Lions Ship Up To Boston College For Wednesday Matchup

PENING TIP-OFF

• Columbia will leave the state of New York for the first time this season when they travel to Boston College. The Lions and Eagles will meet for the second consecutive season after BC took an 81-66 decision at Conte Forum exactly one year ago.

• The Lions picked up their second straight win after topping Iona, 74-71, at the Madison Square Garden Holiday Festival. Five players scored in double-figures in the win, led by a 14-point effort by Jake Killingsworth.

• Through games played on Dec. 9, Gabe Stefanini leads in the NCAA in 3-point field goal percentage, converting on 57.5 percent of his attempts from beyond the arc.

• Columbia will take a 10-day hiatus for final exams before facing off against Rutgers on Dec. 22 at 1 p.m. at the RAC.

NEWS/NOTES

BOSTON COLLEGE'S STATUS The Eagles are coming off a 100-95 loss to Providence on Dec. 4, to snap a four-game winning streak. Ky Bowman paces the squad, averaging 19.1 points and is pulilng down 6.8 rebounds per game. Steffon Mitchell is grabbing 9.3 boards per contest.

INSIDE THE SERIES Wednesday marks just the third meeting all-time between the programs. BC is 2-0 against the Lions, earning a 57-53 win on Dec. 30, 1982 in Atlanta before last year's home win.

COLUMBIA VS. THE ACC The Lions are 10-29 against teams currently in the Atlantic Coast Conference. Columbia's last victory against an ACC foe came on Dec. 27, 1969, against Wake Forest, 101-78, in Philadelphia during the Quaker City Tournament. The Lions' most common foe is Syracuse, who they are 3-10 against.

GARDEN PARTY Columbia improved to 14-10 in games played at Madison Square Garden after its 74-71 win over Iona Sunday. It was the first win for an Ivy League program since Cornell won the Holiday Festival at "The World's Most Famous Arena" in 2009. The Lions knocked down 10 3-pointers, the most they have ever hit at MSG and Jake Killingsworth set a new individual single-game Garden record with four treys on the day.

SHARING IS CARING Columbia has averaged 20.6 assists per game over its last five contests and sit atop the Ivy League, averaging 18.4 per contest for the year, which also ranks 14th in the NCAA.

FROM DOWNTOWN The Lions knocked down a team record 17 3-pointers in its win over St. Joseph's (Brooklyn) on Nov. 25. Columbia is took advantage of the friendly confines of Levien Gym during its four-game home stand, knocking down 53-of-124 (42.8 percent) from beyond the arc and is knocking down 10.6 treys per game (13th in the NCAA) after leading the conference in 2017-18 with an average of 10.0 per contest last season.

KLEPTOMANIACS Defensively, the Lions have been much more active during the past five games, registering 10.0 steals per game. On the season, Columbia paces the Ivy League, posting 7.9 per game.