I was very impressed by every aspect of Columbia's win over Eastern Michigan on Saturday night.
Despite the fact that everyone had to get their tickets via
Will Call, I saw no problems at the box office or with fans finding their
seats.
I was impressed with the decent number of students who
attended, despite the fact that is was still spring break.
I was very impressed with the way the old alums were
extremely vocal and clearly pumped for the game from well before the opening
tip.
This was really a fantastic night for Columbia, and it would
have been a terrible shame to have lost this special night to an “away game” had
the athletic department and others not stepped up to make sure the Lions were
at home Saturday night. Anyone who was at the game will surely be able to tell
this truth to those who might still think that road games are better for this
team right now. And it’s excellent that the CIT Quarterfinal game against Yale
Wednesday will also be at home. I’m hoping for a record sellout.
I also hope that lots of CU administrators watched this game. Because if they did, none of them will ever doubt that WINNING athletics can bring together the Columbia community in a way nothing else can.
I think Columbia Spectator writer Peter Andrews has summed it up the best with this statement from his column today:
"It’s a reward for the players, coaches, and—most of all—fans for an incredible year. In the wake of a disastrous football season which cast a toxic cloud over Columbia athletics, this lovable team has offered the community something to rally around."
Obviously, I was most impressed by the way the Lions defeated a bigger and quicker EMU team and finished the game playing their best basketball of the night.
I also hope that lots of CU administrators watched this game. Because if they did, none of them will ever doubt that WINNING athletics can bring together the Columbia community in a way nothing else can.
I think Columbia Spectator writer Peter Andrews has summed it up the best with this statement from his column today:
"It’s a reward for the players, coaches, and—most of all—fans for an incredible year. In the wake of a disastrous football season which cast a toxic cloud over Columbia athletics, this lovable team has offered the community something to rally around."
Obviously, I was most impressed by the way the Lions defeated a bigger and quicker EMU team and finished the game playing their best basketball of the night.
Now, we have a historic moment in Ivy history before us. Columbia
will face Yale for the third time in one season. I’m not sure if two Ivy teams
have ever met more than twice in one year other than the few times when there
was an tie-breaker game for the Ivy title.
Surely, no two Ivy hoop teams have ever met in the
postseason… right?
Either way, this Wednesday night’s game at Levien will be a
lot of fun for Ivy fans. The winner goes to the CIT Final Four.
29 comments:
Keep Kyle Smith!
To my knowledge, the only time two Ivies met after the regular season was in 1968, when we played Princeton to determine the NCAA tournament team, after finishing tied with them for the regular season.
"This was really a fantastic night for Columbia, and it would have been a terrible shame to have lost this special night to an “away game” had the athletic department and others not stepped up to make sure the Lions were at home Saturday night." I would love to find out the logic behind scheduling that first game away. If it was financial, it was stupid. We have so little to cheer about in general, one would have thought any chance to help our odds was worth the candle.
But all we get, to keep this totally "Columbia", is the sound of silence.
There have been at least 2-3 other playoffs to determine the Ivy champ that forced 3rd meetings. But I'm pretty sure there's never been an Ivy-Ivy meeting in any postseason tournament.
I will be at Mel's Burger Bar at 6 PM for the alum buffet.
I will also have 2 extra tix @ 15$ each, my cost, due to a duplicate order. Center court.
Look for a very attractive man with a full beard, who will also be one of the largest attendees. Or let me know via Jake's, if interested.
Curious if the matchup was made for geographic considerations or some other reason? The CIT does not have a formalized bracket so they could have easily matched up either team with Towson or VMI.
Yale - CU should be a great game and the winner will have "Final Four" pride. Then they face a buzzsaw if VMI keeps putting up 100 pts a game.
By hindsight having the first game on the road was a great move. We established our street cred by getting a tough road W against a very good team, and who is to say that games two and three would have been home if we had played the first game at home as well. Call it the law of unintended consequences, it you will.
I agree with Old Lion. Having the first game on the road was the way to go, and the proof is in the pudding. Now we're set for one of the best home games in Lion history.
I find it very interesting they pair the 4 best teams left (Murray State, Towson and VMI, Ohio). Maybe it made sense travel-wise or arena scheduling.
The good news is if CU beats Yale, they would have an excellent shot at defeating either Pacific or San Diego IF that is who they allow them to play instead of the aforementioned 4. Neither UOP or USD is as overpowering as the others. The road to the championship game is not out of reach unless they give them a buzzsaw opponent.
Princeton lost in the CBI quarterfinals, so up to you guys and Yale to carry the Ivy flag at this point. Good luck!
That fee is no joke, don't be too hard on Athletics:
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/23/sports/ncaabasketball/for-columbia-a-milestone-seems-to-be-worth-the-fee.html
Not sure why anyone thinks CU got a lucky draw. Per Sagarin, Ohio is #115 in the country, Columbia #120, San Diego 121, Towson 126, Pacific 128, Murray State 140 and Yale 161. VMI much weaker at 193. We can argue the merits of Sagarin, but it weighs strength of schedule pretty heavily. Sagarin also suggests these are well-matched teams, should be good games the rest of the way.
Eastern Michigan #139, btw. We played very well on Saturday against a more athletic opponent. Go Lions!
Regarding the CIT away game:
First, the vast majority here are avid CU fans who only want the best for our teams, so all opinions are welcome and respected.
