Loss to Tigers Exposes Columbia's Weeknesses

In this past weekend’s matchup between Princeton and Columbia, the Lions were unable to stick to their plan and were forced to play into their opponent’s hands. While the Light Blue played to some of its strengths, like rebounding and post play, other aspects of Columbia’s play were
off.

The Lions have typically taken the court with intensity this season, but this time the Tigers were the ones who came out strong. They took an early lead, and Columbia did not get on the board until six minutes had ticked off the clock. But the Lions kept the game close even while playing catch-up, only trailing by four at halftime.
But once again, they were unable to come out of the locker room with intensity. Princeton controlled the pace and the tempo for the second half, stealing a page out of Columbia’s playbook and forcing the Lions to play at Princeton’s pace.

The Lions tried to get the Tigers into a running match, which could have caused Princeton to make careless mistakes on the offensive side of the ball. But the Tigers did not fall for this ploy and stayed disciplined in their offensive setup. At times, they even passed up short-range open looks so as to slow down the tempo and make sure they were getting their best possible shot.

The Tigers also made sure to be very careful with the ball. The Lions forced 14 turnovers in the contest, only six of them in the second half. For a team that depends heavily on transition scoring, Columbia needs to force more turnovers in order to succeed.

Although the Lions lost the game, they still played well on a number of levels. As always, they were strong on the boards, coming down with a total of 40 points for the night. Tight defense helped account for this impressive number, as the Light Blue repeatedly forced the Tigers to run the shot clock low and settle for low-percentage looks.

The Lions must clamp down in a number of areas as the season goes on. They can no longer allow their opponents to dictate the pace. They also need to focus on breaking a defensive scheme that puts pressure on their perimeter shooters, while still protecting the paint. Columbia has been able to respond to different challenges this season and should be able to figure out a solution to the problems posed in the Princeton game.