Game #3
COLUMBIA Lions 4-3 (0-0 Ivy)
Last season 24-7 (13-1): 1-1 Ivy T, 1-1 NCAAT (Lost to W. Virginia 59-78).
Massey 86 (UNC 25); NET (Nolan) 42 (UNC 20); Torvik 83 (UNC 11)
Prediction: Massey and Nolan UNC by 12, Torvik UNC by 17
Columbia has moved through Cancun with a 1-1 record; a loss to Kansas State and a win over South Dakota State. In those two games they have averaged 86 points, Overall they have averaged an even 50% from the floor, including 17 of 38 threes (44.7%). Riley Weiss, the leading scorer, has put up 30 and 31 points. They now stand between UNC and a perfect 3-0 record in this event.
The records indicate that UNC and Columbia have never played. Of course, Courtney Banghart coached against them many times as the HC at Princeton. In fact though, games against the Ivy are rare: just five with UNC leading 3-2. In the Banghart era, there has been only one, the Yale game in 2019, which Carolina lost 63-66 despite a career high 25 points from Shayla Bennett.
For those not well acquainted with Columbia, it is a private university located in the Morningside Heights neighborhood of New York City. It has been around for a while: founded in 1754 as King’s College to honor George II of England who chartered it. It has 36,000 students, 75% of whom are postgraduate students. Columbia students are historically very "activist". Their endowment is a paltry 14.6 billion. Two annoying things: their light blue uniforms are too close to Carolina blue, and Morningside Heights is on the west side of Manhattan.
Columbia started the season on the road, playing Butler (W 74-69 OT) and Ohio (W 92-74). A return to Schiller Court at Columbia produced two losses: Richmond (67-77) and St. Joseph’s (48-66). In the last game before Cancun, the Lions grabbed a home win over Binghamton 73-60.
Projected starting lineup, based on the Cancun games: Perri Page, a 5-11 senior wing (14.3 ppg/6.7 rpg); Susie Rafiu, a 6-1 senior F (13.6/5.4); Riley Weiss, a 5-10 junior G (20.3/3.3); Fliss Henderson, a 5-11 junior G (5.9/5.3), and Marija Avilijas, a 5-10 junior G (7.6/3.4). International influence is strong: Rafiu is English, Avilijas (the assist leader) is from Serbia, and Henderson is Australian.
Off the bench, Mia Broom, a 5-9 sophomore G (7.0/2.4) and Nasi Simmons a 5-9 sophomore G (1.9 ppg), will play. Actually, Broom started the KSU game in Henderson's spot while Simmons had double digit minutes in both games. Against SDSU Spain’s Maria Arrebola (1.8) and Estonia’s Marta Jamma, a 6-2 F (1.3) had minutes. If she could dunk she would certainly earn the nickname “Slamma”. The only other player in action (briefly) was Eirny Erinugha, a 6-0 freshman F (0.6 ppg). The bottom of the roster, freshman Shay Shippen (0.8), (2.2) and junior Blau Tor (0.5), Germany’s Hilke Feldrappe (1.5), the team’s tallest player at 6-3, Vasiliki Cholopoulo a 5-10 G from Greece, and freshman Alicia Mitchell never got off the pine.
Columbia was not a good 3-point team over the first five games (24 of 107 for 22.4%) but the Cancun weather must agree with them.
Riley Weiss was 1st Team All-Ivy last year and art 5-10 leads the Lions in blocked shots. Leading rebounder Perri Page also leads in steals. Despite being a bit undersized, Columbia actually has a +4 rebound margin. They do turn the ball over and average 18.9 TOs/Gm.
Head Coach Megan Griffith is in her 10th year with a record of 150-84. She is a three time Ivy COY (23-24-25). Her Lions have averaged 25 wins a year over the last four years and the last three are Ivy regular season champion. Interestingly she was an assistant to Courtney Banghart at Princeton for six seasons.
Columbia averages 75.1 ppg although they do give up 72.6 ppg. That said, they are no patsy and need to be taken seriously - Ivy League or not. They are not called "The Gem of the Ocean" for nothing.
The game is 1:30 PM EST. All the games from Cancun will be broadcast by FloCollegeHoops. There has been radio coverage for every game so far.
One other note:
The last time UNC was in an event like this, 2023’s Gulf Coast Showcase, the team was 1-2 and lucky not to be 0-3 since they trailed opponent #1 Vermont by 9 points with under five minutes to play. Coincidentally, the #2 opponent then was Kansas State. The final game was Florida Gulf Coast, in which Carolina did just about everything right – shooting 51%, outrebounding the Eagles, having two 20-point scorers including Maria Gakdeng who was 8-8 and 6-6 on free throws – did basically everything except win the stupid game. Carolina needs to avoid that, because:
The game that follows this event five days later is a visit to Austin and a match with #4 Texas. Carolina is given little chance of a win, if you believe the usual prognosticators. Either way, a 3-0 run at Cancun will be a huge boost to the Heels non-conference schedule. That would be 8 wins with three games remaining and UNC heavily favored in all three. Add our projected 14-4 conference record that’s 25 wins and NCAA hosting.
Let’s put Columbia away and get it done.
