Who’s playing
Cornell Big Red @ Columbia Lions
Current records: Cornell 8-5, Columbia 11-2
How to watch
What you need to know
Columbia is on an eight-game home winning streak, while Cornell is on a three-game road winning streak: one of those streaks is about to end. The two will face off in a Battle of the Ivy at 2 p.m. ET Saturday at Francis S. Levien Gymnasium. The Lions strut with some offensive power as they have averaged 81.8 points per game this season.
Columbia likely enters the game with a chip on its shoulder considering Rutgers just ended the team’s three-game winning streak two weeks ago. They suffered a crushing 91-64 defeat against the Scarlet Knights. This was the Lions’ lowest scoring game so far this season.
Columbia’s loss came despite a quality game from Kenny Noland, who went 6 of 10 en route to 16 points plus eight rebounds. The dominant performance also gave Noland a new career high in three-point shooting accuracy (80%).
Columbia struggled to get the ball on offense and finished the game with just three offensive rebounds. This is the fewest offensive rebounds they have recorded since November 2023.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing it behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Cornell). They hurt Penn State-Schuylkill 123-71 on Sunday. The Big Red have made a habit of sweeping opponents off the field, having won four games by 19 points or more this season.
Columbia’s loss dropped its record to 11-2. As for Cornell, their victory ended a three-game drought at home and moved them to 8-5.
A high-performance offense is likely on the agenda, as both teams are among the highest-scoring teams in the league. Columbia has had no problem running up the score this season, averaging 81.8 points per game. However, it’s not like Cornell struggled in this department, as his average was 86.2. With both teams so easily able to rack up points, the only question that remains is who can run up the score.
Columbia is hoping to defy the odds on Saturday as experts believe it is headed for a loss. This will be the first time they play as home underdogs this season.
Odds
Cornell is a slight 1.5 point favorite against Columbia, according to the latest college basketball odds.
Oddsmakers had a good idea of ​​the line for this one, as the game opened with the Big Red as a 1-point favorite.
Oddsmakers are expecting fireworks from the offense and have pegged the over/under at 164 points.
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History of the series
Cornell has won 8 of its last 10 games against Columbia.
- March 9, 2024 – Cornell 98 vs. Columbia 76
- January 9, 2024 – Cornell 91 vs. Columbia 79
- March 4, 2023 – Cornell 87 vs. Columbia 73
- January 16, 2023 – Cornell 102 vs. Columbia 85
- March 5, 2022 – Cornell 78 vs. Columbia 64
- February 9, 2022 – Cornell 88 vs. Columbia 75
- January 25, 2020 – Cornell 62 vs. Columbia 50
- January 18, 2020 – Columbia 75 vs. Cornell 61
- January 26, 2019 – Columbia 73 vs. Cornell 70
- January 19, 2019 – Cornell 60 vs. Columbia 59
