The Sports Network

DATE & TIME: Friday, February 8, 7 p.m. (et)

FACTS & STATS: Site: Levien Gymnasium (3,408) -- New York, New York. Television: None. Home Record: Dartmouth 4-5. Columbia 3-4. Away Record: Dartmouth 1-8, Columbia 5-5. Neutral Record: Dartmouth 0-0, Columbia 1-0. Conference Record: Dartmouth 1-3, Columbia 1-3. Series Record: Columbia leads, 107-95.

GAMES NOTES: After collecting their first conference win of the season the Dartmouth Big Green will face the Columbia Lions and try to get a win streak going in an Ivy League battle at Levien Gymnasium Friday night.

Last Saturday Dartmouth earned a 71-62 win over Yale at home for its first league victory. The loss snapped a brief two-game slump for the Big Green, who are now 5-13 overall and 1-3 in Ivy League play. In nine previous trips on the road Dartmouth has collected just a single win although it has yet to earn a road victory against a Division I squad. Dartmouth continues on to Cornell on Saturday night.

Columbia topped Cornell in its first league test but since then has lost three straight, including a 72-66 setback against Princeton last Saturday. The loss evened both the Lions' overall (9-9) and road records (5-5). At Levien Gymnasium the Lions are actually under .500 with three wins in seven tries. Columbia will have a stern test against conference leading Harvard on Saturday.

In the last two years Columbia has swept the season series with Dartmouth to increase its all-time series lead to 107-95.

Dartmouth shot 51.1 percent from the floor and outscored Yale 36-20 in the paint last Saturday. The Big Green also took advantage of opportunities at the free-throw line by netting 22-of-24 shots from the charity stripe. Gabas Maldunas came off the bench for team-highs in points (16) and rebounds (eight).

The offensive effort Dartmouth put forth against Yale was a nice change of pace for the Big Green. On the season Dartmouth is the lowest scoring team in the Ivy League (61.2 ppg), also ranking last in assists (10.5 pg) and just a spot better than that in field-goal percentage (.402). Maldunas (10.8 ppg, 6.2 rpg) has been the most consistent offensive threat, shooting at a 48 percent rate. Alex Mitola (10.1 ppg) is also averaging in double figures but he has shot just 35.8 percent from the floor.

Columbia let itself down by allowing Princeton to shoot at a 51.1 percent clip last Saturday, 8-of-11 from beyond the arc. The Lions kept it close by outscored the Tigers 13-5 in points off turnovers, while coughing it up just three times themselves.

Though tied with Dartmouth in the conference standings, the Lions can boast more successful offensive production. Columbia is scoring 65.3 points per game and shooting at a 42.8 percent clip from the field. Each of those marks is among the top half of the conference. On the defensive end the Lions are allowing just 61.4 points per game, though they have given up more than that in four of the last five games. Brian Barbour (13.6 ppg, 4.4 apg) is the leading scorer but has been one-dimensional, preferring to take shots from beyond the arc. Grant Mullins (10.3 ppg), Alex Rosenberg (10.1 ppg) and Mark Cisco (9.8 ppg, 5.7 rpg) provide additional scoring depth.

With its more diverse scoring options, Columbia should be able to defend its home court on Friday.

Sports Network Predicted Outcome: Columbia 69, Dartmouth 63