Maybe if you ask nicely, you can get their autographs

If you couldn’t tell from the basketball cupcakes in Ferris today, or the advertising in Dodge, or the Facebook event, or the mass e-mail sent from Roar-ee the Lion’s comfortable Florida home, Columbia basketball will have its home opener tomorrow. The women (6-9, 0-1 Ivy) will tip off at 4:30 pm against Cornell (10-5, 1-0 Ivy), while the men (9-6, 1-0 Ivy) start their game against the Big Red (8-9, 0-1 Ivy) at 7:00 pm. The Lions encourage you to come to both games, and they will likely enforce that enthusiasm by handing out all 300 “Beat Cornell” shirts prior to the early game.

The women have already won as many games this season as they did all of last season. The offense, ranked second in the Ivies, is led by sophomore Tori Oliver (17.9 ppg) and freshman Camille Zimmerman (15.1 ppg), who are second and sixth in the league, respectively.  The team also leads the league in rebounds, with senior Amara Mbionwu pacing the team’s physical board effort with 9.6 rpg. The team has reveled in drama this season; they won two games in a row in November in overtime and have traded double digit leads with the opposition in multiple games. Expect the Lions to excel in Levien – 5 of their 6 victories have come in Morningside Heights.

The men’s story, contrary to simplification, is not one about life without Alex Rosenberg. Neither is it about life without Meiko Lyles, Zach En’Wezoh, and Grant Mullins. More inspiring is how those missing 90 minutes per game have been made up. Junior Maodo Lo has rocketed to Ivy stardom since his buzzer beater last postseason, commanding the Lions offense and becoming the primary stealing threat in the league. Freshman Kyle Castlin has become a consistent driving threat, posting a 50% field goal percentage, and senior Steve Frankowski has staked his claim as one of the most reliable perimeter shooters in the Ivies. This team didn’t just hang around with #1 Kentucky – they scared the hell out of them. If they play like they did in Lexington, they win any game, anywhere, on their schedule.

In case basketball isn’t your thing, Columbia set up more events this weekend at home. Swimming and Diving will host Brown in their homecoming and home opener tomorrow. The women’s team (0-4) will square off against the Bears (3-3) at 12 pm. The Lions will look to ride the success of junior butterfly sprinter Christina Ray, who set program and pool records in Cornell last weekend with a 53.43 100m time. The men have found young success in freshman diver Jayden Pantel, who remains unbeaten on the Ivy season. Senior David Jakl has captured 15 event victories this season in free, back, and fly competition. Columbia (4-2) will host Brown (2-3) at 4 pm tomorrow and Bucknell (6-3) at 1 pm on Sunday.  All of these events will go on in Uris Pool at the Dodge Fitness Center.

The wrestling team will be just as busy this weekend. The Lions (2-1) travel to #23 Bucknell (8-3) tonight before returning to Levien Gym for a beautifully named tri-dual home opener with American (5-4) and Hofstra (4-7), starting at 1 pm on Sunday. Tyrel White (165) and Garret Ryan (heavyweight) lead the team with 14 wins apiece. Columbia won its two meets last weekend to gain some momentum to carry into this weekend’s duals. The experience the team got in its fall tournaments should help it retain its status from last year as an NCAA presence and an Ivy power. So if you have a couple of hours this weekend that you want to spend not studying, Columbia has certainly given you enough excuses.

Best players in the game via Columbia University Athletics