Will the Lions make it?

Bwog’s Sports Editor shares his insight on the recent losses of the Columbia Men’s Basketball team. 

So, the Columbia Men’s Basketball team has lost four games in a row. And the Penn Quakers have won four in a row.

This isn’t good.

The Lions, who two weekends ago had a two-game cushion on the teams beneath them in the League, are now 4-6, a position which can be graciously described as tied for fourth place. They are tied with the Quakers (or, according to Mike James, the #ZOMBIEQUAKERS), but Penn beat Columbia a couple weekends ago, meaning that as of this moment, Penn has the head-to-head advantage.

Some of Columbia’s losses have been predictable. After an easy first half of the season, which involved two games against Cornell, five home games, and no matchup against the undefeated Princeton Tigers, the Lions had to go on the road. The Lions did better than expected against the Tigers, but couldn’t prevail in the final moments against a great team in an obnoxious home stadium. They also had to match up against the Crimson, who have already clinched their spot in the Ivy League Postseason Tournament. Harvard jumped out to a huge lead, threw it away, and managed to eke out an advantage in the final three minutes. The Lions would have “broken serve” by winning either of those games, capturing an unexpected win against a top team. Columbia’s failure to do that was not the problem.

The Lions’ current bind comes from their losses to Penn and Dartmouth on the road. The first loss came to the resurgent Quakers, who have risen from the ashes of a 0-6 start. The Quakers are, in a sense, the anti-Columbia, since they started the season by facing Princeton twice and travelling for their games. After their dominant win at Yale today, the Quakers have the momentum to finally match their preseason hype. Then came a literal last-second heartbreaker in Overtime against Dartmouth, who took a one point lead with one second remaining against the Lions, who stayed close for the entire game. They were severely out-assisted, and Dartmouth shot a ton of three-pointers, and shot them well. Dartmouth overcoming their expectations is commendable, but it doesn’t make the Lions’ loss any less disappointing.

Looking forward, the Lions have to defeat the Quakers this weekend. In their return to Levien Gymnasium, the Lions face a must-win game. They’ll also have to “break a serve” in order to finish the season with a positive record, either by beating Princeton at home or Yale on the road, the latter of which is far from impossible. The fact that the 4-6 Lions are still energetic is a testament to the power of the new Ivy postseason tournament. Unlike in years prior, every game down the stretch will matter for the Lions and the Quakers.

A weird Palestra-Low Library fusion via #IvyMadness