Promising Lions held back by turnovers

It is fair to say that the Columbia men's basketball team is a work in progress.

With only three returning seniors from a squad that recorded only two Ivy League wins last year, the Lions will be placed near the bottom of the Ancient Eight pecking order once again.

Columbia coach Joe Jones, now in his third year with the program, has entered a season in which many people expect his team to improve even if it is in rebuilding mode.

But with an early-season injury to senior guard Dalen Cuff, the Lions (7-6) are still figuring out the roles of many of their key players.

"We are a very young team," sophomore Kashif Sweet said. "I think we've gotten better as a team but we still have a long way to go."

On paper, the Lions present one of the most imposing frontcourts in the Ivy League, with sophomore forwards Jon Baumann and Benedict Nwachukwu.

Baumann leads the team, averaging 12.5 points per game, and Nwachukwu is right behind him, with 12.

The Lions also lead the Ivy League in three-point field goal percentage, making nearly 40 percent of their trifectas.

So what is the reason for Columbia's mediocre play?

The Lions are averaging almost 17 turnovers per contest, and are surrendering leads late in the game.

Jones has also tinkered with the Lions starting lineup for almost every game. Only two players have started more than 10 of the Lions' 13 games this season.

After opening the season with five straight wins, Columbia has lost six out of its last eight, including two losses in the Panasonic Holiday Festival at Madison Square Garden over winter break.

And now the Lions must face the daunting task of opening their Ivy season at Penn and Princeton.

"We know that taking on Penn and Princeton, there's a lot of work to be done," Sweet said. "No one has gone in there and knocked off both teams back-to-back."

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