Preview: Columbia Lions at Dartmouth Big Green

HANOVER, N.H. (Interstat) — Ivy League positioning will be on the line Saturday when the Columbia Lions visit the Dartmouth Big Green at Leede Arena.

Columbia (12-6) enters looking to halt a three-game skid, including a 74-91 loss at Yale on Monday. The Lions’ offense, which eclipsed 100 points in nonconference wins over Penn St.-Abington and Cornell, has cooled during the losing streak, averaging just 69.3 points in those defeats.

Dartmouth (9-8) snapped a two-game slide with a narrow 71-69 home victory over Princeton on Monday. The Big Green have shown resilience at home, boasting key conference wins over Princeton and Harvard this month.

A key matchup will feature Columbia’s Connor Igoe against Dartmouth’s Kareem Thomas. Igoe, a versatile guard/forward, is coming off an 11-point, 4-rebound performance at Yale. He has shown flashes of all-around play this season, recording a triple-double against Penn St.-Abington in December.

Thomas provides a potent scoring threat for the Big Green. The guard is averaging 18.3 points over his last three Ivy contests, including a 22-point effort in the win over Princeton. His ability to create offense will be central to Dartmouth’s game plan.

Columbia holds the overall better record, but its recent struggles contrast with Dartmouth’s momentum-building conference win. The Lions will need increased production beyond Igoe; Mason Ritter and Blair Thompson were also key contributors in the Yale game.

Dartmouth will aim to leverage its home-court advantage and continue its strong defensive play at Leede Arena, where it held Princeton to 69 points. Containing Columbia’s perimeter attack and managing Thomas’s offensive load are likely focal points for the Big Green.

Saturday’s contest is the first of two regular-season meetings between the programs, with the rematch scheduled for Feb. 21 in New York.

Tip-off is set for Saturday, Jan. 24, 2026, in Hanover.