SantaFeToday.com Santa Fe’s Hometown News
By Arnie Leshin
Believe it, even prior to the opening tip on Saturday, the Columbia University’s women’s basketball team is at a decided disadvantage, a few in fact.
That’s when these Ivy League Lions match up against the Big 12 representative Kansas in the afternoon’s National Invitational Tournament championship game in Las Vegas.
And if that sounds like a big plus for the Jayhawks of a power-packed conference, one of the country’s Power 5, it is, on paper anyway,
To break it down knowing the school from Morningside Heights in Upper Manhattan will definitely show up for the pairings of the NIT for the ladies after bouncing back and avenging previous losses to Ivy League foes Princeton and Harvard.
The Lions will test their well-earned 28-5 overall record against Kansas’ 24-11. Of course they play in different leagues, leagues that usually don’t play one another in the regular season.
Aside from tough 6-foot-6 Kansas center Tiayama Jackson, there’s three more at 6-4, a pair at 6-3, and also a very capable senior point guard in 5-8, that’s right 5-8, Zakiyah Franklin, who has played in each game, has handed off 7.8 assists per start, and provides ample leadership.
These two are the reasons the Jayhawks can toss in points, bring down boards, and hand out assists. They finished 9-9 and in sixth place in their packed conference.
Then there’s a look at Columbia. It sports a balanced lineup, it knows how to move the ball around in setting up its offense, usually goes back door, can toss in outside shots, play scrapy defense, and needs to depend more on its quality backcourt.
The Lions can bank on leading scorer 5-11 junior guard Abbey HSU who also hails from Australia. She turned in the game-high 25 points in the semifinals win over Washington.
She’s averaging 23.7 a game and mixes in board work and assists. She also provides the leadership.
Then there’s 6-1 freshman forward Susie Raffu and 6-0 senior wing Ariana Durc, with both having made second team all IVY and being number two and three Lions’ scorers.
One number stands out — 77. That’s the same Columbia tallied in the last three wins over Memphis, Washington and then Bowling Green in the semis at home.
There’s also quite a difference in the postseason schedules of the two, whereas the Lions got past a good Vanderbilt team, it also had few problems downing Iona and then conference rivals Penn, Princeton and Harvard.
But Kansas had to deal with Western Kentucky, Big 12 Missouri, Big 10 Nebraska, Southeastern Conference Arkansas, and PAC-12 Washington.
As for the Lions, nothing comes close simply because the Ivy League doesn’t recruit like the bigger conferences do. And if for a player real good in high school is looking around, it would be at a more recognizable brown ball program.
So the look of the dark and light blue colors of Columbia shows a present lineup of two at 6-1, six at 6-0, and then fall to a pair of 5-8s, two at 5-7, and one at 5-4.
See the difference. Imagine the Lions trying to stop Jackson from posting and blocking shots. She should feel very comfortable inside, and she has other tall gals on her side.
Both teams have won five in a row after losing their respective conference finals, Kansas to TCU and Columbia to Harvard.
But then they both bounced back, the Jayhawks to get past the Horned Frogs, the Lions past both Princeton and Harvard, and so there they are.
And after North Texas won the men’s NIT Thursday night, 89-81, over University of Alabama Birmingham in Las Vegas, now it’s the countdown for the other gender.
If you even check out their opponents who failed to stop them on the way to the title game, you will again the difference.
While Kansas got past Southeastern Conference’s Missouri’s and Arkansas, Big 10’s Nebraska, and PAC-12’s California and Washington, Columbia scored a quality win over SEC Vanderbilt, and followed over Iona, Penn, Princeton and Harvard.
Nothing can be done about it. You play in the conference you belong in, the schedule you’re given, the lineup that plays for you, and, whoops, then comes the postseason.
Of course Kansas would enjoy to carry off this championship trophy. It’s something new and it’s something national.
But Columbia would feel quite higher if the title goes to it. Yes, it’s something national and the Ivy League doesn’t usually compete in a season-ending event like this.
Wonder if the Lions have any songs other than the ones that have been part of New York for ages, they probably rely on their cheers.
The Jayhawks? Here goes:
“I was born in Kansas, I was bred in Kansas, and when I get married I’ll be wed in Kansas, I’m a true-blue Kansan and always will be until the Jayhawks win an NIT title.”
But listening to this isn’t what concerns Columbia that awaits the pairing, it’s the size and more experience and probably even a bigger turnout.
Well, heck, though, all this not expected publicity in one of the “small” schools could also piece together an upset-minded roster of Lions from the good old Ivy League.
