-30 season and ended with back-to-back 20-win campaigns as well as a conference (Atlantic Sun) to finally call home. Continue reading “Columbia Slowly Building Under New Leadership” →

Postseason Preview: Iona vs. East Tennessee State

Iona heads to Johnson City, Tennessee to take on East Tennessee State in the semifinals of the CollegeInsider.com Tournament on Saturday afternoon in a game that pits two talented mid-major teams from the MAAC and Atlantic Sun. The Gaels were probably the best team besides Maryland to not receive an NIT invitation and they’ve done nothing to discredit that reputation since postseason play began. Iona went on the road to Valparaiso and came away with a convincing victory and then took out Buffalo at home on Tuesday.

That’s why Iona is actually favored in this game by Ken Pomeroy’s rankings by exactly one point, 72-71 (57%), even on the road. Of course ETSU has some strengths as well. The Buccaneers recorded two convincing victories over Furman and Ohio on their way to semifinals, but neither of those teams is even close to the same level as Iona. That said, the Basketball State rankings on BBState, have Iona 67th and ETSU 60th. So this seems to be a game between two pretty evenly matched squads.

Continue reading “Postseason Preview: Iona vs. East Tennessee State” →

Two Iona players named Lou Henson All-Americans

Mike Glover and Scott Machado of Iona were both named to the 2011 Lou Henson All-America teams today. The team is composed entirely of Mid-Major players as defined by CollegeInsider.com, the people running the CollegeInsider.com Tournament in which the Gaels are currently doing so well. Most of the players on the team are juniors and seniors, but one sophomore, Ohio’s D.J. Cooper, made the team as well.

Glover has averaged 17.9 points per game and 10.1 rebounds per game this season. Machado is averaging 13.4 points per game and 7.5 assists per game. Glover’s effective field goal percentage ranks 38th in the nation this season at 60.8% and Machado’s assists rate is 39.2, 11th in the nation. Iona continues play in the CIT on Saturday afternoon at East Tennessee State. The Pirates’ Mike Smith, who averages 17.3 points per game and 6.9 rebounds per game, was also named to the team.