The Lions’ offense is somewhat built on the team’s ability to drive and kick to free up open shooters, such as K.J. Matsui and Niko Scott. Last season, Columbia prided itself on being the 12th-ranked three-point shooting team in the entire NCAA, at a 40.2 percent mark.
Until this weekend’s games, the perimeter shooters—with the exception of Matsui—were below their numbers from last season. However, against Penn and Princeton, the Lions lit up the scoreboard from beyond the arc.
Against Penn, Columbia came out red-hot from three-point range, going seven for 14, as they took a 38-29 lead at half. The high shooting mark was attributed to the crisp passing and off-ball screens that allowed Matsui, Scott, and Joe Bova to combine for seven first-half threes. On the Lions fourteen baskets, they had twelve assists.
“They [Penn] did a good job of turning us over at the start,” head coach Joe Jones said. “We started to play better off the double team down low. We have a lot of guys who can shoot it, so if they’re going to double team us, it plays to our strength.”
In the second half, the Quakers had to pick their poison: continue to give up open threes, or stop doubling down on John Baumann. They chose the latter, as the opening in the middle allowed Baumann to score 10 second-half points, and the Lions to get to the free throw line 17 times in the second half, making 12.
“For me, it’s just great because the middle is wide open because we were able to make shots from the outside,” Baumann said.
The same trend carried over in Columbia’s 58-53 win against Princeton on Saturday night. The Lions were able to be patient against the Tigers, as they worked the ball around the perimeter in finding the open shot. As the open shots came, they fell.
In the first half alone, the Lions connected on 60 percent of their three-pointers, which forced Princeton to make a similar decision as Penn did. However, the Tigers elected to continue to double Baumann, forcing the perimeter game to step up. And, in the second half, the perimeter shooting was even better.
Columbia connected on five of nine from behind the three-point line, with both Scott and Matsui contributing three triples. For the weekend, the Lions went 19-for-33, a remarkable 57.6 percent from three-point range. While the Lions had looked to Baumann more often than not, two players emerged this weekend as viable second options: Scott and Matsui. The two combined for 14 three-pointers, and 57 points. If this continues, it will take the weight off the interior game and allow the Lions to continue to win down the stretch in the Ivy League campaign.