COLUMBIA Lions 4-3 (0-0 Ivy)
Last season 24-7 (13-1): 1-1 Ivy T, 1-1 NCAAT (Lost to W. Virginia 59-78).
Massey 86 (UNC 25); NET (Nolan) 42 (UNC 20); Torvik 83 (UNC 11)
Prediction: Massey and Nolan UNC by 12, Torvik UNC by 17
Columbia has moved through Cancun with a 1-1 record; a loss to Kansas State and a win over South Dakota State. In those two games they have averaged 86 points, Overall they have averaged an even 50% from the floor, including 17 of 38 threes (44.7%). Riley Weiss, the leading scorer, has put up 30 and 31 points. They now stand between UNC and a perfect 3-0 record in this event.
The records indicate that UNC and Columbia have never played. Of course, Courtney Banghart coached against them many times as the HC at Princeton. In fact though, games against the Ivy are rare: just five with UNC leading 3-2. In the Banghart era, there has been only one, the Yale game in 2019, which Carolina lost 63-66 despite a career high 25 points from Shayla Bennett.
For those not well acquainted with Columbia, it is a private university located in the Morningside Heights neighborhood of New York City. It has been around for a while: founded in 1754 as King’s College to honor George II of England who chartered it. It has 36,000 students, 75% of whom are postgraduate students. Columbia students are historically very "activist". Their endowment is a paltry 14.6 billion. Two annoying things: their light blue uniforms are too close to Carolina blue, and Morningside Heights is on the west side of Manhattan.
Columbia started the season on the road, playing Butler (W 74-69 OT) and Ohio (W 92-74). A return to Schiller Court at Columbia produced two losses: Richmond (67-77) and St. Joseph’s (48-66). In the last game before Cancun, the Lions grabbed a home win over Binghamton 73-60.
Projected starting lineup, based on the Cancun games: Perri Page, a 5-11 senior wing (14.3 ppg/6.7 rpg); Susie Rafiu, a 6-1 senior F (13.6/5.4); Riley Weiss, a 5-10 junior G (20.3/3.3); Fliss Henderson, a 5-11 junior G (5.9/5.3), and Marija Avilijas, a 5-10 junior G (7.6/3.4). International influence is strong: Rafiu is English, Avilijas (the assist leader) is from Serbia, and Henderson is Australian.
Off the bench, Mia Broom, a 5-9 sophomore G (7.0/2.4) and Nasi Simmons a 5-9 sophomore G (1.9 ppg), will play. Actually, Broom started the KSU game in Henderson's spot while Simmons had double digit minutes in both games. Against SDSU Spain’s Maria Arrebola (1.8) and Estonia’s Marta Jamma, a 6-2 F (1.3) had minutes. If she could dunk she would certainly earn the nickname “Slamma”. The only other player in action (briefly) was Eirny Erinugha, a 6-0 freshman F (0.6 ppg). The bottom of the roster, freshman Shay Shippen (0.8), (2.2) and junior Blau Tor (0.5), Germany’s Hilke Feldrappe (1.5), the team’s tallest player at 6-3, Vasiliki Cholopoulo a 5-10 G from Greece, and freshman Alicia Mitchell never got off the pine.
Columbia was not a good 3-point team over the first five games (24 of 107 for 22.4%) but the Cancun weather must agree with them.
Riley Weiss was 1st Team All-Ivy last year and art 5-10 leads the Lions in blocked shots. Leading rebounder Perri Page also leads in steals. Despite being a bit undersized, Columbia actually has a +4 rebound margin. They do turn the ball over and average 18.9 TOs/Gm.
Head Coach Megan Griffith is in her 10th year with a record of 150-84. She is a three time Ivy COY (23-24-25). Her Lions have averaged 25 wins a year over the last four years and the last three are Ivy regular season champion. Interestingly she was an assistant to Courtney Banghart at Princeton for six seasons.
Columbia averages 75.1 ppg although they do give up 72.6 ppg. That said, they are no patsy and need to be taken seriously - Ivy League or not. They are not called "The Gem of the Ocean" for nothing.
The game is 1:30 PM EST. All the games from Cancun will be broadcast by FloCollegeHoops. There has been radio coverage for every game so far.
One other note:
The last time UNC was in an event like this, 2023’s Gulf Coast Showcase, the team was 1-2 and lucky not to be 0-3 since they trailed opponent #1 Vermont by 9 points with under five minutes to play. Coincidentally, the #2 opponent then was Kansas State. The final game was Florida Gulf Coast, in which Carolina did just about everything right – shooting 51%, outrebounding the Eagles, having two 20-point scorers including Maria Gakdeng who was 8-8 and 6-6 on free throws – did basically everything except win the stupid game. Carolina needs to avoid that, because:
The game that follows this event five days later is a visit to Austin and a match with #4 Texas. Carolina is given little chance of a win, if you believe the usual prognosticators. Either way, a 3-0 run at Cancun will be a huge boost to the Heels non-conference schedule. That would be 8 wins with three games remaining and UNC heavily favored in all three. Add our projected 14-4 conference record that’s 25 wins and NCAA hosting.
Let’s put Columbia away and get it done.
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