Princeton Basketball Gameday: Tigers welcome Columbia for MLK matinee
Jan 19, 2025
WHO: Columbia (11-4, 0-2) at Princeton (13-4, 2-0)
WHEN: Monday, 2 p.m., Jadwin Gymnasium
TV/ RADIO: ESPN+/ The Varsity Network
LAST TIME OUT: Princeton def. Dartmouth, 81-80; Columbia lost to Yale, 92-88
STREAK: Princeton W6; Columbia L3
SERIES HISTORY: Princeton leads, 162-86. The Tigers have won 10 straight in the series. The Lions have not won at Jadwin Gym since Feb. 7, 2014.
NCAA NET RANK: Princeton 117; Columbia 169
KENPOM RANK: Princeton 124; Columbia 185
SCOUTING PRINCETON: Xaivian Lee was at it again. The junior guard matched a career-best 33 points and hit the game-winning 3-pointer with six seconds left at Dartmouth on Saturday. He has reached the 30-point mark twice this season and four times in his career. Enjoy him while you’ve got him this year because the NBA is beckoning. Saturday’s escape from Leede Arena was the sixth straight victory for the Tigers and gave them a 2-0 start in league play. The two Ivy wins are by a combined five points. Mitch Henderson teams always rank among the best in the nation when it comes to 3-point shooting — all five starters connect at 36% or better — so it shouldn’t come as a surprise to see Princeton in the top 50 in that category. It ranks 40th nationally and second in the Ivy in 3-point percentage (37.4); and 27th in 3-pointers made per game (10.2).
SCOUTING COLUMBIA: The Lions got off to a great start with 11 wins from their 12 games, but have hit a road block of late. They come to Jadwin as a desperate team after dropping their first two Ivy contests to Cornell and Yale. Jim Engles’ side is at its best when the ball moves as evidenced by 19.2 assists per game, which ranks fifth nationally. When it gets to the hands of Geronimo Rubio De La Rosa it usually ends up in the basket. The senior guard is third in the Ivy at 18.9 points and shoots the 3 at 42.1%. Columbia, as a team, makes 37.4% from beyond the arc and averages 9.7 made 3s per game. Kenny Noland (13.5 points) and Avery Brown (10.9 points) give the Lions three double-figure scorers. The Lions and Tigers are both good at getting passing lanes as they are 1-2 in steals in the Ivy, with Columbia coming in at 8.2 and Princeton at 8.0.