Who's Playing
Fairfield Stags @ Columbia Lions
Current Records: Fairfield 5-7, Columbia 10-1
How To Watch
- When: Saturday, December 28, 2024 at 4 p.m. ET
- Where: Francis S. Levien Gymnasium -- New York, New York
- TV: ESPN Plus
- Follow: CBS Sports App
- Online Streaming: Catch select College Basketball matches on Fubo (Try for free. Regional restrictions may apply.)
- Ticket Cost: $21.23
What to Know
The Columbia Lions' homestand will continue as they prepare to take on the Fairfield Stags at 4:00 p.m. ET on Saturday at Francis S. Levien Gymnasium. The Lions are strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 83.2 points per game this season.
On December 9th, everything came up roses for Columbia against Sarah Lawrence as the team secured a 92-46 victory. The Lions have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won five games by 19 points or more this season.
Columbia was working as a unit and finished the game with 24 assists (they're ranked second in assists per game overall). They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Sarah Lawrence only posted 11.
Meanwhile, Fairfield lost a heartbreaker to Monmouth when they met back in January of 2022, and they left with a heavy heart again on Saturday. Fairfield took an 88-74 hit to the loss column at the hands of Monmouth. The loss unfortunately continues a disappointing trend for the Stags in their matchups with the Hawks: they've now lost three in a row.
Fairfield's defeat came about despite a quality game from Prophet Johnson, who dropped a double-double on 19 points and 15 rebounds. With that strong performance, Johnson is now averaging an impressive 10.2 rebounds per game. The team also got some help courtesy of Braden Sparks, who had 16 points along with two steals.
Columbia's win was their seventh straight at home, which pushed their record up to 10-1. As for Fairfield, their loss dropped their record down to 5-7.
This contest is shaping up to be a blowout: Columbia has been crazy accurate this season, having made 50.4% of their field goals per game. It's a different story for Fairfield, though, as they've only made 41.2% of their field goals this season. Given Columbia's sizable advantage in that area, Fairfield will need to find a way to close that gap.
Columbia and Fairfield were neck-and-neck in their previous meeting back in November of 2015, but Columbia came up empty-handed after an 82-81 defeat. Will Columbia have more luck at home instead of on the road?
Odds
Columbia is a big 9.5-point favorite against Fairfield, according to the latest college basketball odds.
The oddsmakers had a good feel for the line for this one, as the game opened with the Lions as a 10-point favorite.
The over/under is 153 points.
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Series History
Fairfield won the only game these two teams have played in the last 9 years.
- Nov 27, 2015 - Fairfield 82 vs. Columbia 81