Coming off a disappointing 72-54 loss against Cornell, Columbia will head off to Providence and New Haven to take on two top Ivy teams, Brown and Yale.

The Lions (7-10, 0-2 Ivy) first face the Bulldogs (7-9, 1-1), who sustained a tough 77-68 loss to Brown. Senior guard Eric Flato paced the Elis with 24 points and junior forward Ross Morin contributed 18 points and nine rebounds. During the game, Yale demonstrated an ability to rally, as it climbed back from a 16-point hole midway through the first half to take the lead after halftime.

In the Ivy opener against Brown, Yale was able to manage a 66-63 win in overtime, as Morin and Flato led the charge. Morin scored 24 points on 11-of-14 shooting and pulled down seven rebounds while Flato contributed 15 points, going five-of-11 from the field. The Bulldogs were able to hold the Bears to only 39.2-percent shooting, forced 17 turnovers, and exhibited tough defense that had not shown up in the non-conference schedule.

For the Lions to repeat last year’s success in New Haven, they must contain Flato. In the Lions’ 82-64 win at Yale last year, they held Flato to 15 points. In Columbia’s 85-71 home loss to Yale, Flato torched the Lions for 26 points on six-of-13 shooting, including four-of-eight from three-point range. The combination of Mack Montgomery, Niko Scott, and KJ Matsui is going to have to hold Flato to around his season average of 13.8 points per game. If these three are unable to do so, it might be a tough night for Columbia.

Another key contributor for the Elis is Morin. The six-foot-seven-inch forward leads the Bulldogs in rebounding at 5.5 per game and ranks second on the squad in points at 10.2 per contest and field-goal percentage (56.4%). The Lions will probably counter Morin with senior forward John Baumann, who needs to keep Morin out of the paint for easy buckets.

In the Bears’ Ivy opening loss to Yale, Brown struggled mightily from the field, making just 20 of 51 shots—a rate of 39.2 percent—and committing 17 turnovers. Senior Damon Huffman struggled, going six-of-15, though he did pace Brown with 15 points. Fellow senior guard Mark McAndrew scored 15 points as well, while grabbing seven rebounds.

The trio of guards, junior Chris Skrelja, Huffman, and McAndrew, may pose a problem for the Lions on Saturday. Together, they account for nearly forty points a contest. Huffman ranks second in the Ivy League in points, at 16.2 per game, fourth in three-point percentage (43.6%), and first in three-pointers per contest. McAndrew ranks third in the conference in scoring, at 15.5 points per game, while averaging 5.3 rebounds. Skrelja contributes with 9.1 points, while leading Brown in rebounding (6.4) and assists (3.9).

These two games are particularly essential for the Lions’ in the Ivy League standings as they are the only team with two losses so far. The key to both games for Columbia is the containment of the talented guards that both Brown and Yale possess. If the Lions are able to do that and hit their open jumpers, they should come out victorious on the road.

Both tip-offs are at 7:00 p.m. on Friday and Saturday.