Hoops readies to travel to Princeton, Penn

Shots may not fall, referees may make bad calls, but Columbia will play hard.

Toughness has been the cornerstone of head coach Joe Jones’ program in his seven seasons in Morningside Heights. On the court, that mentality has translated into an aggressive defense and a strong record at home.

This weekend the Lions will need that workman-like mentality as they look to right the ship after a disappointing 2-4 start to their Ivy season in two road contests against Princeton and Penn. Princeton has yet to lose in Ancient Eight play, and Penn is sitting at 2-2 in the league after a horrendous 1-15 stretch to start the season.

Both teams play at historically tough venues where success has been hard to come by for the Light Blue. Princeton’s Jadwin Gymnasium is the only Ivy arena where Jones has yet to win, despite several close calls and an overtime defeat.

After last Saturday’s loss to Yale at home, Jones and his leading scorer, Noruwa Agho, expressed a desire to return to their bread and butter. Both seemed more than a little shocked by the Bulldogs’ 79-65 dismantling of the Lions in Levien Gymnasium. After a brutal three game stretch to open the Ivy season against Cornell (twice) and Harvard left the Light Blue 0-3, Columbia responded with two straight wins and looks to be a team on the brink.

And while the outlook remains a bright one, last Saturday night neither Agho nor Jones seemed interested in their double-figure wins over Brown and Dartmouth.

“I think it’s kind of like getting hit in the mouth,” said Agho of the loss. “We definitely have to play with some pride and just know that regardless of what happens that we have to play harder than are opponent because we’re not just losing, we’re getting crushed. I think that it’s a character check.”

Jones agreed, emphasizing that the competitive spirit has been the linchpin of his teams at Columbia. “One of my teams hasn’t played like this in a long time. We’ve played with much more pride than this in the past, and it’s disheartening because that’s not really how we built this program.”

This weekend will be a critical one for the program, as the Lions face off in their first weekend of back-to-back road games. On Friday, the Light Blue heads to Princeton to take on a Tigers team that has quietly announced itself as a contender for Ivy hardware.

After early season attention brought Cornell and Harvard to the forefront, Princeton bested Harvard last weekend to bring its conference mark to a perfect 4-0. A balanced offense, a trademark of the Tigers’ program, consists of five starters, all of whom can create problems for opposing defenses.

They are led by guard Douglas Davis, who is averaging 13.1 points per game. Jones expects senior tri-captain Kevin Bulger to match up against Davis. He thinks the real danger for the Lions is Princeton’s interior play.

While acknowledging that “Doug Davis is a very good guard,” Jones explained, “I think their post players present a problem. I’m definitely concerned about their post players, particularly the freshman [Ian] Hummer.”

The strength of the Tigers’ game, however, is in their defense, currently the best in the Ivy League. Jones explained that in order to breakdown Princeton’s featured 1-3-1 zone, his team will have to be sharp on defense.

“We’ve got to be sure to throw crisp passes. They’ve got some long guys who can cover a lot of ground,” Jones said.

On Saturday, Columbia heads down to Philadelphia to face a Quaker team that has shown a willingness to compete, posting a .500 mark in Ivy play after taking only one of their first 16 games.

Under the leadership of interim head coach Jerome Allen, who took over for Glen Miller following Penn’s loss at Monmouth on Dec. 12, Penn is led by guard Zack Rosen. Rosen, averaging 16.7 points per game, has attracted Jones’ attention. He will likely draw Bulger, the Lions’ defensive stopper.

“They play with a lot of pride, and the kid Zack Rosen is a good guard. He does a good job, and he’s a big key for them.”

Yet Jones and Agho are adamant that the Light Blue needs to focus on itself.

“For the remainder of the season we have to play with a chip on the shoulder that we haven’t had, and we have something to prove,” Agho said.

The first area where Agho and his teammates will be expected to show that edge is on the boards, where Yale outrebounded Columbia by 19, 46-27, on Saturday. “I have got to take responsibility for my guys not going out there and rebounding the basketball,” Jones said. “Looking at the game, it was pretty obvious that that’s why we lost. I’ve been here seven years, and I don’t remember getting dominated like that in league play in a long time.”

Jones also emphasized the importance of not falling victim to the team’s recent Achilles’ heel—slow starts. “We have to be able to play forty minutes in the game.”

On Friday, the Lions will have a chance to make that statement, and anyone around the program will tell you that if the focus returns to hard work and aggressiveness, Columbia will be in good shape.

And although the odds are stacked against a Light Blue win on the road that night, Princeton just might have their eye on a huge showdown the next night against No. 22 Cornell, the league’s other unbeaten. That could be all the opportunity Jones’ squad needs.