Megan Griffith ’07CC, head coach of Columbia women’s basketball, revealed the program’s 2023-24 schedule on Monday. Check the schedule below.
The demanding non-conference schedule includes eight home games, six games against power six conference opponents, four games against teams that finished inside the NET top 50 last year, three 2023 NCAA Tournament teams, and two home games against Duke and Villanova, both of which ended inside the Top 25 polls previous year.
Columbia is used to a demanding schedule for women’s basketball. Despite a non-conference schedule that included seven 20-win teams from the previous season, the Lions finished with a program-best 28-6 record.
The 2022-23 squad went 11-2 against its non-conference opponents before winning 12-2 in the Ivy League to earn their first title.
Columbia had the furthest run in the WNIT of any Ivy League club, defeating FDU, Fordham, Syracuse, and Harvard to reach the Fab Four after narrowly missing out on the NCAA Tournament.
Griffith’s Lions beat a 31-win Bowling Green team on the road to reach the final game of Columbia Women’s basketball when they fell just short against Kansas inside a packed Allen Fieldhouse.
Last year’s women’s basketball players returned virtually the whole roster from the previous year. This year’s Lions will be different. Seven seniors from the 2023 Ivy Championship Team have graduated, and eight fresh faces will try to fill the vacuum.
On Monday, November 6, the season begins with a rare non-conference road game against Stony Brook. The Lions will visit the Seawolves for the second year in a row, and the two sides will face off for the third time. Seton Hall visits Levien Gymnasium four days later for Columbia’s home opening, the first of eight non-conference home games.
The Lions avenged defeats to Stony Brook and Seton Hall in the 2021-22 season by beating the Seawolves and Pirates on the road last year.
The first meeting between Columbia and Duke will occur on Tuesday, November 14, at 6 p.m. ET. Last season, the Blue Devils finished 26-7, 14-4 ACC, ranking 13th in the final AP Poll and 16th in the final Coaches Poll. They progressed to the NCAA Tournament’s Second Round when Colorado defeated them in overtime, 61-53.
Columbia travels to the Baha Mar Hoops Pink Flamingo Championship on November 20-22 following a first-time meeting with Towson (November 16) in NYC, as reported by Columbia University Athletics.
On Monday, November 20, the Lions will have two chances to defeat an SEC opponent, starting with 2023 NCAA Tournament member Georgia. Two days later, they’ll face Florida, a squad that advanced to the WNIT’s Great Eight before losing to Bowling Green.
The Lions return to Morningside Heights for the following five games, beginning with a matchup against 2023 CAA co-champion Northeastern on November 25 and an 11 a.m.
Education Day tip against Providence on November 29. Columbia will host Big East powerhouse Villanova at Levien Gymnasium on December 3, along with women’s basketball. It will be the first meeting between the two teams in 20 years and Villanova’s first visit to Columbia’s campus.
Last season, the Wildcats finished 30-7, 17-3 BIG EAST, and advanced to the NCAA Tournament’s Sweet 16. They were ranked 10th in the final AP poll before the NCAA Tournament and 12th in the Coaches Poll.
The Lions enter the holiday break with home games against Memphis (December 6) and Wagner (December 10). After two weeks off, they’ll fly across the nation to the Bay Area to finish the non-conference season against San Francisco (December 28) and Pacific (December 31).
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