Four games into a 14-game Ivy slate, Columbia can honestly say it has been in every game. Unfortunately for the Lions, they have only one win for their efforts.
After losing three conference games by a combined 11 points, the Light Blue (12-8, 1-3 Ivy) hits the road this weekend to face Dartmouth on Friday and Harvard the following night.
“We’ve just got to keep fighting,” junior point guard and captain Brian Barbour said. “We’re so close. Our energy is real positive, and I think that’s a good sign. No one is cracking. It’s tough losing three games by 11 points, but we know we’re right there.”
“We’ve played hard these past four games,” head coach Kyle Smith said. “It’s just disappointing we haven’t made shots.”
The No. 23 Crimson (18-2, 4-0 Ivy) has been impressive this year, boasting a 23-game home winning streak—a program record and the fourth-longest active streak in the country behind Kentucky, Ohio State, and North Carolina.
Before the Lions get to Boston, Mass. though, they will take on Dartmouth. The Big Green (4-16, 0-4 Ivy) has struggled so far this year, but Smith doesn’t think Dartmouth’s record reflects the quality of its players.
“These guys at Dartmouth, they’re tough to score on, they’re physical, and they’re young,” Smith said. “I think some of their lack of success is their just being young.”
“Dartmouth’s a good team. It’s tough playing on the road in the league,” Barbour said.
“Every game is tough. We’ve got to go in there and bring energy.”
The Lions have held opponents to 59.3 points so far this year, and have relied on their defense all season long. Recently, though, according to Smith, Columbia’s defense has been put under increased pressure by the team’s offensive struggles.
“You can’t shut people out,” Smith said.
“And you need to cash in on the offensive end. I think we need a breakthrough there.”
Barbour explained the team has talked about simplifying its offensive strategy going into the weekend.
“We have so many sets that sometimes we get so caught up trying to run everything,” Barbour said. “Sometimes we get away from basics.”
The Light Blue will try to get junior center Mark Cisco going in the post. Cisco has come on strong in the Ivy season, contributing a combined 28 points and 31 rebounds in the last two games.
“He’s a beast right now,” Barbour said of Cisco. “He can throw it out, he can score, he’s playing good defense and rebounding extraordinarily well.”
Smith will also look to his bench for an offensive spark on the perimeter.
“I think there’s not a big difference between our seventh through 15th guy,” Smith said. “And we haven’t been shooting the ball well, so somebody like [senior guard] Chris Crockett, who hasn’t been playing much, may see more minutes.”
Smith may be particularly inclined to use his bench given the back-to-back games facing him this Friday and Saturday. The game against Harvard figures to be a low-scoring affair, with both teams ranked in the top 25 nationally in scoring defense—Harvard at third and Columbia at 21st.
The Crimson will be led by the reigning Ivy League Player of the Year, senior forward Keith Wright, who is averaging 10.6 points per game and 7.8 rebounds per game. Wright’s fellow big man, junior Kyle Casey leads the scoring for Harvard with 11.0 points per game, as sophomore guard Laurent Rivard is close behind with 10.6 points per game from the perimeter.
Cisco will match up against Wright to start, but will probably get help from the likes of Cory Osetkowski, among others. Smith does not plan to shut down Harvard’s formidable big man, but wants to make life difficult for him.
“I think you’ve just got to get him off the block,” Smith said. “If you let him get down in deep on you, he’ll kill you.”
The difficulty facing the Lions against Harvard makes Friday’s contest at Dartmouth all the more important.
“Saturday is going to be a very, very tough game,” Smith said. “And coming off a loss Friday, it would be heartbreaking.”
Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. in Hanover, N.H. on Friday and 7 p.m. in Boston, Mass. on Saturday.
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