The Columbia men’s basketball program hasn’t won the Ivy League or advanced to the NCAA Tournament in over 54 years. It’s among the country’s longest NCAA Tournament droughts, surpassed only by Tennessee Tech’s 1963 appearance and Dartmouth’s 1959 bid.
However, under head coach Jim Engles, the Lions have started the 2024-25 season with a historic run, surmounting an undefeated 5-0 record for the program’s best start since 2005.
After seven straight season’s with finishes below .500 from Columbia, building this roster from the ground up has been a lengthy process. With the Lions now third nationally in minutes continuity on KenPom, that experience and patience is finally paying off.
“It takes a long time for that to happen and in our business everything is minute to minute, second to second,” Engles said. “It’s taken some years to get to this point. So, I’m really proud of our guys and grateful for the support we have from the administration that allowed us to get to this point.”
Not only has that 5-0 start marked a historic record for Columbia, but it’s included some historic moments as well. Following a win over Loyola (MD) on Nov. 4, the Lions traveled to Philadelphia just two days later and beat Villanova 90-80 for Columbia’s first Big East upset since 2012.
Giving this group an opportunity to leave their stamp on the program after battling just to stay relevant over the past few season’s made all the adversity worth it for Engles.
“We’ve been through a lot of highs and lows but the one thing that’s been noticeable is that it’s consistent and we’ve just played well,” Engles said. “We’ve had some challenges [early in the season] but the guys have been very consistent with it and I’m very proud of them. The work aspect and the appreciation for the work has been really good to see.”
Leading the returners, senior guard Geronimo Rubio De La Rosa is in his fourth year with the program and currently sits tied for seventh nationally in scoring. He’s paced the production each of those four seasons and has undoubtedly been pivotal to this undefeated start including leading the upset over Villanova with 22 points.
Though the Ivy League has typically been impervious to the transfer portal with education at the forefront, that’s slowly begun to change in this era.
Players like Malik Mack and Tyler Perkins departed this offseason but Rubio de La Rosa once again chose to remain and that loyalty is being…
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