Pennsylvania vs Columbia 1/8/22 College Basketball Picks, Predictions, Odds

The Columbia Lions will travel to The Palestra to take on the Pennsylvania Quakers this Saturday night in College Basketball action.

The Columbia Lions lost their 4^th straight game and dropped to 3-10 on the season after being defeated by the Princeton Tigers, 84-69, last night. Columbia led by a 45-33 margin at halftime, however, the Lions were dominated on both ends of the court in the 2^nd half and could not fight back after Princeton took a 70-56 lead with 8:38 left in regulation. Columbia shot 47.5% from the field & 54.5% from beyond the arc while allowing Princeton to shoot 46.8% from the field & 28.6% from beyond the arc. Leading the way for the Lions was Ike Nweke who had 22 points, 5 rebounds, 1 steal, & 1 block.

Coming into their game against Princeton, Columbia was averaging 67.8 ppg on 42.9% shooting from the field. The Lions were averaging 7.1 three-pointers per game on 34.7% shooting from beyond the arc. Offensively, Columbia has been led by Ike Nweke (17.0 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 1.0 apg, 1.0 spg), Liam Murphy (12.9 ppg, 5.1 rpg, 1.4 apg), Geronimo Rubio De La Rosa (12.3 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 3.5 apg), & Patrick Harding (5.1 ppg, 7.5 rpg, 1.5 apg).

Defensively, Columbia was allowing their opponents to average 76.2 ppg on 45.0% shooting from the field. The Lions had a rebound margin of -0.1 and a turnover margin of -2.4.

The Pennsylvania Quakers won their 2^nd straight game and improved to 5-10 on the season after defeating the Cornell Big Red, 79-65, last night. Pennsylvania led by a 38-36 margin at halftime and was able to pull away late in the 2^nd half after taking a 66-58 lead with 3:42 left in regulation. Pennsylvania shot 50.9% from the field & 33.3% from beyond the arc while holding Cornell to 33.8% shooting from the field & 35.3% from beyond the arc. Leading the way for the Quakers was Clark Slajchert who had 19 points, 2 rebounds, & 3 assists.

Coming into their game against Cornell, Pennsylvania was averaging 69.6 ppg on 43.0% shooting from the field. The Big Red were averaging 9.6 three-pointers per game on 36.0% shooting from beyond the arc. Offensively, Pennsylvania has been led by Jordan Dingle (19.8 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 2.6 apg), Clark Slajchert (9.4 ppg, 1.9 rpg, 1.2 apg), Jonah Charles (9.4 ppg, 3.0 rpg), & Max Martz (8.0 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 1.3 apg).

Defensively, Pennsylvania was allowing their opponents to average 76.4 ppg on 46.6% shooting from the field. The Quakers had a rebound margin of -4.0 and a turnover margin of -1.9.

The Lions are 3-6 ATS in their last 9 January games and 6-6 ATS on the season. The Quakers are 7-0 ATS in their last 7 games at home and 7-7-1 ATS on the season.

Columbia has struggled on both ends of the court this season as the Lions come into this game ranked just 274^th in scoring offense, 316^th in scoring defense, & 290^th in defensive FG%. Pennsylvania is led by their offense which despite ranking just 232^nd in scoring offense, is dangerous from beyond the arc (40^th in three-pointers made per game; 81^st in 3P-FG%), however, the Quakers have struggled defensively and come into this ranked just 317^th in scoring defense & 327^th in defensive FG%.

Columbia is not a good team on the road as the Lions are 0-7 away form home this season, however, the Loins have been decent ATS as of late and have looked better since getting Ike Nweke back in the lineup just a handful of games ago. Pennsylvania should have no trouble picking up the win here, however, this is a bunch of points for a team that has struggled defensively to cover and as we saw Columbia at least be competitive for half the game against Princeton, I think the Lions can do enough to cover with the large number of points. Good Luck!