M. Hoops | Pesky Lions more than just an Ivy warmup

Though the Quakers' Ivy home-opener against Columbia tonight may seem like a mere distraction before Saturday's matchup against defending champion Cornell, Penn coach Glen Miller swears that the Goliath that is Big Red basketball isn't overshadowing a potential David in the foreground.

"Our focus right now is exclusively on Columbia," Miller assured. "I know Cornell is undefeated in the league at this point . But Columbia has shown up to this point in the season that they're a very good defensive team, a very physical team. They have so much to contend with."

Miller certainly sees where the momentum is headed. The Lions (7-11, 2-2 Ivy) emerged from last weekend with a sweep over Yale and Brown, two teams that had been ranked ahead of Columbia in the preseason. It was the Lions' first weekend of back-to-back league play after previously absorbing two losses to Cornell.

Columbia's .500 league record is exactly what will make the Lions so tricky to approach. Any Ivy team, at this point in the season, knows exactly what elements it needs to engage Cornell in a competitive game - the best all-around game that each player has ever given.

But, like Miller pointed out, Columbia possesses what has become the "Ivy factor" this season: Any team, on any given night, can beat any team.

"I think they have a good mixture of inside play, and guys that can score the ball on the perimeter, as well as guys that can create their shot off the dribble," Miller said.

Columbia boasts senior Jason Miller, a versatile 6-foot-8 forward that has hit career highs in points, steals and boards throughout the season. Miller shot 8-for-10 from the field against Yale in the Lions' 53-42 win while notching his fourth double-double of the season with 11 boards.

Along with the veteran Miller, Columbia coach Joe Jones has been utilizing two-time Ivy League Rookie of the Week Noruwa Agho, whose 24 points against a swarming Cornell defense was the highest point total for any of the Lions this year.

Junior Patrick Foley has also been sparking Columbia's offense - the guard hit five-straight points against Brown in the final minutes of the game, giving them the lead that they would hold onto for the win.

"It doesn't appear that they have those two first-team, all-conference players, but they have good talent," Glen Miller said. "They're guys that are capable of stepping up at any given time."

Penn (5-11, 1-1) will first have to get past the Lions' reputed defense to even think about cooling Columbia's hot offensive streaks. Jones' squad has held opponents to a 40.5 shooting percentage this season - the second-lowest in the Ancient Eight. The Lions limited Yale to a pitiful 15 points in the second half of last weekend's game and forced Brown into 18 turnovers .

"We don't have those two guys who can just carry us on offense . so we have to be very aggressive on that side," Glen Miller said.

The Quakers' offense may get a boost from Harrison Gaines, who missed last weekend's games with a stomach flu but returned to practice this week.

If Penn can stave off a surging Columbia team who last won at the Palestra in 2002, it just might give the Quakers the swagger they need going into the Cornell matchup.

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