Lions Sustain Longest Winning Streak Since 2016 Following Victory Over Maine

By Joe Budzelek (@stf_ncaa)

After their dominant 75-to-56 victory to Maine on Saturday, the Columbia Lions are now amidst a five-game winning streak, the program's longest since Kyle Smith led the program to a CIT Championship at the conclusion of the 2015-16 season.

This season's Lions squad is quickly becoming a well-jelled blend of sophomores, juniors and seniors who have dredged through the nadir of the program's recent slump, up towards their current stretch of impressive play.

The biggest difference between this season and the previous two is the Lions' sharp improvement in offensive efficiency. According to KenPom, the Lions finished last season with the 16th least efficient offense in the nation. This season, 263rd, 78 spots higher than last year. 

Never afraid to lean on his depth, coach Jim Engles' nine-deep rotation is rich with four three-star recruits (Noah Robledo and Geronimo Rubio de la Rosa of the '21 class; Avery Brown and Blair Thompson of the '22 class) that help provide Engles with a wide variety of rotations and looks that do not feature a big dropoff between the starters and bench pieces.

Although the roster is much of the same as last year, injuries to the frontcourt spearheaded a lineup shift for Engles, playing a majority of this year's minutes with 6'7 190 Thompson or 6'6 205 senior Josh Odunowo at the small-ball 5, while 6'10 225 sophomore Zine Eddine Bidri brings skill and rebounding to the position at a more traditional size.  

On Saturday, Odunowo showed why he is a perfect small-ball five: his energy, switchability on defense, physicality and fearlessness under the boards has helped fuel Odunowo's team lead in offensive rebounding and block rates. Odunowo finished with ten points and six rebounds in just eighteen minutes of game time. 

Known mostly last season as a floor spacer, Thompson looks noticeably stronger this and has been more of an asset on the defensive end. Even though his offensive game was mostly in check by Maine's defenders, Thompson grabbed two offensive boards and secured a steal and a block.

The development of Noah Robledo has been key. Gaining nearly forty pounds since his freshman season, the 6'5 205 formerly sparingly used junior has fit in as the Lions' 4-guard, whose versatile offensive game is now paired with gritty, physical play on the defensive end, as Robledo has looked to embrace a glue-guy role on the bench. Robledo finished with six points and two highlight assists in nineteen minutes.

In addition to the influx of skill in the frontcourt, improved three-point shooting and a decrease in turnovers are the biggest reasons for the increase in offensive efficiency. The maturity of the young Lions' backcourt has been a major catalyst for the overall comfort the team possesses in handling and moving the ball with pace and synergy. 

Starters Avery Brown and Geronimo Rubio de la Rosa finished with a combined twenty points, fourteen rebounds and four assists. Their eight turnovers looks dreadful from the box score perspective, but the Maine Black Bears are licensed pickpockets -- their starting backcourt nabbed eight steals to supplement their 33rd national rank in steal rate. That being said, in spite of the steals that led to breakaway Black Bear buckets, the Lions' offensive flowed freely and much of Maine's half-court efforts on offense were for naught. 

Selected dead last in the Ivy League Men's Basketball Coaches Preseason Poll, Columbia is quickly showing not only their ability on the court, but the overall strength of the Ivy League. Maine is not quite at the level of Vermont or UMass-Lowell, but they are considered one of the America East's better teams. 

On that note, Columbia looked fantastic Saturday afternoon -- expect the Lions to compete throughout the season, with an outside hope to earn a bid in next year's Ivy Madness as the tournament is to be hosted at Levien Gymnasium.