Without the benefit of present 20/20 hindsight given our recent wins, I maintain that the decision to play Valpo away was shortsighted. They were rated far ahead of us in RPI and also had an atrocious away record, as did we. (compared to our home record) Therefore, logic dictated that a home game presented us a far better chance at the win. Plain and simple, we dodged a bullet in Indiana. It was not a sound tactical move.
But to me, the more significant, more egregious issue is that notwithstanding the multitude of questions raised about said decision, our administration has totally refused to offer any explanation. Notice I didn't say "apology", just some reasonable story as to why this happened. While it is now too late, even something along the lines of "Valpo reserved the home game first" or "Coach wanted to play away" or something, anything that demonstrated CU actually cares/gives a damn about fans.
Instead, we get what we are unfortunately accustomed to, a deafening wall of silence. This is NOT coming from the coaching level; this implies disdain at the top.
Someday, CU will understand that open communication solves more problems than it causes.
In the meantime, I'm enjoying the hell out of this BB season, in spite of the oompa loompas.
Perhaps the answer to Big Dawg's question will be forthcoming at the pre-game festivities at Mel's Burger Bar at 5:30 PM tomorrow. There should be some administrators present, maybe even "M" herself.
Re "I also hope that lots of CU administrators watched this game. Because if they did, none of them will ever doubt that WINNING athletics can bring together the Columbia community in a way nothing else can."
Betcha they did! Are you serious about that?! Why would you think there's a possibility they didn't!
As or bringing the community together, the crowds at Levien are composed of students alums, family members. Don't assume too much by full houses. This generation, as shown by attendance at Ivy FB and BB games, is not gung-ho about sports, even winning teams.
Harvard's successful FB team drew 12K vs Brown, 11K vs Pr, 11 vs. Penn at home
Underwhelming, say I.
I'm curious if basketball success this season will translate into increased ticket sales, especially the season variety, for next season. I was very surprised to learn that CU only has a little more than 100 season basketball ticket holders.
But I also feel that the "Murphy administration" is doing a pretty good job getting the word out about our basketball success.
One sad note from Saturday was seeing so many obvious band members (by their rugby shirts) sitting together without their instruments. Anyone know why they didn't play, especially given their good turnout? Also, there were but four cheerleaders present, but they clearly did their best.
RLB:
I was referring to non-Ath dept. administrators. You really think Bollinger, the provost, the deans, etc. watched the game live or otherwise? I doubt more than a few did if any.
The basketball capacity of 2700 is too damned small.
Maybe the football team should play at the Levien basketball court, and basketball could play in Wien Stadium.
The basketball capacity of 2700 is too damned small.
Maybe the football team should play at the Levien basketball court, and basketball could play in Wien Stadium.
Roar Lion, I would agree with rankings if I was a betting man but look at the history of tournament play. Teams catch fire and play with confidence. Mercer played in the CIT (could have been even last year) and then they knock off Duke this year in the NCAAs.
CU is having an excellent run but VMI is scoring over 100 a game and no one in this field looks like they can beat them. Towson, Ohio, Murray St are much bigger physically, much quicker. I have not seem full games, just highlights but I see matchup problems for CU if they play those teams. I am enjoying CU's run of success but it would be a bit stunning if they could overcome any of those 4 teams in this tournament.
Jake, thanks for your kind words in this post. Wednesday's game is going to be a very exciting moment.
Just to respond very quickly to Unknown — because we were still on break there weren't enough people around for the band to play (our instrumentation would have been very, very bad). Those of us who were around came out just to show our support for the team!
We generally play well against very athletic teams and less well against more deliberate teams. We played MSU and SJU very tough. We just need to avoid falling into early holes. And right now we are playing very, very well. I would go so far as to say that Lo has elevated his game to an even higher level and if he continues to improve will be a candidate along with Rosie for POY next year.
Lo, Rosenberg and Ostekowski are all playing better than they were last year and to some extent even better than they were earlier in the season. This just doesn't happen for CU bball or football until now.
It's too bad they don't have a center who can bang it inside. Ostekowski is an excellent shooter and would be much better utilized as a forward. He's not a prototype center.
He's a great defensive Center though... he has had some great blocks lately. Had a key block vs. EMU
Hey, folks
Let's take a step back for a minute.
How great is it for us to be having these conversations about one of our teams? Wouldn't it be incredible to able to do this all year long? I have great hopes for baseball this spring. But of course, there's football next year. And so many other teams.
Imagine, if you will, competent and competitive teams across the board. Teams with a decent chance of winning any given game. I think that is all we are asking for.
Thank you to the BB team and coach. Regardless of tomorrow's results, Well Done, men.
PS, re Jake's question:
"ABOUT THE MATCHUP
Sunday’s contest will mark the 226th meeting between the Lions and Elis. Yale has won nine of the last 11 contests, but Columbia has won the last two games at Levien Gymnasium. It will also be the first time two Ancient Eight squads will battle it out in the postseason."
Levien is not the smallest venue in the league, BTB.
Big Dawg: There's been a steady conversation about MBB on
http://boards.basketball-u.com/showforum.php?fid/39/fbb_session_id/22178df35dd9fa784f6953070d767c16/
And, on various topics at http://www.voy.com/152805/
RLB, thanks for the link. You come across as someone who believes strongly in the athletic department. Do you mind if I ask what your connected to CU sports? Parent, student, alum, employee, other?
Thanks
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