Men's basketball kicks off Ivy League season against Penn, Princeton

The Lions have won four straight games and 11 of their last 12, but none of that matters now. On Friday, the men’s basketball team will face Penn in the first game of what is known as the 14-game tournament—the Ivy League basketball season.

Of course, riding a wave of success into the first conference game of the conference season can’t hurt. After dropping the first four games of the season, the Light Blue (11-5) has hit its stride. The Lions’ early-season success is a bit of a surprise, as they were picked to finish seventh in the preseason media poll. While Columbia has proved itself in nonconference play, its games against Penn and Princeton at home this weekend will serve as a barometer for how well the Lions can expect to do in the league this season.

“I would be lying if I said if there wasn’t a bit of that,” head coach Kyle Smith said, acknowledging that this weekend was an opportunity for his team to prove that it belonged at the top of the league.

First up for the Light Blue this weekend are the Quakers (7-9), who finished just above the Lions in Ivy play last year. The teams split their two games last season, with each squad winning at home. Columbia won comfortably at Levien behind a 21-point performance by then-junior Noruwa Agho, but fell to Penn just two weeks later at the Palestra.

In both games last season, the Lions were unable to stop Quaker point guard Zack Rosen. The Bob Cousy Award Finalist put up 12 points and seven assists in the away loss and 17 points and nine assists in his team’s home win. Now a senior, Rosen has played well against Columbia his whole collegiate career, averaging 11.7 points and 5.7 assists in just six games.

“He’s more than just one of the best point guards in the Ivy League—he’s one of the best point guards in the country,” Smith said of Rosen. “So we have plan A, and we have plan B and C as well. He draws a lot of attention because he shoots the ball so well and he’s also a very good distributor.”

Rosen leads the league in assists with 6.3 a game, is second in points with 18.7, and is first in free throw percentage with 92.4—good for fourth-best in the nation. He’s also third in the Ivies in three-point shooting, making 42.6 percent of his shots from beyond the arc. Stopping or simply slowing down Rosen is crucial for Columbia.

“We got a lot of different ways to try to do it, but I don’t know if it can be done,” Smith said.

It will either be junior point guard Brian Barbour or sophomore guard Meiko Lyles who is tasked with defending Rosen. Barbour and Lyles are first and second in scoring for the Lions, with 14.3 and 10.6 points, respectively. Barbour also leads the team in assists with 54.

While Barbour was expected to take a leadership role for the Lions this year, Lyles didn’t start until after Agho went down with a knee injury in the second game of the season. As another scoring threat, Lyles, who was injured himself over the summer, has helped take a lot of the pressure off Barbour.

“He’s surprised me in not how good he’s been but how quickly he’s gotten so good,” Smith said, referring to Lyles’ fast recovery from a broken foot. “He’s assumed a kind of leadership role with Noruwa’s absence.”

The Light Blue will need to score as many points as possible on Friday, as Penn is third in the league with 67.3 points a game. Like the Lions, the Quakers have a strong perimeter game, getting 32 percent of their points from downtown. In addition to Rosen, Penn senior guard Tyler Bernardini shoots very well from beyond the arc, shooting 43 percent. According to Smith, what makes Bernardini particularly dangerous, however, is that he can make plays too.

The Lions and Quakers have finished within two games of each other for the past three seasons, so Friday’s matchup promises to be an exciting one. “It’ll be a heck of a game,” Smith said.

Less than 24 hours after the Penn game ends, the Light Blue will return to the court to face off against reigning co-champion Princeton. The Tigers (9-7), who were picked to finish second in the league, have struggled early this season, losing five of their first six games. Since then, however, Princeton has returned to form, winning eight of its last 10.

The last time the Tigers came to Morningside they embarrassed the Lions in front of a crowd of nearly 2,000 people by winning 76-46. The Light Blue kept it much closer when they traveled to Jadwin Gymnasium, losing by just six points. The 2012 edition of the Tigers is a little different, though, as two of their top three scorers—Kareem Maddox and Dan Mavraides—have graduated, and head coach Sydney Johnson has left for Fairfield.

But Princeton still has its second-best scorer from last season—junior forward Ian Hummer. Hummer is currently third in the league in scoring with 17.9 points and second in rebounding with 7.9 boards.

“He’s strong, he’s good around the basket, but he’s also really quick,” Smith said of Hummer. “We’re counting on JD [John Daniels] and Blaise [Staab] to do the best they can on him.”

Smith noted that Staab, a senior forward, was a particularly good match for Hummer because of his strength.

Both games will be difficult for the Lions, and their performance should help give fans an indication of what to expect from them in the Ancient Eight this year.

“If you’re able to win Friday it gives you a lot of momentum and you have a chance for a really special weekend if you’re able to get it done on Friday night,” Smith said, highlighting the importance of coming out strong against Penn.

However, he emphasized that no one game would make or break Columbia’s season. “Either way, whatever the outcome is, it’s a long season, it’s 14 games, and because of the strength of the conference I don’t think it’s going to be a 13-1 or 14-0 that’s going to win the league this year.”

Tip-off for both games is scheduled for 7 p.m. in Levien Gymnasium.